Breaking News

Local Commentaries

A favorite snack

The other day some friends and I went out to lunch. As we ate, we talked about some favorite snacks. It was unanimous — the favorite snack was toast. Some liked it with jelly. Some liked it with cinnamon and sugar. Some liked it plain. I guess the reason toast came up was because I was enjoying breakfast foods for lunch. That day I had French toast. The day we visited, there was a new menu. It took us a while to make our decision as to what to eat. Actually, it took us a while to find what we were looking for. My entree had not been on the menu for a while. I know it was ...

Tennis or sleep? It’s a difficult choice

In July, it was Wimbledon. Now, the U.S. Open, live from New York City. It’s as if the gods of televised tennis are purposely trying to destroy my sleep. The men’s match Friday night began at 10:45 p.m. As the clock slid past 1:30 a.m., I finally had to hit the remote’s “record” button, desperate for sleep. I later read that Carlos Alcaraz, the 19-year-old Spanish phenom, finally cleaned his opponent’s clock at 2:50 a.m. I keep telling myself, “It’s just a game, go to bed.” But it isn’t. I’m devoted, and I don’t want to miss any of it. I’m beginning to ...

A Methodist matter of faith

After reading Josh Cotton’s piece on the meeting at First United Methodist Church (Sept. 3), I feel that I must comment. The article notes that the “issue at the heart of the divide is human sexuality.” I beg to differ. As the son of a Methodist clergy and a retired Methodist ...

Disaffiliation possibility appears discouraging

I read with interest a front-page story in the Times Observer (Sept. 3) covering the recent information meeting at First United Methodist Church, a meeting led by the United Methodist officials to provide information regarding the process of “disaffiliating” from the denomination. As the article stated, the “presenting” issue is how the United Methodist Church addresses “homosexuality,” or more broadly, the LGBTQ community. I was quite discouraged to see that the Church Council of First United Methodist Church voted almost unanimously to explore disaffiliation. First United ...

Christians can learn from fantasy football

Editor’s note: This two-part series will explore Christian themes seen through Fantasy Football. The fantasy football draft is quite the experience. I have seen fantasy football owners with NFL magazines that are highlighted with notes next to their laptops that probably have a few internet pages open of statistical information. I once had a friend at the draft call another person for their opinion on what player he ought to select. One of my favorite parts of the draft is when a fantasy owner makes a selection and everyone else says, “good pick, that’s a real good pick!” ...

Helping Hands across New York City

The three different doctors who sold me my three knees strongly agreed on one aspect of my future: “Don’t fall. Do everything you can to proceed safely. DO NOT FALL.” Gotcha. I have respected their advice and been uncharacteristically cautious. During the past 21 years, since Knee 1, I have fallen – but only three times. None of those tumbles was my fault. I am v-e-r-y careful. Until last week. When I was visiting New York City. I blew it. My dear BFF, Ginger, lives in Forest Hills, a leafy section of Queens, just outside Manhattan. Ginger converted her late husband’s ...