It is troublesome to read Times Observer letters and columnists, and listen to ultra right media views that are based on the assumption that America is or should be a Christian theocracy. America’s house of worship has many and varied rooms similar to the many and various branches of my ...

This whole farming business was new to me. We had gone together for a couple years so I knew what to expect. Dick’s parents went down to visit with her sisters and husbands on Christmas Eve. Chores had to be done early so that could happen. Sometimes my husband ended up finishing things up so ...

It’s been 18 years since we sent trail mix to Iraq. My son, Bart, was a Marine pilot. He flew the Cobra gunship, an attack helicopter that protected the Marines on the ground. A nasty machine. Having been gone for months, his squadron was deployed to Al Asad, Iraq during Christmas, 2005. ...

When I got to thinking about the Christmas Eve celebrations, I realized that I had varied experiences. When I was young, I remember one Christmas Eve at home. I prepared a little service complete with Christmas carols. My aunt and uncle came that evening to celebrate with us since they would be ...

The one place you won’t find a Subaru is in Dear Richard’s driveway, our everyday car park. He’s a domestic sorta guy. We got chatting about our old car favorites and I realized how much he enjoyed his “big boats” from the 60s and 70s. Back then you could buy 8 horsepower under the ...

Breathe in and savor the smell! That is what you do when you enter a bakery. Now I have to admit that scent does not permeate as much in the big box bakeries. I am not sure when they bake things, but it definitely is not during the normal store hours. I remember five bakeries in Dunkirk, ...