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Brush with simpler times

More than 50 years ago I subscribed to a craft magazine that I do not even remember the name of. I always got excited when the next issue arrived. I had a lot of time on my hands at that time. My children were young and took naps. Naptime was my time to do crafts. I was living in a mobile home. It was not one of the larger ones either. I had to get out my craft and be sure I could put it away before the children awoke. I sent for some paintings. They were the paint-by-number type. I got the four seasons plus the frames for them. Now, let me tell you that I am not at all ...

Astounding surprise from Mother Nature

BOOM!! The noise was HUGE and beyond startling. The sound explosion propelled me out of my seat. It was midday, I was writing on my laptop, and I couldn’t imagine what could create such a frightful noise. It sounded like it came from the front hall – maybe by the front door? Perhaps it was – OMG – the furnace? Fearfully, I raced to the utility room. Nothing. Everything normal. Then back through the kitchen and dining room to the front hall. I opened the door, looked around the stoop, down the steps, and in front of the rhododendrons. Nothing. I thought, OK, if the house ...

Fetterman is not a ‘damaged’ leader

I would like to respond to the letter, “Reasons to be a Fetterman skeptic,” and another recently regarding John Fetterman’s stroke and his ability to serve as our senator. This letter is written from a position of experience. During a surgical procedure in January 2003, I suffered a stroke that left me completely paralyzed on my left side and my left hand in a permanent fist, unable to uncurl my fingers. Friends and family who visited me then had little hope that I would recover. Few people who see me today would suspect what I went through or would judge my ability to function ...

Having faith in the Second Amendment

BINGHAMTON – Having just lost – in walloping fashion – a Second Amendment challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court, you might have thought New York would want to take its time. You might have thought New York would want to study the decision carefully. You might have thought New York would want to gain input from across the political spectrum. And the jurisprudential spectrum, which is different from the political spectrum. You might have further thought New York would want to gain input from all across New York. Including from, say, those three westernmost counties in the ...

Another view: Parks can bring state prosperity

When the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources worked with Governor Tom Wolf to secure funding for three new state parks, we knew it was the right thing to do for Pennsylvania’s taxpayers. Part of our reasoning was derived from studies the Times Observer editorial noted in its piece, “Our opinion: State’s high cost for natural gems,” and also because we see now as the perfect opportunity to grow Pennsylvania’s outdoor recreation economy. When we made the case to spend money from the state’s Oil and Gas Lease Fund, which must be reinvested into conservation and ...

View from Hickory Heights: Thinking pink in October

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. How does this affect me? It was in May 2011 that I was diagnosed with breast cancer. What a disaster that was! I had my routine mammogram. I went faithfully — every year. I know that you are allowed to go two years, but that was not my policy. I waited in the room off to the side of the mammography suite. I was still in my pink paper garment. The doctor who read the scan walked in. That was unusual. He told me that I had a suspicious mass in my left breast. It was like someone punched me in the gut. I had been with my husband when ...