Anyone who has spent any time of any consequence on this planet knows that life is weird. It’s got a learning curve to challenge the equator. We never learn everything we need to know to function …

Students around the world are educated in harmony with common sense. In this nation, we often fly in the face of it. For example, despite the evidence, and against science and personal preferences, …

Some of what’s broken in America and around the world stays broken despite honest effort by those advocating goodness and fair play. Sometimes, it can’t be helped; other times, those with a …

Chatterbox July 15, 2004 talked about what giving our time and attention to our little ones does for them in their lives. It talked about making memories. Well, several Chattercolumns have talked …

Chatterbox July 15, 2004 talked about what giving our time and attention to our little ones does for them in their lives. It talked about making memories. Well, several Chattercolumns have talked …

As usual, something happened, very recently, to give me a reason to discuss this ever-present, should be obvious, often avoided, and almost always misunderstood topic. Though we all know what year it …

There’s a lot to be said for “the quiet.” It’s special, yet so common, that we rarely notice its intense power over us. It accompanies a great many – and many great – things. Still, as …

We all have days when everything just seems to go wrong, right? I used to call them my ‘drop it, spill it, break it days.’ It, somehow, makes us less frustrated if we just resign ourselves to …

Many years ago, Chatterbox talked about a conversation I had with my son when he was in high school. He was complaining that we still had dial-up. (Remember dial-up? I loved the beeps, whirrs, and …

For those of us who remember it, Michael Landon had a super successful television series called “Little House on the Prairie” based on the Laura Ingalls Wilder book series of the same name.

On Sept. 28, 2006, Chatterbox talked about there being no perfect time to start a family. It was true then, and it’s still true now. A family is a huge commitment for anyone who looks past the …

There’s an episode of “The Twilight Zone” about an avid reader whose wife refuses to allow him to read, claiming it’s a frivolous waste of time. The ironic plot twist at the end makes his …

Almost all children make their parents marvel at them, whether learning his/her first word or displaying some cognitive thought. Older parents with adult children marvel too; only the magnitude …

On Jan. 11, 2007, Chatterbox talked about a young doctor who was taken from poverty in Brazil, as a young child, and became one of America’s wealthiest, most famous, and successful doctors.

We all should respect the people who fight the good fight without pause. Some help accomplish great things that affect society permanently, as a whole. Some are little things limited to our own …

Recently, I found myself watching a film that we’ve discussed before. “Newsies” is a great musical that Disney turned into a stage play. Its serious side is child labor, and how the rich just …

Politics is a topic few know well; discussing it makes me jittery, but the state of our nation and our planet does too, even more so. Anyone who isn’t concerned about the condition of our planet, …

I stumbled on this June 2021 column, yesterday. Coincidentally timely, it’s totally worth re-reading: Parents and recent high school graduates are having the same issue right now; something both …

I remember asking, when I was a kid, why children didn’t have a “Day” like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. The adults usually said something like, “… because every day is kids’ day” …

Part of putting our opinions on paper is committing to being quotable and dissectible, whether by supporters or cynics. Today, we’re on a limb about young Americans’ futures. Raising children has …