Irises, Garden Gnomes and the People Inside
Last weekend I did the craziest imaginable thing. I undertook the devilish hard task of digging up and dividing a bearded iris bed woven as tight as jacquard tweed. What appeared to be a few bearded irises resided against the south wall of our yard when we took...
Adam West Day and the People Inside
If you live in Walla Walla, or even if you don’t and are incredibly “in the know,” you know that on the third weekend of September we celebrate a favorite native son, Adam West. I know! I was there with you in 2019! It was such fun!! It must have been if...
Remembering Kathy with the People Inside
Last week brought a landmark loss. My dear friend and writing mentor, Kathleen “Kathy” Beck, died at the age of 89. I’m sorry. Me, too. Thank you, Lily, thank you 9. Kathy lived with Alzheimer’s disease for nine years. For a...
Reflection and the People Inside
At Sundown this past Monday, Rosh Hashanah began. I learned about the Jewish New Year festival while researching Beyond Big-G City. If you read this book (and I dearly hope you did because it’s mine, mine, mine!) you may recall David Bernstein’s foster parents were...
The Oldest Profession and the People Inside
You know how sometimes a certain subject keeps popping up on your radar? Maybe it started when I wrote about the cowboy song The Streets of Laredo last week, and the assertion by a pair of fair-goers that the song was really about syphilis. Or maybe it started when I...
Fairs, the Twilight Zone, and the People Inside
What do you think of when you think of county fairs? 4-H exhibits, animals, corn dogs, carnival rides, service clubs selling raffle tickets, a grandstand show or two, and lots of entertainers working all over the grounds to keep people amused. What you might not...