The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

As with most breakup letters, this one may come as a shock, but I wanted you to hear it from me first. Small towns being what they are, I began to get worried that you would hear it from someone else...

I recently heard a term in passing that immediately piqued my interest. At first I thought it was a made-up psychological disorder or simply a catchy term to describe a growing problem. But after...

This year, my daughter celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in her preschool. I find this holiday to be fun and festive and in fact would have been surprised had they not marked it in some way. It would...

This Christmas, with some trepidation, I received my first smartphone. I was very excited about the larger screen size (so I could more easily view pictures) and the ability to connect to the...

Growing up in Los Angeles, Academy Award night was a citywide celebration. By the time my brother and I would tumble inside, ready for our afternoon snack, the glamorous stars were already pulling up...

One day about a year ago, my daughter and I were in a pool at a hotel. While swimming, I overheard a mother tell her son not to put his head under the hot tub. “It’s bad for you, sweetie,” she t...

With the holidays in the past, it seems that the darkest, coldest days of the year are upon us. But any student will tell you that with the advent of the second semester of school, it is just a quick...

Someone once told me that the first five years of a child’s life are remarkable in their ability for rapid change. Every few months bring about a new life stage that changes how a child sees his or...

It’s a typical practice around the new year to examine the year we are leaving behind. Sometimes it’s worthwhile to examine any personal gains or losses, or to assess a resolution made at this...

This year, in the midst of a typically festive holiday season, is what many have considered to be a very auspicious date. December 21, 2012 does not simply signify the winter solstice, but also a...

After having been in Grand Coulee for almost two years now, one of the biggest changes that I am still trying to adapt to is an unexpected one. It’s not the distance to the nearest big box store or...

As we’ve settled into the school year, our house, like houses across America, has settled into a routine. Certain days call for certain activities, and many hours of each day fall into expected...

My 3-year-old daughter recently declared that she had a favorite song. The use of the term “favorite” made me sit up and listen. Although she had been displaying preferences since birth, this was...

Like many children who grew up in the suburbs of America, I had a typical, and rather uninvolved, relationship with the food I ate. I was an athlete and had healthy parents, so tried to be thoughtful,...

A couple of weeks ago, a rather notorious mother in New York, Lenore Skenazy, started an after-school program for children. This is the same mother who, a few years ago, let her then 9-year-old son...

There is, perhaps, nothing so steady, predictable, and at times frightening in life as the continuity of the calendar. No matter what is happening in your life or the world, tomorrow will bring a new...

Every year as the calendar flips over into September, I feel a little thrill of anticipation. As an adult, I attribute this to the approaching autumn, my favorite season. But deep down I know that thi...

When America’s frontier was officially declared closed in 1890, the country scrambled for a new identity. For hundreds of years, we had been a nation with seemingly limitless borders. The stretch...

When the Olympics came to Atlanta, I was an impressionable 15-year-old involved in two different high school sports. The day after Muhammad Ali famously lit the torch, my family and I were sweltering...

One of the things I’ve always loved about American homes is the prominence of the kitchen. Far more than other cultures, where kitchens are small and tucked away out of sight, American architects...

Next week is the summer solstice, denoting the longest day of the year and the official start of summer. For some cultures this is a day of marked celebration. In our own country it seems that many...

If I had a penny for how many times I’ve used the phrase “Use your words,” over the last two years, I’d be, as they say, rich. My house at this time is like an intensive English-language boot...

As the days have lengthened, the sun has once again become our constant companion. And although I am still shocked every day at just how early that sun makes its appearance, I am warmed, literally...

A while ago, I wrote a column about how heartwarming it is to see children using their imagination in a world where most of their toys involve some sort of technology. When I think of the changes...

On a playground recently I watched a little boy pick up an acorn and impressively chuck it clear across the swing set. He was a little kid, but his throw had major-league heft. A couple of the dads...

The month of March marked two important American anniversaries that are seemingly disconnected, but that I find to be united in their achievements. You don’t have to be a cookie lover to pay...

Recently, I spent some time at my childhood home in Georgia. One day my mother surprised my daughter and her cousins with boxes of toys we had packed away together when I was a pre-teen. I was...

Somewhere in humanity’s past, spring cleaning became some sort of tradition. I imagine this probably originated when we all lived in one-room cabins. When fresher weather arrived, the necessity to...

If I could wave a magic wand and change something about myself, topping the list would be how affected I am by the weather. I am nearly always too cold. Occasionally I am too hot; it’s either too...

It seems to me that as our world has changed from the hunter-gatherers we once were to the high-paced technological world we are today one thing hasn’t changed, and that’s the way a story can...