Opinion

Over the holidays my mom asked me a question I’ve been muddling ever since: “What do you want the rest of your life to look like?”

More women

The Minnesota political landscape has been entertaining but horribly ineffective and dysfunctional for more than a decade.

Over the holidays it was nice connecting with Greta Stauffer, a second cousin, who is a fitness instructor at a North Carolina military base and working on her master’s degree at East Carolina University in Greenville.  With New Year resolutions of getting fit on a lot of people’s minds, I was curious to learn about some of the new trends.  Her major point was that diabetes will be a problem for many of us. Her recommendation to keep diabetes at bay is to eliminate high fructose corn syrup from our diet and to move our bodies 20 to 30 minutes a day.  We have also heard for years that our lifestyles are becoming more and more sedentary, not necessarily from being lazy, but rather the change in work. Controlling machinery via computer, where it was done by hand, for instance. Even the military is controlling aircraft from a desktop computer instead of in the cockpit. 

A WHITE BEAR man recently uncovered a cell phone scam when he purchased a discounted iPhone on Craigslist.

No incumbents

During the weeks between our national celebrations of gratitude and gift-giving, we Americans are busy. At Thanksgiving we draw together with family and friends. Throughout the world, wherever Americans are stationed, visiting or living, they too gather to give thanks, to feast and to remember our common heritage.

KATHY AND I have finally given in and attended the AARP Drivers Safety Program conducted two evenings at the Senior Center in White Bear Lake.  Because it was our first time for this driver training, we were to sit in on two four-hour sessions.

Beautify the Boatworks

With the holidays comes excitement for the kids and an opportunity to entertain friends and relatives. Unfortunately, criminals are also getting ready to enjoy the holidays - they do so by ripping us off.

Praise the EPA

Much has been made of Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when retailers typically turn a profit —  or go into "the black" — for the year, and which marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season.

I blew out my appendix and spent the first part of December in a lot of pain last year. Needless to say, this unfortunate health event ruined my winter.

This week we celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. Take time to meditate on the meaning, acknowledge your blessings and absorb the thoughts of others regarding Thanksgiving.

Be patient

Since Sept. 11, 2001, more than 22,000 Minnesota Guard members have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan for extended periods, many multiple times. When those citizen soldiers leave our local communities,the impact is great.

All living veterans deserve honor, respect and a big "Thank You" for serving our nation, protecting our freedoms and giving of their time this Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11.

No marina regrets

A friend who is a police officer recently told me about the frightening, re-emerging trend among teens -  sniffing, huffing, bagging and skittling.  Sniffing, huffing or bagging is inhaling a chemical with the intent to get high. The chemicals used are common and entirely legal items found in almost every household, like air freshener sprays, paint, gasoline, markers, glue and freon from air conditioners.  It is happening more often than you think. According to the Partnership for a Drug-free America, 18 percent of all eighth graders have used inhalants to get high, but 9 out of 10 parents are unaware their children have used inhalants.

BOB AND GERRIE Sweeney, publishers of The Villager in suburban Denver, Colo., hosted a weekend at Kingstone, a retreat center owned by the King Foundation in Estes Park, Colo. Bob is executive of the foundation besides being a weekly publisher.

Caring school staff

As parents, we are faced daily with pressure and decisions that affect our children's health and well-being, and often the guidance we give them now will have lasting consequences. It can be hard to know when to let go or to clamp down.

While on a recent assignment, the topic of Websites came up and I was asked if our site was "eseeoh." The word sounded foreign to me and I wondered if I needed to catch up on some of the latest terminology currently being bandied about. I asked, "What?" and he repeated the word a little more slowly, "es-ee-oh." This time around the word transformed in my mind into an acronym that I had been seeing quite frequently of late, SEO (Search Engine Optimized) and yes, I was happy to report that our site was indeed SEO.

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