Democracy is loud and messy

Loss is hard, no matter who it is or what their age may be. Each week, the pages of include obituaries and death notices of local residents. Some led full and interesting lives, with numerous family and friends surviving and keeping their memories alive. Others were taken far too young and far too suddenly. The community mourns their potential and what they could have achieved. Some you wished ...

To shave, or not to shave, that is the question. A little over a month ago I shaved off my beard and mustache. It was the first time since high school that I was bare-faced and the first time in close to two decades that I did not have a beard. During COVID, I let my beard grow out. While in my mind’s eye, I was going for the look of the classic band ZZ Top, in brutal honesty it probably l...

In April I, along with a couple dozen other area residents screwed up my courage and tried out for a role in Medford Area Community Theatre (MACT) production of “1776.” The musical dramatizes with songs, laughter and a couple tears, the weeks leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 — if you couldn’t tell by the name of the play. MACT selected the musical to ...