Articles 2020

Editor’s Page By Victoria A. Schmidt   As I write this editorial, the United States is wrapping up an election unlike any in our history. By the time this magazine hits the street, the voting will be over. Thankfully.  I remember a time when I looked forward to election results. But I believe there are […]

Tranquility in the Pines, Terror in the Birch By Carol L. Bowman   The horrific scene, hidden within the grove of River Birch, burned through my twelve-year-old eyes. I couldn’t break the gaze. Transfixed by curiosity, haunted by the image and frozen by fear, I didn’t know what to do. I had to tell someone,

Ramblings From The Ranch By Christina Bennett Give Me the Unadoptables   “The main thing I do as a foster is give the dogs lots of love and teach them to not be afraid of humans. I give each dog a little piece of my heart and they give me a big piece of their

Bridge By The Lake By Ken Masson Many duplicate bridge players have adopted Roman Key Card Blackwood (RKCB) as their weapon of choice when investigating slams, and with good reason: it is a vast improvement on the gadget created by Easley Blackwood many decades ago. The original Blackwood convention used a bid of 4 no

Vexations and Conundrums By Katina Pontikes Unmasked     Life will surprise you, no matter how carefully you try to orchestrate the trajectory of your future. 2020 has morphed from a year in which I was going to have a relaxed, travel-filled experience, to the year I have spent conjuring ways to outrun the COVID-19

Mirror To The Universe—The Good Life By Rob Mohr   “The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”—Bertrand Russell Knowledge and wisdom are acquired through what we learn each time we fail, or, are thrown off course by unexpected events

The Healing Power Of  Wilderness Dr. Lorin Swinehart “Why, who makes much of a miracle?“Why, who makes much of a miracle?As to me, I know of nothing but miracles.”—Walt Whitman Once upon a time, according to the Ojibwe and others who dwelled along the shores of the northern Great Lakes, a fierce forest fire reeked

Behind the Gate By Christina Bennett   Ted kept his gate well tended. Whenever the paint got a little sad looking, he was out there putting on a new coat. If it was dirty, he had the hose at the ready and a bucket of soapy water. And the plants outside the gate? They were

FINDING YOUR ROOTS: The Life of pi and i By Neil McKinnon   Quentin Quo Vadis was an elderly squirrel. He wasn’t just an ordinary elderly squirrel. He was an elderly squirrel who was very good at math. At least he used to be good at math. Nowadays, he could barely remember his own name.

The Beauty of the End By Susana Greenberg It’s like reaching your destination and reliving the adventure and then putting it in your memory bank to be pulled out any time you want. Laughing and smiling at that memory—or wondering how you made it out alive from that adventure. The beauty of hindsight. To have