Columns

We are all broken. Some have just a dent in the fender; others need a whole new transmission.  We are dinged, bent, damaged, hurt, cracked, confused, crushed and cut to the quick. Because life will sometimes do that to you - to me - to all of us.  It changes us. It challenges us. It tosses us into the deep dark waters during a violent tempest because we were meant to whirl with the waves and experience the storm.  And the storm changes us in ways we never would have imagined. It leaves us broken - in tiny or all-encompassing ways. We often try to hide this. The broken pieces that reside within us. But people are smart. They see through our forced smile, our tra...

When my kids were little, they often came to me with “what ifs.” What if the school bus starts to fly? What if we ate dessert first? What if God never invented rabbits? Or ice cream? Or trees? Or bikes? Or the rain? What if my hair turned into spaghetti noodles? What if all the gra...

As a parent, grandparent, and advocate for public education, I am urging you to support Shannon O’Brien for Superintendent of Schools. Shannon is the only candidate who can bring the change we desperately need to support our teachers, parents, and students. Under Elsie Arntzen’s leadership, Mo...

As hard as I try, in the privacy of my own being, not to get caught up in the scathing absurdities of the moment — e.g., the presidential election, America’ looming fascism, our love of money and war (to name a few) — yikes, here I am, caught up in it all. And all I can do is reach for a...

My grand daughter likes to watch a certain movie - over and over again. In it, the protagonist belts out a message in song: Let it go. There’s lots to be learned from Elsa. We should all be better at simply letting it go. Letting things go. Letting the past go.  Forgive. Forget. Lik...

When my kids were babies, I took lots of photos – always hoping to get the one perfect shot. This was during the prehistoric, pre-digital age, when cameras required film and film required developing. You couldn’t take a million pictures and preview them on your screen. You had to send them away a...

Our search for meaning is nearly as old as time. I’ve been round and round and round again (and again) with widowhood. To say I overthink it is the understatement of understatements. It seems like something this big and this life-changing should have meaning.  Big meaning.  I can&...

In a biblical passage lies a parable of two builders: the wise one who constructs his house on a stony foundation, and the foolish one who builds on a foundation of sand. When the storms come, the house built on rock withstands the floodwaters, while the foolish man’s house is forever swept away. In...

What do a retired businessman, Miss Montana Teen USA, Miss Montana USA, a forester, a fifth-generation Native-American Salish woman, and an MSU sophomore all have in common? We live in Montana, vote, and volunteer with the nonpartisan Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL). We’re focused on solving cli...

In our previous columns, we introduced our organization and explained our constitutionally granted Right to Know, underscoring its importance. This time, we’ll talk about the accessibility of this Right for individuals from Carter County to Kalispell, how “fees” can disrupt the right, and w...