Opinion

Sometimes people ask me how I stay ahead of the news. Well, I have many trusted sources, but I’ve been reading one publication in particular for longer than all the others. The periodical both informs and entertains. Its prose is simple and clear, but not without style. Their news stories cut to the chase. There is a focus on the natural world. And their puzzles keep me razor sharp. That’s why I still read Highlights magazine.

Ripped from the Headlines! Excerpts from the front pages of the Lake County News Chronicle from 1922, 1947, and 1972. Submitted by the Lake County Historical Society.

Radical Love. Many of us have grown up hearing a version of these words, “Just be good and keep the Ten Commandments and everything will be alright.” The trouble is, that is an impossible task. If we could do that, we would not need a Savior and Jesus’ death on the cross becomes an unnecessary cruelty.

March- out like a lion or a lamb we never can tell, can we? Either way we are inching our way to Spring! Snowmobilers are frequenting the pumps and motoring around getting their last few trips in on the trails. Syrupers are out checking taps, tapping taps, maybe boiling sap, or whatever they do to make the sugary goodness that ends up on our pancakes.

Recent snowshoe hikes on the Wolf Ridge ELC trails have revealed the movement of a very interesting species that has been scarce in our snowpack for almost two years. Staff and resident naturalists have reported tracks anywhere from seven to ten inches in length and three to four inches in width, noting several unique patterns among them. Resident wildlife trackers were baffled with the lack of movement on their infrared trail cameras, yet the quantity of tracks on the trail to Wolf Lake and Skyview Ropes Course started to tell the story.

I’m often asked about my work as a preschool teacher. I hear things like, “I don’t know how you do it,” and “You must require a lot of wine.” First, wine is out of the question on school nights because one has to be in tiptop shape to make it as a teacher! To be honest, managing a group of preschoolers is not as stressful as it sounds.

I have concerns that we’re teaching our children that it’s okie-dokie to lie, fabricate, deceive, misinform or otherwise make stuff up in order to achieve our goals. It’s okay to do that in America apparently because of a little clause in the Constitution that guarantees Congress shall make no law “abridging the freedom of speech…”

Having just returned from a family vacation to Puerto Rico, I will verify that travel is 1. expensive 2. eye-opening 3. carbon intensive 4. fun, and 5. uncomfortable. Why, where, and how we travel seems to be how heavily we weigh each factor. In our family, travel is highly valued for its eye-opening and fun qualities. In fact, we traveled for two different years, living aboard our sailboat. It was a way to see other places that was relatively cheap and eye-opening, and destroyed fewer resources than living on land. Sometimes it was great fun–blowing conch shells from the deck on a sunset evening, hosting potlucks with families from all over the world in our cockpit, leaning over the bow to watch the dolphins playfully dive. Other times, it was distinctly un-fun and uncomfortable–vomiting on a hot night on the Atlantic Ocean, saying good-bye to dear friends as our paths diverged, sitting for weeks in humid Florida lagoons surrounded by condominiums. The upshot is that now we live on land, make a livelihood with our sailboat on Lake Superior, and vacation by train, car, and land. Heading to Puerto Rico was an opportunity to learn how Puerto Ricans are faring in today’s world.