One of the things I do in the fall is volunteer as a coach for cross country runners at Ballard High School. I usually end up coaching the kids at the end of the pack. That’s how it should be. Because with cross country, it’s not just about the fastest runners, it is also about…

I always think of September as the actual beginning of the year.  School starts, summer vacation is over, and we are all back to work.  As I help out with coaching duties for cross country at Ballard High School, I can feel the enthusiasm that rolls over the athletic field filled with girls playing soccer…

I start fretting in August about paying the second half of my property taxes in October. I worry that I will forget to pay (as I have done), and get penalized (as I have been). So I decided to pay early and not worry about it. And, as you know, it can be a big…

Was there an election last week? Well, yes there was, but most people seemed to be more interested in the Blue Angels than participating in our seasonal exercise in democracy. It’s pretty easy to vote at your own kitchen table, filing in the little ovals with your choices while sipping a cup of coffee, and…

This week the Social Security Trustees reported that our FICA contributions plus interest, net of all benefits paid out, have increased the Social Security Trust Fund by $32 billion. The trustees also forecast that Social Security benefits are completely sustainable for the next two decades. The media hasn’t played these reports up much, perhaps because…

If you are awake at 4 a.m. these days, you will notice the sky is already getting a little light. As you go to sleep at 11 p.m. you can still make out some light in the night sky. We are at the beginning of our summer in the Northwest, and it is a great…

One hundred fifty one years ago today the pivotal battle of the Civil War was fought, as Union soldiers succeeded in holding off Confederate charges on Little Round Top at Gettysburg. If the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment had been overrun by southern troops, the Confederacy may very likely have prevailed in the Civil War,…

I was thirsty this morning, so I went to the sink, turned on the tap, filled a glass, and drank some water. We do this every day. We don’t worry about the quality of the water, the pipes that bring it into our homes, the reservoir where water is collected and stored, the water treatment…

Boeing is at it again, eating its own in Puget Sound. The company will be laying off engineers in Washington and building a new model with dispersed “centers of excellence” around the country and the world, which is corporate-speak for hiring workers at lower salaries, no union protection, and less understanding of the intricacies of…

I just returned from a trip to Finland to visit old friends. I brought home a bill from a hospital. You may wonder how these two things connect. The bill from the hospital was for a friend of mine. She needed a new hip. So for five days in the hospital, the surgery, the surgeon’s…