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Commentary

Having quality of life here at home

When speaking about an optimal "quality of life," different people can have very dissimilar definitions. It usually depends on each person's individual preferences. These days, we often hear people rave about how perfect they think life is in Middle America. They tend to romanticize the ...

Jackson Center notes silver anniversary

NUERNBERG—Stroll into the justice palace in this beautiful city in Mittelfranken, ask to see Courtroom 600, and the nice, polite man at the reception desk will probably decline. “Unfortunately not,” he said, “because it’s a functioning courtroom.” The answer was no surprise, yet ...

All the comforts of home sweet home

Winter won’t officially be here until the 21st of the month. By then most of the Christmas parties will be over and we’ll be deep into present wrapping, food prep, and last-minute stocking stuffers. But with the snow on the ground and that raw westerly wind, I don’t care when the ...

Big Apple’s new ideals rotten to the core

Just because Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump in their Oval Office meeting appeared to bury the hatchet, my opinion of communism/socialism has not changed. I believe that if Mamdani introduces hardline Marxist ideas to the running of New York City that they will fail as they have ...

Strong neighbors grow communities

In Westfield, we are surrounded by quiet beauty — vineyards rolling toward the lake, a Main Street steeped in history, and neighbors who still wave from their porches. Yet beneath this familiar charm, many of us sense something missing. We live near one another, but not always with one ...

Holiday and deer season part of heritage

It is just past Thanksgiving and another deer season is upon us. Many around here will likely spend some time at deer camp that day. In reflecting back, though I have no historical proof of it, I have always thought that the pilgrims likely ate venison along with turkey on that first ...