News you can use
News you can use
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One day Bonnie said to me, “Sondra, you are a turtle. When in a group, you tuck your head inside your shell, listen and watch.” Ever since then, I cannot look in the mirror without seeing my turtle. In a moment of turtle introspection, I realized a turning point has changed the direction of my life. I generally don’t see my turning points until I can look backward. Some positive, others not so much. In my freshman English 101 class at what was then the College of Great Falls...
I was looking at my hair in the mirror. “I think I might need a touch-up,” I noted to my husband, Peter. “Hmmm,” Peter replied, without looking up. (Which means, “If you think so honey. I honestly believe you might be able to hold off a week!” I can always count on Peter for a thoughtful response.) “Maybe I should get it done in time for Valentine’s Day.” This time Peter did look up, with just a trace of alarm. “You know, so I’ll be ready for our Big Night Out!” I smiled...
My name is Elizabeth Marum and I serve on the board for Big Sky 55+. We are a nonprofit social welfare organization that seeks to provide a voice for Montanans 55 and older. Today, I hope to draw support for Medicaid despite rumors looming of President Donald Trump and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., working to cut funding for the program. President Trump’s 2021 budget blueprint reprises the same harmful proposals we’ve seen in previous budgets, doubling down on policies that cut health care and services for the people who nee...
It is 2020, a leap year; happy birthday to those with birthdays on Feb. 29th. And, if you have been hiding somewhere without communications, it is also an election year. Everyone running wants endorsements and much needed contributions. I remember this phase of elections, having run for office four times in the last 20 years. There are candidates I respect and support, as I am sure most of you do, too. The question is, how invested and involved do we want to be, which is personal. As I look around and visit with folks, I see...
We address this letter to all people of faith and of good will in our state of Montana. We are at a crucial time in our nation’s history, as well as that of our state, where racial, political and religious divisions have regrettably deepened. People on all sides have spent so much time fanning the flames of division that the higher callings of our religious traditions have been neglected. While we cannot speak for everyone from the various contexts of our siblings in faith, we also cannot remain silent. So we call out to y...
When I was a wee small human, among my prized family possessions were an impressive 6-inch thick Webster’s dictionary and the full, multi-volume faux-leather bound Encyclopedia Britannica. One day, after a second-grade class lesson on home safety, I pulled all these books out and stacked them into manageable piles, so that I could determine how many trips it would take me to save all that information from a fire. Six. It would’ve taken six trips. Still, rescuing those boo...
It was the moonless night that became a radiant source of light for a new generation. The Fifth Crusade brought the epic clash of civilizations to a climactic intensity. Giant Christian and Muslim armies had been facing each other in the Egyptian desert for over two months of sporadic but bloody fighting. Sept.1, 1219, outside of Damietta, Francis of Assisi with just one companion and with unimaginable courage, crossed the dark No Man’s Land at the center of the front line. The two men were immediately captured as they e...
I could have said “outright lies” but I have no blessed idea how I am going to fill this page so “guesses” seemed the more appropriate word. Most weeks I know exactly what I want to say. It never comes out the way I think it will, but I have a definite idea to start. “I can’t wait to talk about that.” Or, “I want to tell them this little story.” This has been a strangely blank week. Maybe it is the gray skies, make me feel like I followed my son Ben home to Poulsbo, Washingt...
Last week, I started doing something I’ve never done before. I started writing fiction. I realize this does not sound shocking since I’m writing every week. My husband, Peter, says I write fiction all the time — every time I write about him. But the truth is, I have not written a word of fiction since I was in the second grade and wrote, “The 500-Pound Mouse.” I can’t take credit for either the title or the protagonist, as they were assigned by my teacher, but I have to tak...
Dear editor, During the 2019 Legislature, Gov. Steve Bullock, legislators and Montanans across the Treasure State worked tirelessly to keep history alive in a variety of ways. Senate Bill 338, also known as the Montana Museums Act, is best known for providing a portion of the funds to build the new Montana Heritage Center. But the legislation also creates an ongoing historic preservation grant program for counties, incorporated cities or towns, tribal governments, associations and incorporated non-profit groups. Feb. 28 is...
I don’t mean to sound paranoid, but the United Nations has set out to ruin my entire year, and they’re pretending that they’re doing it for my well-being. Their website says that the United Nations General Assembly declared 2020 to be the International Year of Plant Health. I’m not making this up. They are. They said they’re doing this “to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment and boost economic de...
My first husband was quite the — uh — storyteller. Some of you knew Harvey and can verify my statement. Some of his stories even had elements of truth. Others were pure fabrication, even when they sounded verifiable. I was 18 when we married. A naïve 18. This was back in the day when the farthest most people ventured from home was the county seat for official business. Worldly, I was not. I was well-read. However, the majority of books available to me in our little libr...
My sister learned to whistle at age 2. She was precocious in other ways as well. She knew how to read by the time she started kindergarten. She demonstrated a physical dexterity I never did. She was much more talented at the piano. But it was the whistling that really got to me. I was 6 when she started to whistle and I remember it clearly. She sat in her highchair at my grandparents’ house and started whistling her heart out. She could see, even at 2, that she was creating qu...
My husband, John, and I do not have a stereotypical marriage. I hate to brag, but we are so much odder than that. A friend sent me a message a few weeks ago to say that she would try to let me know when her husband was coming to my house to pick up something — “Hopefully he lets me know what he’s thinking ... LOL!” she wrote. I replied with the obligatory laughing emojis, as if I totally understood where she was coming from. Chick solidarity and all. But, really, I wanted...
It could have exploded. Ben woke up and automatically reached for his phone. The auto reach; it is a generational thing. The phone was so hot it burned his hand. He jerked the plug from the phone and from the power strip. The power cord connection to the phone had melted into the phone. The cord itself was fried. He said, “I’ve never heard of this kind of problem.” Oh, man; Oh, crickets; Have to buy a new phone. Ben, of course, has one of those phones with which he does every...
Editor, Sen. Steve Daines seeks to create better public banking. Postal Banking would help Montanans gain better access to banking services. Federal law requires one post office per zip code, but this isn’t the same expectation for banks. U.S. Postal Service can already complete banking services like check cashing and money orders; this bill would allow them to offer bank accounts and even offer short-term, small dollar loans. Rep. Greg Gianforte wants to stop robocalls by requiring telecommunications companies to ...
This year, Montanans can elect a proven leader — someone with executive experience, a background of creating high-paying jobs and conservative values. This is exactly what Montana needs in our next governor, and that’s why I support Greg Gianforte for governor. A successful entrepreneur and businessman, Greg and his wife, Susan, started RightNow Technologies in a spare bedroom of their home in Bozeman. Not only did he create hundreds of high-paying jobs here in Montana, but he also helped kick-start our state’s rapidly growi...
I spent the weekend in New York City. I hadn’t been to New York in quite a while. I was performing at a theater conference and so was traveling alone, without my husband, Peter. New York intimidates me — as all big cities do. I am not a nervous traveler, generally, but I keep my possessions close at hand and my eyes open — which is why I noticed the young man in the black athletic shirt on the subway. I was taking the subway for the first time in a long time and, so far,...
Montana’s Sen. Steve Daines has introduced the Montana Water Rights Protection Act — MWRPA — to provide federal settlement of the water rights claims of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes — CSKT. Without this legislation, Montana will face years of expensive litigation and uncertainty in trying to resolve these claims, and will assuredly reach a worse conclusion. This is due to the undeniable fact that in water law, a settlement allows you to structure protection for junior water rights in a way that a trial does not...
The other day my son Ben, here in Etzatlan to help me in recovery, showed me a video he and his daughter Lexi had enjoyed. The animated video by a German scientist with an unpronouncable name demonstrated characteristics and world migration of Argentine Ants. “Arrgh!,” I shouted. “I know those ants. Intimately. I’ve eaten some. Inadvertently. They are a kitchen plague. All of us here battle them continuously. Now I can name them. Imagine that.” Argentine Ants. These buggers a...
There is something to be said for consistency, and there is also something to be said for change. A great quote from Rear Adm. Grace Hopper is “The most dangerous phrase in the language is ‘We’ve always done it this way.” During my past career, in product design, companies used the phrase “evolve or die.” Change is important, and yet there is something to be said for consistency. Some would call it reliability. For instance, it’s nice to know that the newspaper will be delivered to your house the same time every day or...
I made bread pudding yesterday — I know it’s not the rocket-science of baking and it’s not fancy, but I wanted to treat myself to one of my favorite foods. It was made extra-special because I used real-vanilla extract, and the bread pudding smelled divine. And when I say divine, I mean irresistible. While it was cooling on the counter I would actually pause in whatever I was doing, close my eyes, tilt my nose to the air a bit and inhale deeply, letting my breath out with...
Surgery successful — Hooray! Hooray! I have a repaired hip. My legs are both the same length again. I promise not to show you the scars. The news on the other end of that spectrum is that I will be immobilized for two weeks. My expectation, courtesy of previous experience, was that I would be up and walking the day following surgery. Shattered expectations had my emotions running wildly about unclothed and unfiltered for a couple days. And what is this strange motormouth r...
Next week, members of the Montana Legislature will head back to Helena to participate in “Legislative Week.” This is an opportunity for our state lawmakers to continue to engage each other and the broader public in important policy topics on the minds of many Montanans. Just three short years ago, Montana faced massive cuts to the state budget, which decimated services across the state. As a result of the budget reductions, many communities lost access to behavioral health services, workforce training offices, and public ass...
“What do you think?” my husband, Peter, asked about the link he’d sent me as we prepared to head home from the holidays. “The funeral home?” I asked. “Yeah, that one.” “I thought it was a joke.” “No, it’s right on our way.” “We’re going to spend the night in a funeral home?” “It’s very inexpensive!” I suddenly felt like I was in the opening scene of every horror film I’d ever watched. Peter wanted us to spend the night in a historic funeral home on our way home. The funeral ho...
