Parker Stripped

Last month I wrote a little bit about how important freedom is to us as a nation and as individuals. It’s critical, fragile and easily lost, as history shows us over and over again. I know a lot of people who choose to live here because of the freedom this area provides and that’s something many of us truly cherish. …

I suppose I ought to save this for July 4th or some other patriotic holiday, but it’s been on my mind a lot lately, so I wanted to share it with you now. As a first for this column I’m going to make this the first of two parts since I have a lot to say on this subject. I’ve …

The other day I heard someone quote from Thomas Paine’s famous pamphlet The Crisis, published on December 23rd, 1776. You know, the one that starts, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” That’s the part we always hear quoted and usually that’s about all we hear from it, other than the line about “summer soldiers.” But it turns out …

Well it’s January which means another year is beginning. Another year? Sheesh – I was just getting used to the last one! I hate to sound so clichéd but where on earth does the time go? I know as you age, your experience of time changes. I’ve experienced that myself and have plenty of testimony from friends to back that …

We are neck deep in the holiday season and for a lot of people the stress is starting to take its toll. Isn’t it ironic (to quote another song) how human beings can somehow take a season designated as joyful, uplifting and meaningful and turn it into a debt-inducing, commercialized, stress-riddled, over-indulgent, month-long marathon? It says a lot about human …

When you stop to think about it, we celebrate a lot of holidays in America. Just like everywhere else I guess. It seems that people have a deep-seated desire to stop and mark important dates or times and significant or meaningful events. As we enter November and December we are entering what most people call “the holiday season.” Not that …

One of the things I like to do to amuse myself is to listen carefully to how people talk. I enjoying hearing new catchphrases come into use and then watch them as they fade away. Some phrases are short-lived, like the long lost “tubular” of the 1980’s, but others seem to take on a life of their own. Occasionally, just …

September marks the beginning of a seasonal change here on the river as we move into Fall. It used to be marked with school starting as well, but today we do that in August. It does begin a cool down, however long and slow it may be. Change is one of those topics that seem to show off our human foibles and a lot of …

One of the things about Parker and the Parker Strip that doesn’t get talked about very often is the romance that goes on around here. By this I do not mean the romance of being under the open sky with the stars shining brightly and the coyotes yip, yip, yipping under a full moon. Instead I’m talking about romance in …

I was thinking the other day about the different ways that we use the term “hot” and related terms as a metaphor. This odd train of thought left the little station in my brain because I had just come in from doing a few things outside and man, was I hot! (In the literal sense of the word, you understand.) …