Parker Stripped

The way you organize things says a great deal about you. That’s true even if you don’t organize well or even at all since disorganization is, in a sense, a form of organization. I know because I’m the kind of person who likes to organize things by piles. My desk is like that, pile after pile until there’s not enough …

As I write this it’s been less than a week since two very good friends of mine, who live just up the street from me, had their house burn down in the middle of the night. They salvaged one of their vehicles, the wife’s purse, a bathrobe and their two dogs. In short they lost just about everything as did …

Let me start off with a quick apology. I had an idea for a column and thought I could get it done before I left for Myanmar. But, as I often do, I over-estimated how much I could get done in that short span of time. So instead of that column you’re seeing this one which is being written in …

You may have heard the sad news, and if you are 50 or above I’ll bet you knew right away who they were talking about. The Captain and Tennille, now in their 70’s and living near Prescott, are getting divorced. I realize that the reasons for their divorce deal with insurance etc. and are really none of my business. I …

I was called a party pooper when I was younger and for good reason. I really didn’t enjoy most parties. New Years was a great example of that. When I was a little kid I enjoyed it because we got to go up on the roof (yes, without safety helmet, pads or straps to make sure we didn’t fall! Such …

About 4 years ago I was dragged, kicking and screaming I should say, into what we now call ‘social media.’ Social media of course pretty much boils down to Facebook and Twitter and you can find me on both. “It’s a great way to keep up with everyone,” they said as they dragged me down. At that time I could …

I don’t know who the first person was to compare the passing phases of life to the changing of the season, but I’m sure he or she lived very early in human history. Perhaps one of the earliest was Solomon who wrote these famous lines, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” (Eccl. …

Everyone goes through times in their lives when things just don’t seem to work right at all. The situation goes from bad to worse and you can end up feeling pretty low. I wonder if that could be true of seasons and months as well? The other day I was wondering about how it would feel to be October and …

I had it all planned out I tell you, and it was a thing of beauty. I knew exactly what I was going to do in August and what I was going to write for this column as well. But then a little something came up that I hadn’t planned and knocked all my plans into a cocked hat. That …

It’s another sizzling hot July here in Parker and we are at the height of our summer tourism season. Thousands of people flock to our little chunk of red hot paradise to enjoy the river and see how many safety regulations they can violate without getting caught. Meanwhile we locals have adapted to the heat with our settled habits of …