THE TEXT FROM my mom saying she had just come home as the ambulance was leaving with my dad marked the beginning of nearly two… Continue reading
TRINITY HANNING, 16, told me her stagecraft teacher said “she is possessed by a demon again,” because of wearing her deep red-colored contacts to school.… Continue reading
WHEN SOMEBODY SAYS “the best laid plans” and leaves the words to hang in the air like smoke, they are generally not describing a successful… Continue reading
LOOKING DOWN AT the ladder of the avalanche chute, it appeared the wood rungs hadn’t been maintained since I last faced this obstacle eight years… Continue reading
LAST WEEK I found myself at the bottom of a grave I was finishing up. It’s the third hole of this size I have dug… Continue reading
JAY BAKER OF Sarge’s Place joked, “The military issued me two dog tags, one said B positive and the other said B negative.” He was… Continue reading
SITTING ON THE bank of the Sol Duc River, Stan Fouts said, “I love my national park but I could drown the administration in the… Continue reading
AT 6 P.M., THE Forks Timber Museum, 1421 Forks Ave., began pouring wine for the ladies of the Foxy Fedoras of Forks, one of two… Continue reading
“I SOLD MY house, packed and took my children,” Maria-Elena Perez told me of her border crossing from Mexico in 2004. Perez told about leaving… Continue reading
“BLESSED ARE THE flexible for they will not be bent out of shape,” read a sign in my former employer’s staff room. The longer I… Continue reading
SARAH DECKER TOOK command of the microphone Sunday afternoon at the Quillayute Valley Scholarship Auction in the Forks High School Commons. Earlier in the weekend,… Continue reading
KEN CHOSE NOT to give me his last name. Ken qualifies as homeless, according to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Most could call him a… Continue reading
JUST OVER A week ago, I was sitting with some friends and we were looking over our group of kids. They are all teens and… Continue reading
WHEN THE WINDS on the West End violently abuse the forest, trees fall. It’s natural and generally no big deal. However, when trees fall across… Continue reading
THE POWER GOING out was fairly predictable, given the stormy weather Saturday night and early Sunday morning. Even still, there isn’t a whole lot my… Continue reading
THIS YEAR, I thought about joining the Polar Bear Plunge at Lake Pleasant in Beaver on New Year’s Day. Personally, I like to cannonball if… Continue reading
THE MUSIC WAS too loud, though I’d never admit it was because then some smarty pants would say then I’m too old. However, the piano… Continue reading
TO LIVE ON the West End, one has to come to grips with the rain. According to the U.S. climate data website, Forks has an… Continue reading
ALL MY FEARFUL thoughts instantly flew away as soon as I heard the unique rattle of the tags on Brown Dawg’s collar coming closer. Instead,… Continue reading
FISHING IS NOT just child’s play out here on the West End. It means serious business for lots of people and food for families. The… Continue reading
