Edmonds Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

My former colleagues at the University of Washington, where I worked for almost 25 years, had a nickname for me. They called me the Mad Hatter. Not because I was mad, I hope, but... — Updated 3/23/2023

A long, long time ago, watching television didn't cost anything. Although there wasn't a whole lot to watch then. Every night at 11 p.m. the stations played the national anthem to s... — Updated 3/9/2023

My mind works in very strange ways. To say it "works" might be an overstatement. When contemplating what to write about this week, for some odd reason I thought of Dick's... — Updated 3/2/2023

A lot of people find things they don't like about Amazon and Jeff Bezos, but I think the good about the company far outweighs the bad. As an Amazon Prime member, along with an... — Updated 2/9/2023

Is it possible to write your way out of the doldrums? Like most actions, it depends on your thinking and attitude. I know that actions really do speak louder than words. Still, I... — Updated 1/19/2023

Quiet time is such a blessing. Like a snow day for your mind. When it’s quiet, you can think. And the possibilities are infinite. I’ll bet most of the great inventors first came... — Updated 1/12/2023

What's wrong with fruitcake, I'd like to know? Why do people look at me the way they do, as if I'm, well, nutty as a fruitcake, whenever I say I like it? Fruitcake should be eaten,... — Updated 12/28/2022

I can't help myself. Each holiday season I just have to write at least one poem or essay expressing my feelings on a timely topic such as Christmas excesses, mall mania, or the... — Updated 12/8/2022

A lot of people play “Words with Friends.” To me, words are friends. Especially words that sound nice when you hear them, or have especially important meanings. The word... — Updated 12/1/2022

I’m getting kind of tired of being told whatever I like to eat is bad for me. I could be wrong of course, but I believe stress is much more likely than sugar to do me in. While I... — Updated 11/10/2022

Who doesn’t have opinions? Just ask anyone in your family or circle of friends. That’s why reviews and comments about places to eat, movies to see, and books to read are among t... — Updated 11/3/2022

Edmonds, about a dozen miles north of Seattle on Puget Sound, is about as good a place as it gets. At least travel guru Rick Steves of PBS fame thinks so. When Rick’s not travelin... — Updated 10/27/2022

I have this flaw. I tend to talk too much and, worse yet, sometimes interrupt others. How rude! In fact, I even interrupt myself. Not so rude. It doesn't make it OK, but I know why... — Updated 10/13/2022

Bad vision teaches you to have patience. Things I never thought twice about before my vision went south a few years ago now take at least twice as long to do. Like simple cooking... — Updated 9/14/2022

“The middle of the road is all of the usable surface. The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower I don’t know who said we Americans are the... — Updated 9/8/2022

I happen to like a good challenge, and now I've got one. My left eye is pretty useless, and my so-called good right one seems to be dimming. My double whammy is myopic degeneration... — Updated 8/18/2022