Opinion / Moment's Notice
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The roller coaster of social 'mores' | Moment's Notice
Who likes a roller coaster as much as I do? Strapped in tightly by a three-point restraint to a plastic seat, looking about anxiously from several stories high, anticipating (and... — Updated 1/14/2021
The problem with Christmas music | Moment's Notice
“A very merry Christmas And a happy New Year Let's hope it's a good one Without any fear And so this is Christmas And what have we done? Another year over And a new one just... — Updated 12/24/2020
A force of nature | Moment's Notice
Humans love a good hero. Admiration for others is in the place in our brain where fear and pain live – we have a visceral need to see the traits we admire in others because it mak... — Updated 12/10/2020
A change in political climate? | Moment's Notice
"We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools." – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. When we talk about the climate these days, it is the political... — Updated 11/24/2020
An ode (of sorts) to the First | Moment's Notice
Ode: A lyric poem usually marked by exaltation of feeling and style, varying length of line, and complexity of stanza forms; something that shows respect for or celebrates the... — Updated 11/12/2020
Uh-oh: Mercury is in retrograde | Moment's Notice
“Mercury is going to be in retrograde until the election,” said a friend the other day. “I don’t really know what that means other than things are going to be really messed... — Updated 10/14/2020
COVID-19: A stress test | Moment's Notice
It would have been just like any other day in a pandemic, but last week we added the peculiarity of waiting for results from a COVID-19 test. We knew of no exposure. We stay home... — Updated 9/17/2020
Not an either-or situation | Moment's Notice
Liberty – noun – the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or views. Our last president, Barack... — Updated 6/18/2020
What is it like owning a restaurant today? | Moment's Notice
This week, the Beacon asked me to write this Arts & Appetite column from my perspective as a restaurant owner. Since my personal feelings are entwined with any attempt at a... — Updated 5/21/2020 Full story
Burn, rave, rage: Understanding the feelings | Moment's Notice
“Rage on. It’s A-OK,” said my friend/sage to me this morning, as I apologized for some strong reactions to this new normal. March, April, May, all with days under a stay-at-ho... — Updated 5/7/2020 Full story
It's not you or me. It's you and me | Moment's Notice
It's not you, it's me. That flippant phrase, "It's not you, it's me," typically applies to those painful one-sided breakups, where one person wants to end the relationship and the o... — Updated 4/20/2020
The COVID pit in my stomach | Moment's Notice
There is a pit in my stomach. A pit of nervousness and worry and sadness that I wake up with every morning and carry around with me. I have felt this pit before, when my brother... — Updated 3/26/2020
Paranoid or just sane? | Moment's Notice
My mom called today quite excited because a friend had taken her three mini-hand sanitizers on carabiners. She had recently been to the drug store and several other stores to find s... — Updated 3/12/2020
If you can keep it (#whatBensaid) | Moment's Notice
The Washington state presidential primary ballots arrived in the mail this past week, giving us the opportunity to vote to determine who will be on the top of the tickets in Novembe... — Updated 2/27/2020
Who do you know? | Moment's Notice
Yesterday, my mom forwarded an email from a good friend of my dad’s saying, “This brought back memories.” The message recalled a visit here that included a three-hour drive... — Updated 2/13/2020
Going backwards with country music | Moment's Notice
Have you heard the old joke about country music? Q: What do you get when you play a country song backwards? A: You get your house back, you get your dog back, your wife back, your... — Updated 1/30/2020
'The world is not going to end' | Moment's Notice
As I prepared to write my first Moment’s Notice column for 2020, a new decade, I thought I would ask my beloved 12-year-old goddaughter what I should write about. Olivia is a writ... — Updated 1/16/2020
2020: Unending expectation | Moment's Notice
“One man’s toxic sludge is another man’s potpourri.” — The Grinch What a year! We have not yet celebrated the holidays, and talk has already turned to 2020. Perhaps... — Updated 12/19/2019
The gorgeous irony of optimism | Moment's Notice
“I am so far from being a pessimist … on the contrary, in spite of my scars, I am tickled to death at life”—Eugene O’Neill Ah, thankfulness. Most of us likely spent the Th... — Updated 12/5/2019
A moment to notice | Moment's Notice
Moment n. A moment is a particular point in time, a moment you remember forever. A moment is a short, but unspecified, amount of time. Moment also means "importance." When I first s... — Updated 11/21/2019
Hope against (no) hope | Moment's Notice
Hope (noun). Grounds for believing that something good may happen. A feeling of desire for a certain thing to happen. Last week, my husband and I were having one of those wide-rangi... — Updated 11/7/2019
Saying goodbye | Moment's Notice
On a sunny August morning a few decades ago, my brother and I stood in front of several friends as we prepared to get into the family station wagon and drive to our new home more... — Updated 10/24/2019
Lessons from writers in Edmonds | Moment's Notice
Professional or academic conferences – they bring to mind-sprawling convention centers, lanyards and nametags, buffet meals, and uncomfortable conference chairs. Over the years,... — Updated 10/10/2019
A town and its dogs | Moment's Notice
The phrase "a boy and his dog" has been adapted and expanded in a number of ways over the decades. In all its forms, though, such a simple phrase embodies so much. It indicates the... — Updated 9/27/2019
Breakfast … in an ordinary world | Moment's Notice
Breakfast, especially Sunday breakfast, is the highlight of my week. My dad and I used to talk about how lucky we were because when we went to bed at night, we knew we would start t... — Updated 9/26/2019