~a column by Colleen O’Brien A quarter of a century ago, I wrote the following column: “Politicians could address issues” June 19, 1996 Among all the other indecencies in our lives, it’s an election year. We would welcome it, though, if politicians spoke to the issues and not the emotions. It started with the bombastic Buchanan, that scary guy who…
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Tis the season to be crabby
~a column by Colleen O’Brien I have three friends who dislike Christmas in all ways: the music that starts before Thanksgiving; the over-shopping for presents that people don’t want or need; the blow-up plastic Holy Family scene in front yards; the Christmas cards with only a signature, no note; the tasteless cookies from the neighbors; the pleading for money outside…
Read MoreEnding food insecurity is possible – Patti Naylor
No one, not one single human being, should be hungry in this country, this state, or this county. Yet, as we have heard many times in recent years, food pantries are serving more and more people who are in situations of food insecurity, defined as lacking access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their needs for an active and…
Read MoreThe trouble with making books, writing columns, plotting novels…
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Lines upon lines upon rows upon – They pile up in the corners on the steps in the bathroom by my bed Hanging around hoping someone will need them Lines upon lines upon rows upon “Of the making of books there is no end.” Ecclesiastics 12:12 There are three manuscripts under my desk, bored with…
Read MoreDreams of a civilized species
~a column by Colleen O’Brien In March of 1986, I wrote a column about friends and strangers helping one another after two weeks of monster snowfall – more than 17 feet fell at Lake Tahoe in Nevada, where we lived. According to newspapers, “Several families were evacuated in front of an advancing onslaught of high winds, heavy snow and…
Read MoreFrom wordless to uber brained back to self-destruction in a mere 20 to 30 thousand years
~a column by Colleen O’Brien I do not believe that the scourge of AIDS was a god-sent punishment for being a homosexual. It was a disease that started on a different continent, came to North America as well as the rest of the world and at first affected only gay people, as far as we were informed. Those in charge,…
Read MoreGreene County Community Foundation invites you
The Greene County Community Foundation (GCCF) was established in January 2005 to serve and enhance the quality of life in Greene County. For the past 17 years a few individuals on the board have printed, stuffed, handwritten, or labeled 500 plus donation letters each year. The letters have invited our fellow Greene County community members to join the GCCF in…
Read MoreThe gift of health and honoring loved ones on Giving Tuesday
The ripples of an annual tradition are felt from the largest cities to the smallest communities and in non-profit organizations around the world. The global generosity movement, Giving Tuesday is Nov. 29, and for Greene County and beyond, it is a reminder that we all have something to give. “Giving Tuesday illuminates for all of us the fact that every…
Read MoreLetter – M. Weaver re Reynolds walking away from federal funding for child care
Dear Editor Riley, The newly opened Children’s Center for Greene County and the children of Jefferson will facilitate up to 94 children and was planned and designed to meet the educational and safety needs of the next generation. Thanks to the various individuals and organizations, the board of supervisors, Grow Greene County, the Iowa Economic Development, and the Iowa Department…
Read MoreA eulogy, a love note
~a column by Colleen O’Brien They’re going to cut down my favorite tree. “They” means “Authority.” This particular Authority is why I question authority: authority tries to do good, but they’re just not good at it. They get a little power, or a lot, and if they say something will be, or will not be, it’s carved in stone. Once…
Read MoreWho are the slackers?
~ a column by Colleen O’Brien I hope you all voted. We were reminded so many times to do so in the last month I feared any anti-authoritarian would just shut down and go fishing. There’s a condescension in repeating directives, and people get this; we aren’t all dumb deplorables. An occasional reminder of the county treasurer who lost by…
Read MorePrivate histories
~by Colleen O’Brien Reading diaries and journals is a soothing prescription after the hurricane has passed and the clean-up is as done as it can get as I wait for the insurance company. [Rocking back and forth, readingreadingreading, becoming draped in cobwebs.] A good diary tells it all – the loves and the hates and the perfect weather and the…
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