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How to weather spring storms

By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp Creators Syndicate Spring storm season is here, and storms are definitely wreaking havoc. Last month my son’s school was canceled due to severe weather. Though I’m accustomed to snow days, it was the first time I’ve ever experienced a “storm day.” Storms are not only worrisome because of the damage they cause, but also because many city sewer systems are not capable of handling the excess water. About 40 million people in 32 states live in cities that have what’s called combined sewer systems, meaning they collect rainwater runoff, domestic ...

Do you have a goal for ’23? Go for it!

When I was younger, I was always active. As I grew older, I continued to be busy, but did fewer aerobic type sports or activities. I walked a fair amount in the summer and would play sports with my husband and son. In the winter, I would walk on the treadmill some, but at that point, our treadmill was in the basement and, sometimes the thought of the cold basement was enough to keep me from walking regularly. Unbeknownst to me, I have a heart condition where the main valve blocks very easily. My numbers, the ones that cardiologists monitor, were in a good range. I had some symptoms, ...

The left never wages ‘culture wars’?

Everyone who normally or occasionally votes Republican knows that any candidate the GOP chooses as the 2024 nominee for president is going to be treated by the media as either an extremist or as beholden to extremists. No one has to wait for this to happen to potential candidate Ron DeSantis. We’ve already witnessed our “objective” press malign him for backing what the Left calls the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prohibited lessons in gender fluidity or sexual orientation from kindergarten to third grade. The press has greeted this as “controversial,” but if public ...

Thinking of others this Easter season

When thinking of sweet Easter traditions that have been enjoyed and passed down from generation to generation, my first thought is of chocolate. There are chocolate bunnies, chocolate crosses, chocolate eggs filled with peanut butter or coconut, and a myriad of other shapes from dinosaurs to ballerinas. All bringing smiles and joy to those on the receiving end of these confections. Heartbreakingly, chocolate has been in the news a lot over the last week, and not because Easter is quickly approaching, but because of the terrible, deadly explosion which occurred at the R.M. Palmer ...

Baseball season is a cherished companion

As winter retreats and the first blooms of spring emerge, a familiar sound resonates in the air - the crack of the bat, the cheer of the crowd, and the thud of the ball landing in a mitt. Baseball season has arrived, and there’s no better way to celebrate the rejuvenation of spring than by taking your scorebook out on a beautiful day, basking under the blue skies and sunshine, and immersing yourself in the youthful energy of a baseball game. There’s a certain poetry in the fact that baseball season begins during spring. Much like the world around us is being reborn and renewed, ...

Republicans are defunding the US, not China

House conservatives have devised a “new and improved” threat to the world economy if their demands are not met. Once again, they vow to vote against raising the cap on U.S. debt if desired cuts in government spending are not made. Once again, they insist their plan would not crash the world financial markets, because it would guarantee payments to holders of U.S. debt. Only Americans expecting to be provided certain government goods and services would get stiffed. (That the U.S. debt is tantamount to a balance already on the national credit card does not seem to have gotten ...