Local Columnists

My daughter's Christmas concert was a vast improvement over last year's debacle.

Two days from now, we throw away our 2012 calendars and start using new ones.

Tsunami or glacier? The answer is neither. The question is: can our publicly funded health care system survive the pressures it will soon face as boomers begin to retire and draw down on their lifetime of accumulated investment through taxes to pay for publicly-funded, medically necessary health services?

It's a rare individual who hasn't allowed some malady to persist much longer than optimal, all the while muttering, "It'll get better on its own." Giving ourselves the benefit of the doubt the reason for our inactivity may be that we do not want to become hypochondriacs nor add an unnecessary burden to our overtaxed health-care system. The more likely reason, however, is that we are simple victims of the long-practised art of procrastination and believe that doing nothing is typically the best plan of attack. Unfortunately, not much gets better if left on its own. The natural drift is usually toward deterioration rather than renewal.

The Sheriff is always asked for tips when he mentions cross-country skiing. So, he volunteers from time to time to teach newbies the basics of classic technique, and he always gets ski pros to critique the written description of that introduction.

After doing some Christmas and Hanukkah ("holiday" for some sensitive people) shopping, I started reviewing the gifts I bought for family and friends.

On a recent trip to the United States, several experiences of air travel made me think about the absurdities of seemingly clearcut decisions that lead to unanticipated results. Economists call these unintended consequences.

There is a story by ZonaGale called Christmas, first published in 1912, which tells the tale of a town hit by hard times as the season of giving approaches.

There is a not-so-secret side to Christmas we like to pretend no one knows about. It's called fear, and it is everywhere.