Spirit and Conscience Love for the Earth

Love for the Earth BY ELAINE KLAASSEN Since all the great romantic loves of my life are now either married, dead, or sainted hermits, I decided on Valentine’s Day that my last great love affair will be with the Earth. As my good luck would have it, there was a…

Continue reading

The secret language of lovers

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE How did clandestine lovers communicate in the days before email, cell phones and Skype? Well, not surprisingly, it wasn’t easy. And just like today, when even encryption will fail if you don’t use it right, sometimes things didn’t work out so well. Take Romeo and Juliet,…

Continue reading

Beaten dog inspires kindness

BY ELAINE KLAASSEN A friend’s beaten dog inspired the kindness of Southside Pride’s IT support person. Celia Wirth and her husband, Ron Wirth, are friends with a senior citizen, Gemma Barry,  who lives a few blocks from the restaurant/bar where Ron is a brewer, Roma in Mahtomedi (50 beers on…

Continue reading

St. Peter’s AME cares about your heart

BY AUTUMN CHMIELEWSKI, MHA, MA The month of February often brings to mind oversized chocolate boxes and construction paper cards. But Valentine’s hearts aren’t the only ones taking center stage this month. February is also American Heart Month. The designation was first made by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the…

Continue reading

Carol Becker thinks it stinks!

From the Longfellow Forum: There is no question that there was a public relations contract for the 2040 Plan with the former head of the Republican Party, and that Heather Worthington, the director of Long Range Planning for the City, lied to hide it. The documents are clear. I went…

Continue reading

ELDERBERRY JAM: MayDay

BY DAVID TILSEN We had another wonderful MayDay parade, ceremony and festival last spring. The creativity of the puppeteers, sculptors, playwrights, performers and other workers continues to be first rate, and our community supports and benefits from this joyful annual celebration. In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask…

Continue reading

Kong

BY TONY BOUZA The name certainly conjures a shudder of emotion—cum—eroticism. As a cop in New York, I observed the information that the local distillate—illegal and popular—was, of course, called Kong. Potent. That it killed or blinded many of its imbibers did not appear to be a deal breaker. Hooch…

Continue reading

LA teachers and us

BY ED FELIEN What does the Los Angeles teachers’ strike have to do with Minneapolis? Well, actually, quite a bit. Some part of the strike was about wages. They got a little bit of the raise they asked for four years ago. They got smaller class sizes and school nurses.…

Continue reading