Opinion

This is my last Funny Papers Again column for the Valley newspapers, so if you have been a fan over the past couple of years then, well, just read slowly, I guess. More on this at the end of this column. Last Wednesday was the...

It is not uncommon that readers will occasionally offer nice comments about Funny Papers Again, and because I’m only good at speaking to people when they are an audience and I’m working from a script written by someone else, I usually find myself tongue...

I’m a brat. There, I said it. I think my mother was the last person who said it to me many years ago and she wasn’t wrong. I have lived and traveled freely all my life. I have cruised back and forth at will...

Some years ago, in a library in Southern California, I gave a book to a young lady in hopes she would find it a compelling story. She replied she had heard of the book but had yet to read it and thanked me for...

When you have been friends for the best part of six decades, you finish each other’s sentences, you have a lifetime of inside jokes, your sisterhood is seamless without any of the baggage one can accumulate with actual sisters. I miss her when I...

In a world where stressors abound and demands seem never-ending, taking care of oneself is not just a luxury but a necessity. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and although we should prioritize every aspect of our health year-round, this is a month to...

This week’s Funny Papers Again column will not appear in this space. Instead, some other nonsense will appear here. The reason for this is because to present an articulate position in a concise manner on the subject chosen I had to do a little...

I am a senior citizen. There is no getting around that, no matter how much I attempt to mitigate the fact. I know this because of what society tells me with progressive programs, private sector directives and legislations starting with age 55 years when...

September is Healthy Aging Month, an ideal time to celebrate the positive aspects of aging and focus on maintaining a healthy lifestyle that allows us to thrive at every age and stage of life. Healthy aging isn’t just about living longer; it's about fully enjoying...

Every fine time is far more enjoyable if first one experiences some minor hardships along the way. As I write I am sitting on a second-floor balcony at the Hotel Lake Maggiori in Locarno, Ticino, Switzerland. It is 10 minutes after four in the...