A New Year’s resolution that matters
If your New Year’s resolutions are like mine, most will have a “shelf life” shorter than holiday eggnog — turning sour and forgotten within...
Bad jokes on the family page
My Uncle Andy recently turned 90, and it was hard to imagine what a guy would like for his 90th birthday.At 90, getting a...
Putting Christmas magic to the test
Our 7-year-old daughter still believes in the magic and mystery of Christmas.Our 2-year-old dog doesn’t.That’s how I ended up on the phone with our...
Home for Christmas’ has many meanings
The sun was beginning to set as the big red, white and blue tour bus pulled into the Salem Civic Center on Oct. 26,...
Indeed, it’s a wonderful life
Santa is not the only one who makes a list and checks it twice.Around the Riley household, we have developed a long list of...
Hillsboro: Leaning into the future
About this time of year in the world of Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge was surveying his past, present and with any luck, his future....
Bright things that fill our lives
I walk around my neighborhood later in the evening these days, mostly so I can see the lights.There are some impressive houses just a...
Seeing a Santa who looks like you
Darnell Collins doesn’t remember ever seeing a Santa Claus that looked like him when he was growing up.That just didn’t seem right to Collins,...
Smiling because of Tug
Like a lot of you, I have tried certain careers that just didn’t work out. As a young boy my dream was to be...