By Sarah Ostergaard I have been skeptical of educational acceleration for a very long time. In fourth grade, I remember my teacher telling us that her job was to prepare us for fifth grade. At my elementary school back then, fourth graders had 15 minutes of morning recess, 30 minutesContinue Reading
Crossing over Clear Creek. Photo by Katie Shugg By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net 8-22-2026 — a day for numbers, a day to visit the Old West. From Denver’s mile-high air we took I-70 45 miles west to an elevation of 8,772 feet to board an 1884 steam train. WeContinue Reading
From a conservation perspective, energy density merits greater attention within environmental policy analysis By Thomas S. Mullikin Conservation policy has traditionally framed economic development and environmental protection as competing objectives, particularly in rural regions where economic distress often coincides with ecologically valuable landscapes. S.C. provides a useful case study forContinue Reading
Photo: Army Chaplain (Capt.) Emil Kapaun (right) and Army Capt. Jerome A. Dolan, 1st Cavalry Division, carry an exhausted soldier off the battlefield in Korea, early in the war. Credit:Army VIRIN:500712-O-D0439-001 By Dennis H. Klein and Wade Thompson EXCERPT FROM Unremembered Victory Available on Amazon.com In less than two weeks, theContinue Reading
Artwork of Buffalo Bill from the Colorado Encyclopedia By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net I’ve drifted far from home . . . Dearly Departed they call this Denver bar. With good reason. Joseph Bona pumped embalming fluid into Buffalo Bill here. Plus, they sold caskets in this bar once uponContinue Reading
By Mike DuBose Criminals exploit speed, fear and trust. The telephone and internet have made life easier, but they have also opened our homes, cars, businesses and smartphones to criminals thousands of miles away. Robocalls, fraudulent texts and emails, and official-looking websites arrive daily. Artificial intelligence has made itContinue Reading
You don’t have to eat perfectly to improve your health. When it comes to gut health, one of the most useful goals may be to focus less on perfection and more on variety. One simple approach is to try eating 30 different plant foods each week. And before you think,Continue Reading
Photo: Army Chaplain (Capt.) Emil Kapaun (right) and Army Capt. Jerome A. Dolan, 1st Cavalry Division, carry an exhausted soldier off the battlefield in Korea, early in the war. Credit:Army VIRIN:500712-O-D0439-001 By Dennis H. Klein and Wade Thompson The Korean War lasted for 3 years (1950-1953) and was a warContinue Reading
Shannon Bobertz helping guide one of America’s most complex conservation agencies By Thomas S. Mullikin Every agency needs a rock who is not always the loudest voice in the room or the person chasing the spotlight or searching for the next headline. It needs someone who remains standing when theContinue Reading
By Radley West August is a fascinating month. Children are mourning the end of summer. Teachers are mentally preparing for a brand-new school year. Meanwhile, parents are standing in the school supply aisle trying very hard not to look too excited. It’s one of the greatest examples of mixed emotionsContinue Reading
Bottled in Meridian, Mississippi — A long-distance winner. By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net I didn’t call them pop. I didn’t call them sodas. I called them Cokes. Cokes could be Pepsis, Fantas (remember those?), Orange Crush, or RC Colas. Tossed out windows, Coke bottles waited along dirt roads, gravelContinue Reading
By Sarah Ostergaard Another tax-free weekend has passed. Every August, families spend significant amounts preparing children for a new school year. And there is real value in that preparation. A new backpack, fresh notebooks, sharpened pencils, and other supplies create excitement or ease nervousness about a new school year. AcquiringContinue Reading
By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net Each August I think of my father’s service in Japan, specifically Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Recently I came across one of his base passes that had been hiding from me all these years. Dad was stationed in Yokohama. The date on his pass is AugustContinue Reading
By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net When I see photographs of Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park I want to explore a desert right then. Until I do, the fragile deserts along the Atlantic Ocean will do just fine. Wind, it shapes the earth, yet we never see it, justContinue Reading
Photo: Cool, comfy, and a tad literary. That’s seersucker. By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net Seersucker. A cool word, and cool is the word. Before AC came along, a Southern gentleman worth his salt wouldn’t be caught without a seersucker suit. Just one gentleman back home wore seersucker. With hisContinue Reading
Photo: A stack of 1964 Reader’s Digests, a trip back in time. Courtesy of Brenda Bancroft. By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net I read my mother’s Reader’s Digests from cover to cover. It’s hard find one today, but if you do, it will take you back to another era. And itContinue Reading