Columns
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In America, It Can Be Festivus Every Day
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While it can’t be Christmas every day, there is one holiday ritual celebrated daily: the Festivus “Airing of Grievances.”
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The Black Swans at Koukounaries: Remembering March 2020
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A year ago this week, when we were carefree and young, I picked an apple, a banana and an orange from bins outside a small market on the Greek island of Skiathos, and went inside to pay. Music was playing. Familiar music. “Strange days have found us,” Jim Morrison crooned. “Strange days have tracked us…
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Greg Boros: After Cardiac Transplant This Penn State Grad Grew in Heart
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It was a crisp autumn morning as Penn State senior Greg Boros rode his bicycle to class on Monday, October 16, 2006. Perhaps the student from western Pennsylvania was thinking about his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers. Or maybe his mind was on his growing faith in God. Or his anticipated graduation in May and marriage to…
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Be Your Own Advocate
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You just heard from your doctor, in a rather solemn tone, that your test results came back on a CT scan and there is an “irregularity.” You are told you will need a follow up appointment as soon as possible with a specialist. Your primary care physician (PCP) says that their office is glad to…
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Tune in to Levels of Control for Your Retirement
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We have found that many retirees — even those who’ve planned and saved well for decades — harbor a distant fear that their money may not last as long as needed. When it comes to your retirement income, knowing what you can control and by how much may help you rein in fear of “running…
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Nature’s Ways: Snowbirds, Our Winter Visitors from the North
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Most people associate fall bird migration with birds leaving Pennsylvania to head south. However, a few species fly south to spend their winters in the Keystone State. Some of these, such as the snowy owl, common redpoll or red-breasted nuthatch, do not visit every winter. Others, such as the dark-eyed junco, fly here from Canada…
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Why State College Should Move to Ward System, Reduced Term Lengths for Borough Council Elections
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Here we are less than four months removed from a very contentious national election, one from which we could all use a breather, and what’s in the news? That’s right, who’s running for State College Mayor and Borough Council. More elections! Our primary election is May 18, less than three months from now. And we…
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We Owe Our Youth Thanks — and a Better Response — for Bearing Burdens of COVID-19
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As in-person instruction returned to Penn State in these COVID-strained times, we’d be wise to remember our students. Across this country a generation of young people are being asked to shoulder a difficult burden in our cause. The toll of these times was evident during Tuesday night’s televised Presidential Town Hall. A mother with her…
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Trying Like Mad to Accentuate the Positive
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It’s another beautiful week in Central Pennsylvania. You think I’m kidding? On Sunday afternoon, my sisters and I began planning a long-overdue family reunion. Meryl lives in Dallas, where the temperatures were in the single digits. Wendy lives in Denver, where the temperatures were also in the single digits. Here in State College, it was…
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The Social Media Detox Experiment
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I am in the seventh week of my self-imposed “social media detox” experiment and I feel great. I had become an addict, plain and simple.