Today's News

It was once easier to remember Pearl Harbor Day because Dec. 7 was far enough from Christmas that the holiday hubbub had not begun. Like other traditions, it is customary to interview survivors of the “day of infamy” for the issue on or near that anniversary. But the commercial side of Christmas gets an earlier start each season and those survivors are much harder to find. It was 67 years ago and even a 17-year-old serviceman would be 84 by now – and they had to first live through World War II.

Most people when they’re young can’t wait to grow older. Many when they are old wish they were young once again. Both ways are not a good way to be.

Every stage in life is different. Each has its own gifts and qualities. It’s best to let go of each stage so the next one can happen.

Accept impermanence, realizing nothing is forever. Learning to live in the now makes for a fuller, more contented life.

He rises up from the mist, a man-like creature formed from the soft clay earth, his birth attended by three learned sages whispering incantations from an ancient text. The creature has a parchment in its mouth, on it is written the ineffable name of God.

This creature, a humanoid without a soul or personality, is ready to do work at his master’s bidding. The huge monster of a man with an uneven stiff-legged gait stands posed and ready, eager to wield his brute force when prompted.

Author Stewart O’Nan has sometimes been labeled “the bard of the working class.” And in this 146-page gem of a novel the hero is a 35-year-old manager of a Red Lobster restaurant tucked at the end of a hardscrabble mall. It is five days before Christmas and headquarters has determined that Manny De Leon’s place is not meeting the numbers and must close.