Untitled Document At the beginning of class, Mary Ryan goes around the room and shakes hands with her students, calling each man by name, making eye contact, offering a smile: “Hello, Frank. How are you, Dave? What’s up, James?” It’s a casual ritual, but it’s her way of reminding the men in their prison uniforms […]
Community & Lifestyle
Posted inArts & Culture
Selecting the best crabapple tree
Untitled Document The recent warm temperatures, it seems, have caused all of our spring-blooming plants to flower at once. Some of the most noticeable bloomers right now are the crabapple, flowering dogwood, and redbud. These trees are showstoppers, adding splashes of brilliant color to the landscape. Although it is tempting to select a tree on […]
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Flying green
Untitled Document Measured by pollution, airlines are one dirty business. What efforts to “green” the air-travel industry are under way? Environmental battles over the siting and expansion of airports are as old as the air-travel industry itself, but only in recent years have the airlines themselves been under pressure to go green. And there’s no […]
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Soft shoes
Untitled Document Where does one find environmentally friendly shoes for children? Children’s shoes are a quickly expanding market, and companies with a green perspective are now jumping into the race with mini-versions of everything from flip-flops to slippers to heeled dress shoes. Although green kids’ shoes from makers such as Simple, which offers organic-cotton EcoSneaks […]
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The death of Superman
Untitled Document Letitia Dewith-Anderson once scared me silly. She rang my phone, which she didn’t do very often, and when I answered I could tell that this call was of some gravity. “I’ve got bad news,” she said solemnly. My heart dropped. A few years earlier, her husband, Bill Anderson, had learned that he had […]
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The duelist
Untitled Document To duel or not to duel — that was the question Illinois congressman and Mexican War veteran William H. Bissell faced in 1850. He was challenged by Jefferson Davis, the future president of the Confederate States of America. Bissell’s reply made him a legend in the state and helped propel him to the […]
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Dandy dandelions
Untitled Document One of the first plants a child learns to recognize is the dandelion. Its bright-yellow flowers make it easy to spot — and what fun it is to pick a “puffball” (the dandelion seed head, blow on it, and see how far the seeds will fly. The dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), a deep-rooted cool-season […]
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Garden-fresh salad
Untitled Document Spring is my favorite time of year. Daffodils are blooming, lawns turns bright green, and it’s time to plant a vegetable garden. Spring greens, such as lettuce and spinach, are easy to grow in a sunny location in your back yard or in a container garden on a patio. You are sure to […]
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Safe seafood
Untitled Document How can one make intelligent choices about seafood to avoid consuming unhealthy pollutants and lessen the impact on the environment? Several decades ago a fish-centric diet was considered not only healthy but also environmentally friendly. But today those of us who eat a lot of fish may not be doing ourselves or the […]
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Healthier energy drinks
Untitled Document There are so many energy drinks on the market, but they all seem very high in sugar, coloring, and preservatives. Are there any natural versions that offer a healthier kick-start? Energy drinks constitute one of the fastest-growing sectors of the soft-drink market across the U.S. and around the world, with some 500 […]
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The right to say thank you
Untitled Document I hardly slept a wink the night before I met my mother. I was in a motel, just off Interstate 35, on the outskirts of the city where she lived with her family. Our clandestine meeting required more scheming than an international narcotics deal, and I was so nervous that I tried on […]
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Instead of leather
Untitled Document Are there any good alternatives to leather? Leather is everywhere — from shoes and belts to purses, wallets, jackets, furniture, and car seats. Most probably assume that the leather that finds its way into our wardrobes and living spaces is a byproduct of the meat industry. But even though cows are certainly the […]
