Why are business people becoming more interested in kindergarten readiness? It’s not because they want to roll back the child labor laws. It’s because they realize that in the high-tech economy of the 21st century, the jobs will go to the adequately educated — and the odds of achieving that status grow longer for every Read more »
The trouble with having a love life is that all relationships end. Either you break up or one of you dies. And yet, almost all of us aspire to share our lives with someone who will accept us for who we are, warts and all, even knowing that heartbreak waits at the end. The simple Read more »
I think I understand it. Robin Hensel thinks Little Falls is discriminating against her by inconsistently enforcing the city’s sign ordinance. What I don’t understand is why everybody needs to look at this issue through a political prism. The city made Hensel take down the dozen-plus signs she had stuck all over her yard and Read more »
Over the years, I have written a number of editorials and columns encouraging folks to attend their precinct caucuses. For those who think I’m a hypocrite, this would be the leading example. I probably haven’t attended a caucus as a participant in 30 years. Newspapers have enough trouble maintaining their credibility without actively participating in Read more »
There will not be a West Words column by Tom West the week of Jan. 22.
Many of you have experienced sibling rivalry. So have I. As the youngest of three children, I was always the “little brother” even though I ended up as the tallest (although my brother still disputes that). He was nine years older, however, so he was out of college by the time we could have had Read more »
A curious madness seems to have infected the world. By happenstance, I have been doing more reading about what caused the financial collapse of the Western World four years ago, and it seems clear to me that we are no closer to fixing the problem today than we were when it came home to roost. Read more »
Flight 2012 is now cleared for take off. Passengers are reminded to turn off your cell phones, laptop computers and anything else that may distract you from the terrors outside the window. Instead, we encourage you to re-assume the brace position, but only after donning your flight helmet, flak jacket and life preserver. If you Read more »
We’d like to thank all of you who chose to join us on Flight 2011 this year. The landing gear is coming down, and you can relax from that brace position you’ve been in for the past 12 months. We know you never thought this flight would ever end — or if it did, it Read more »
About once every year or two my wide-ranging reading habits get me into trouble. A newspaper or magazine will publish a recipe, and I think to myself, “That sounds good,” or “I can do that.” Then, without too much thought, it is off to the kitchen I go. It always works better if I consult Read more »
Several years ago, I attended a presentation by a Thomas Jefferson impersonator. Speaking as if the year were about 1805 instead of 2005, “President Jefferson” began his talk by saying, “We live in a 4 mile per hour world.” He went on to explain that people travel about 2 mph walking and about 6 mph Read more »
Some things become part of the news cycle only because the fanatics think they are important. For sports fans, it’s often the collegiate draft held by professional sports leagues. Fans boo and applaud the team officials who choose these untested players, as if the team is about to experience eternal damnation or the Second Coming. Read more »
They had an interesting election a few weeks ago in St. Paul. The trendy elite in the Twin Cities have adopted a ranked-choice voting system that allows voters to rank the candidates. That way, if their favorite candidate is an off-the-wall, extremist, uncompromising fascist or commie, they can still vote for that candidate and then Read more »
My aunt, the spy, passed away Nov. 3. If she knew that I had referred to her in that way, she would have been mortified but the characterization is no less true. Occasionally, I would tell people about my aunt, using that introduction just for the shock value. They often thought I was kidding. Who, Read more »
Andy Hott is an interesting young man. A June graduate of Little Falls Community High School, Andy now works at Long Prairie Packing, where the pay is good even though the work is hard. Andy is saving as much as he can so he can go to college. He wants to study video technology, a Read more »
