Opinion

Who among us is old enough to remember what we once called “election day?” Think back. It may take some effort, but there was a time when we all went out and voted on the same day, and it almost had a holiday feel about it. An election day, of sorts, still exists. For candidates, it’s a finish line, and for people in my line of work, it’s a news event, but for voters, it’s now just a deadline. It’s the last day to turn in our homework...

While much of the country is still talking about the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, I had the good fortune to stumble upon Tuesday night’s live broadcast of King Charles III’s remarks at the White House state dinner in his honor. I’m sure it’s all over YouTube by now, and students of American History should seek it out for both the historic references and a considerable touch of humor...

With graduations coming up, many of our area high school seniors, as well as our college students, are starting to think about what is next. Every day, they are likely asked what they plan to do with the rest of their lives. What are the next steps? What do they want to be when they grow up?...

What do a correctional officer, a nurses aide, a first-year teacher, and a retiree living on Social Security all have in common? Here in McCook, they are part of the fabric of daily life. They are the people you see at the grocery store, sitting in the stands at ballgames, or helping a neighbor when something goes wrong...

Your old columnist had to chuckle a bit. Living here in our Independent Living Facility, new rules changed assigned seating for dining to “sit anywhere you desire.” Grannie Annie and I decided to sit and visit with new friends during our three meals a day. ...

Three days on from Tuesday’s candidate forum, the work continues. There is still writing to finish over the weekend, but it is worth pausing to offer a few words of thanks. Though there are elements that may be refined before the general election, the event was, by any measure, a success...

From where I sit, it looks like the 21 hours of Iran negotiations in Islamabad last weekend won’t go into the win column. The talks broke without resolution, and the central dispute remains unchanged: Iran’s nuclear program, particularly the scope of uranium enrichment and the duration of any meaningful restrictions. ...

Back when I was going to school, we all thought it would be cool to major in philosophy, but we were told it was a professional dead end. At best, the degree was a respectable pre-law play, but beyond that, only good for stand-up comedy or teaching philosophy to other vocation-averse souls. Times change, however, and in the age of job obsolescence and robots, the misunderstood philosophy major may be having the last laugh...

It was with delight that I read Sue Doak’s column in Friday’s Gazette. She wrote of the “first frame structure in Red Willow County”. Ah yes, I knew it well. The Fitches were about our closest neighbors when my family, parents and four siblings moved from Hitchcock County to down in the valley a few miles south of McCook. ...

As of this writing, Artemis II has completed its pass around the Moon and is on its way home, with an Apollo-style splashdown expected Friday evening. The mission represents the most significant step yet in America’s return to deep space. Its immediate purpose is to test the Orion spacecraft’s systems that enable further exploration, including navigation, communications, heat shielding and the broad category NASA calls “life support.”...

I felt great joy when I read the announcement by our President that the GIB had been rescued in Iran. Great memories from my days flying air refueling tankers in the Vietnam conflict. Actually, it happened all too often when one of our fighters had suffered combat damage over North Vietnam and had to punch out over enemy-held territory. ...