Opinion

By Kyra-lin Hom I started this column expecting to comment on the Supreme Court's recent okaying of Obamacare. However, once I'd begun putting fingers to keys, I realized there was a problem with my plan: I don't actually understand it. Well okay…MORE

Hurley Ring was chasing moles at the old Earlington Golf Course near Tukwila when I met him in the spring of 1950.

His job was to rid the course of pesky varmints. I had five little varmints of my own and so I was hoping he would trap them…MORE

By Kyra-lin Hom

Hello everyone! For today “How to Survive a Renaissance Faire...and other such silly things” is exactly as it sounds. I've been trying to fight, finagle, steer and plead my way out of this topic since I know this isn't…MORE

City of Des Moines Mayor Dave Kaplan called me to clarify the building heights information allowed at the Des Moines Marina as quoted in my June 1 column

He said, “There is no way possible that a 65-foot public building would be allowed in…MORE

Because we couldn’t wait even one more year for the more traditional milestone, Marge and I went to Hawaii for our 24th wedding anniversary.

After all, everybody else has already been there. At least that seemed to be the case when we…MORE

by Carol Smith   Orange you glad in ‘62 The World’s Fair Fathers built for you The Space Needle whose stunning view Was meant for all, not just a few?   Orange you glad they had the grace To keep her home an open space Instead of just a breeding…MORE

By Kyra-lin Hom

A couple weeks ago, my uncle (with two daughters in high school right now) asked my boyfriend and I what we would have done differently in college. I think my aunt and uncle were hoping that, since we've both had a year to…MORE

By Nancy Farnam

It has been five years since the young Asian elephant, Hansa, was found dead in the barn at Woodland Park Zoo. Her mother, Chai, stood over her body as if trying to protect her daughter even in death. It seems appropriate…MORE

I've had a lot of dogs.

Mac was an Australian shepherd I had when I was a teenager. Skipper was a beautiful collie. Tessie was our dachshund for 17 years.

And Richard Tiger was a dog we got for son Tim at the dog pound. He was a…MORE

By Kyra-lin Hom

I recently stumbled across an article from this year's Vanity FairJanuary issue that I'd like to share with all of you. In case you would like to look it up for yourself, the article is entitled “You Say You Want a…MORE