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What has passed is not always what was best

Columns

Your memories will try to trick you. I thought about that as I was driving down a street near my house the other day, when I spotted a father walking down the sidewalk, his young daughter slung over his shoulder like a sack of coal he was hauling out of a mine. Her hair bounced along on his back and she looked thrilled. They had been out on a stroll, and she’d asked for a ride: That was the story the image told me. Adorable, I thought, for a second. But wait. What was that look of resignation on the dad’s face? Did I recognize that parental exhaustion myself, that feeling of ...

Dear Annie: When language rubs the wrong way

Columns

Dear Annie: I live in a 55-plus community and have met many people and made lots of friends since moving in here. I am not a prude, but I find it very disturbing how the F-bomb and swearing is so prevalent in this community. I’m in my 60s, a baby boomer, a Christian and not a sheltered person, but I’m extremely annoyed by this behavior, especially among some of my closest friends. I know I can’t control others, only myself. Do I just ignore this and continue to be appalled (especially when God’s name is used in vain), or do I say something? — A Baby Boomer Dear Baby Boomer: ...

Shingles occurs in vaccinated woman for the fourth time

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: Have you ever heard of a fully vaccinated 79-year-old woman getting a repeat case of shingles? This is actually my fourth time having it. My first occurrence of shingles was when I was 26 years old, and it was on my torso. The next two occurrences were on my forehead, and I got antiviral medication for them. They subsided rather quickly, although I was left with some neurological aftereffects. When the first vaccine came out several years ago, I received it. Then as soon as Shingrix was available, I got both of these shots. This time, I’m on antiviral medication ...

Don’t just plant trees, plant forests to restore biodiversity for the future

Columns

Around the world, people plan to plant more than 1 trillion trees this decade in an ambitious effort to slow climate change and reduce biodiversity loss. But if the past is prologue, many of those planted trees won’t survive. And if they do, they could end up as biological deserts that lack the richness and resilience of healthy forests. It doesn’t have to be this way. The United Nations declared 2021-2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration to encourage efforts to repair degraded ecosystems. Tree planting has become a centerpiece of that effort, championed by initiatives such ...

The US used to be really dirty – environmental cleanup laws have made a huge difference

Columns

Growing up in the 1970s, I took for granted the trash piles along the highway, tires washed up on beaches, and smog fouling city air. The famed “Crying Indian” commercial of 1971 became a symbol of widespread environmental damage across the United States. That’s why the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, energized the nation. In the largest single-day public demonstration in U.S. history, roughly 10% of the population took to the streets to shout together: “Enough is enough!” Republican and Democratic politicians alike listened. Over the decade that followed, all the ...

Trapped in a cycle of comfort and guilt

Columns

Dear Annie: From the outside, my life looks steady and full. I have a thoughtful husband, grown children who stay in close touch, dear friends and work that gives my days purpose. I know I am fortunate, which only makes it harder to admit how much I am struggling in private. For years, I have carried pain from things that happened to me when I was young. I have done counseling and truly tried to make peace with the past. In many ways, I have built a happy life. But when stress creeps in, or I feel lonely, disappointed or overwhelmed, something in me still reaches for food as ...