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Applause, Applause

Columns

Each Saturday, The Express community newspaper highlights people, groups and activities our readers deem worthy of applause. THANK YOU to the Susquehanna Valley Big Twins Motorcycle Club for hosting a basket benefit for Mike Neff during their March 21 breakfast. Special thanks to SVBT Club President Brad Darby, Bev Confair and Brenda Masden for all of their help with the basket benefit. THANK YOU to everyone who donated baskets or prizes for the benefit and to everyone who came out to buy tickets to raise funds to help Mike and his wife, Lori. — Mike and Lori Neff The Prayer ...

Dear Annie: The bare minimum brunch guest

Columns

Dear Annie: My husband and I host Easter brunch every year for both sides of the family — about 16 people total. I cook a big frittata, a glazed ham, homemade rolls and a salad or two. My problem is my sister-in-law, “Brenda.” For the past four years, she has signed up to bring dessert. And every year, she arrives with the exact same thing: a single grocery-store container of brownies. Last year, she set it next to the spread without even taking the brownies out of their plastic container. Meanwhile, I’m prepping for days in advance trying to get the food cooked and nicely ...

Distance, perspective, and the weight of America

Columns

There is something clarifying about being far from home. In Cape Town, South Africa, where the mountains meet the sea and the horizon feels endless, distance creates a kind of stillness that invites reflection. But even here, halfway across the world, America is never far away. It lives in the conversations, the questions and the quiet curiosity of strangers trying to understand what is happening and where it is all heading. What has struck me most is not just that people are paying attention but how intently they are watching. Taxi drivers, business leaders, students and shopkeepers ...

Decades of hostility between Iran and the US were preceded by a little‑remembered century‑long friendship

Columns

The British- and American-backed plot to overthrow Iran’s prime minister in 1953 laid the groundwork for the 1979 Iran hostage crisis and decades of hostility with the U.S. that have now culminated in a war launched on Iran by the U.S. and Israel. Many Americans only know the anger and tension with Iran that has grown from those roots set down during the middle of the last century. But as an archaeologist who has spent over 50 years specializing in Iran, and from my research on Iranian history in the context of changes undergone by Iran’s nomadic population through time, I believe ...

AI scribes help doctor to better focus and interact with patients

Columns

DEAR DR. ROACH: In your recent column, a reader complained about a doctor using AI to write after-visit summaries. I think my doctor has begun using AI for this purpose, but I like it. The reason why I think she is using AI is because she has begun looking at me while we discuss my health, rather than looking at her computer while she types the report. This feels much more personal, and the after-visit summary seems to be just as accurate. — G.U. ANSWER: I appreciate your writing. This is one good outcome from the use of AI scribes. It does often feel like we physicians are too busy ...

The cascade

Columns

I’ve been thinking about the cascade a lot. It could be because of the weather, the politics, the umpteenth “living through history” Millennial Moment, or any of a variety of other whims or nuances — but regardless of the reason, it’s been on my brain. What is the cascade? The cascade is a concept which has existed long before the phrase — a sprawling, ominous cloud that relates most closely to the collapse of everything. However, that concept was succinctly summarized — and perhaps bolstered against — by James S. A. Corey, a pen name used by a pair of ...