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Dear Annie: Neighbor’s dream home is being built at my expense

Columns

Dear Annie: My husband and I have lived in our modest home for many years in a quiet, beautiful neighborhood where the houses have always felt gracious and in scale with one another. We are not extravagant people, and our little house has never been the biggest or fanciest on the block, but it has always been our sanctuary. We worked hard for it, raised our family here and treasured the peace, charm and natural beauty around us. Recently, a very wealthy couple bought the property next door and began building an enormous house that feels completely out of proportion to the neighborhood. ...

Marriage: The inequality gap we should be talking about

Columns

The most consequential inequality in America is not the wealth gap or the wage gap. It may not be the racial opportunity gap. The marriage gap is wreaking havoc. And unfortunately, it’s the gap that gets the least attention. I’m a libertarian. I don’t care whom, or if, you marry. Yet I’m reminded that there is a problem by a new report from the American Enterprise Institute. Edited by Kevin Corinth and Scott Winship, “Land of Opportunity: Advancing the American Dream” covers a broad range of challenges facing the country today, from the cost of living and workforce ...

The most practical protest? Growing your own food

Columns

Spring is filled with dreams of locally grown food. Last weekend, my family volunteered for our local community garden, helping get beds ready and putting tomato and pepper plants in the ground. At home, we planted zinnias and sunflowers. My family also signed up for shares of Community Supported Agriculture from our local farmer. I love this time of year. Getting our hands in dirt reminds us where our food comes from and that we need to take care of the Earth. Our food is only as good as the soil we grow it in, and to have healthy soil, we must treat the Earth well in everything we ...

Dear Annie: Upstaged and still upset

Columns

Dear Annie: “Ashton,” a popular boy from my child’s elementary school class, moved away in the middle of last year. A couple of months later, his mom let me know they would be visiting. She asked if I would organize some of Ashton’s classmates for a get-together, and I agreed. I sent out invitations to meet at a park for two hours to play, share an ice cream cake and catch up with Ashton. Several families didn’t respond. On the day of the party, everyone was having a great time at the park. We had about 40 minutes left of the formal party, but Ashton’s mom and I were ...

Antique colored glass can be valuable

Columns

The Saint Louis glass factory, or Compagnie des Cristalleries de Saint Louis, is one of the oldest glass manufacturers in Europe, tracing its history to the Muntzthal glassworks in Lorraine, France, established in 1586. The factory started making lead crystal in 1781 and was renamed ...

The real king schools the would-be king

Columns

I’ve always been both a small-r republican and an Anglophile, so I looked upon the British monarchy with at least a pinch of smug superiority. The Windsors are revered for nothing more than birth — not talent, nor accomplishments, nor virtue. It’s all a throwback to an earlier stage of human development, when people were not mature enough for representative democracy. I wasn’t feeling smug as I watched King Charles III address Congress the other day. Quite the opposite. Though I remain a small-r republican, I couldn’t help but be embarrassed at what we supposedly mature, ...