Opinion

Nine days before Christmas, the Preacher and I sat in a hushed sanctuary paying respects to one of our heroes. We had met Isabel Barnsley nine years earlier, shortly after both she and the Preacher contracted West Nile Neurological Disease.

How much stuff will you give and receive this holiday season? Add it to the growing pile — the 30-trillion-tonne pile.

I’ve debated about writing on this subject for awhile now due to its sensitive nature. However, I know that when someone opens up to me about their trials, it puts life into perspective. I am not alone.

Doesn’t it seem like a long time since we were out in our gardens? It seems like a long time ago since we were bringing in the last of our plants and bulbs.

SORRY....

Traditionally at this time of year, I use this column to publish some variation on the top stories of the year theme.

View from the Cheap Seats is an extension of the newsroom, which is frequently a site of heated debate on topics ranging from the extremely serious to the utterly ridiculous.

By the time you read this, you will have already missed the Winter Solstice which occurred at 4:44 a.m. Central Time on the day this issue of YTW came out.

The end of the year is when many publications around the world put together their best of the year lists.

It is kind of a tradition in journalism at this time of year to rehash the most significant stories of the year. I thought about a crime Top 5, but that might be a bit redundant since four of those also made it into the Top 10 overall news stories.