Guest Column

At 8 am, Monday through Friday, the van is pulling out of the Menchville House Shelter parking lot, transporting 10 youth to summer camp at the Tom & Ann Hunnicutt YMCA. It may be early; [Read More…]

I grew up in a very conservative family. We were taught that to accept things from others was a sign of weakness. We could make it on our own, thank you very much. We were [Read More…]

During World War II, many American families devoted a portion of their lots to producing some of their own food. This was considered patriotic, since much of the food was allocated to support our troops [Read More…]

The most beautiful things are not associated with money; they are memories and moments. If you don’t celebrate those, they can pass you by. —Alek Wek Growing up, we didn’t have much money, which meant [Read More…]

He stood in front of me. A small, freckled faced red-haired boy, clutching a mixed-breed dog, both looking a little apprehensive of this stranger in front of them. This was Tommy, the first of 12 [Read More…]

Having a new baby—the happiest time in a woman’s life. Not always. One in five women will experience anxiety or depression during pregnancy or the first year of her baby’s life, turning joy into sadness, [Read More…]

Years ago, when my mother-in-law passed away, my husband and I went to the nursing home and collected her belongings. When we left there, we had four boxes of things. I remember thinking, how can [Read More…]

During my early youth, my parents raised chickens. This served as our source for fresh eggs, and when the supply was more than we could use, we supplied our neighbors with the excess. The chickens [Read More…]

The cycle of life can be depressing. You watch as your children grow up and leave home, as your parents age, as your career winds down and your life shifts direction and, as you realize, [Read More…]

By Christina Verderosa, Newport News Master Gardener Can’t start your day off without your morning coffee? Is your favorite pick-me-up a piece of chocolate? Then you need pollinators. Pollinators—those bees, bugs, birds and bats without [Read More…]

According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nothing astonishes people so much as common sense and plain dealing.” The following account demonstrates the effectiveness of this philosophy. In the summer of 2003, the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters Foundation [Read More…]