In this world of excess where all of us end up spending money on things we don’t need, and racking up credit card debt to do it, why not think twice about your luxury purchases? I know when I go on a shopping spree, I always feel better about myself if I come to my [...]

On October 14, 2008, seven men slept on a porch huddled under blankets in Iowa City in the cold and rain. Father Ken has lived in the parish house for 12 years, and the porch had doubled as a shelter for the homeless even before he started at the parish.
The porch, located between St. Mary’s [...]

While traveling West on my way to can salmon in Alaska, I stopped in Tacoma, Washington, to stay the night with my aunt and uncle. My cousin had just graduated high school and the graduation party spread was available for post-driving snacks. I excitedly munched the baby carrots and dipped the cut cauliflower and broccoli [...]

Palestinian women speak out with their art.
“There are hands that give love and affection while there are hands that steal the soul and take away life. What is so startling to us is that one hand is capable of both.” — Hani Zo’roub, artist, born in Rafah, Gaza in 1976
“The role of art is [...]

As local officials responded to the threat of floods in southeastern Iowa with repeated appeals for help with sandbagging, I jumped at the chance—to bury my head in the sand, or a sandbag, whatever could be spared.
The last time I volunteered during a disaster, the results were disastrous.
I’d been part of a mission to the [...]

Writer and social commentator Sarah Vowell, known for her contributions to public radio’s “This American Life,” has made good use of her droll sense of humor and distinctive voice in the past.
She’s managed to take subjects as difficult as the Trail of Tears and presidential assassinations (the subject of her New York Times best-seller, Assassination [...]

There are no proton packs. No positron colliders. No Ecto-Containment unit. Turns out, the world of ghost hunting, like most everything else, is a lot less sexy than the movies would make it.
“A lot of people think it’s just like TV,” says Vicki Stinson. “But, there are all of these reports and standard operating procedures. [...]

“Some of us older people have problems with our knees, so we don’t want to jog, and racquetball is out,” Hinds said. It works the whole upper body and even the legs if the paddling is done correctly.
Hinds would recommend the sport to anyone of any age, whether it’s for exercise or relaxation. Entry-level kayaking [...]

Energy crisis?
This phrase makes the nightly news every week. The rising costs of nearly everything, including food, gasoline and home energy, has become a slow, insidious flood of its own that shows no signs of receding during the long winter months ahead. Both presidential candidates produce sound bites saying they understand the challenges facing ordinary [...]

Finding Wonderland: Part one of two
The first thing that happened in the morning was I couldn’t find my glasses. I stumbled towards the second stage area and a tripping guy met me. He said I believe that there was some important reason that I was supposed to meet you at this time and he handed [...]