Opinion

A Meditation on water

Coffee by my side, I sit on the dock, overlooking North Arm Bay of Lake Minnetonka. It is 6:02 a.m. Everyone who writes about these sorts of times describes it as quiet and peaceful. They deliberately ignore the Hitchcockian quantities of birds hellbent on their morning song. It’s loud out here. A family of geese paddle somewhere slowly, honking.
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Flair for leadership . . .

The other day I read a quote that made me stop and take pause. It read, “Don’t ever work for someone you don’t want to become.” Now at first glance, it makes perfect sense. Some might read that and say to themselves, “Well, of course. That’s a no-brainer. I would never do that.” At closer inspection though, how many people do we all know who work for bosses or companies who exhibit qualities that are unbecoming or downright negative?
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Good morning, Robert!

I wanted to let you know that I really like what’s happening with the Mountaineer Echo. Lots of good friendly reading and I sure like Cindy Wood-Young’s ‘Growing up in Flippin’ contribution. I wish we had a few more local contributors like her. Please, keep up the good work! I’ve been doing a lot of research for a book I’m writing about Caney Store and have leaned on past articles of the ME to ‘jog my memory’, and it’s interesting to see how much the community has changed along with reporting along with it. For instance, back in the 50’s and 60’s the paper was full of national and state news on the front page with the important local news. Of course, the format of the paper was significantly different too. All fascinating.
Read MoreGood morning, Robert!

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Mr. Ellingson, As the editor of the Mountaineer Echo, I rarely respond to letters to the editor because as a Veteran, I believe everyone is ENTITLED to express their opinions in a respectful manner.
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Wild Gobblers… Fewer and Fewer

A comeback in populations of the wild turkey is so simple it could begin this year. First of all, we need to end the fall gun season, which allows the taking of too many hens and gobblers. It does indeed affect breeding numbers for the following spring. How could it not? That argument is ridiculous. Right now, we have the lowest number of wild turkeys in the Ozarks since the seventies.
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“Would you like to buy…”

It did not take me long to realize that, as grateful as I am to have this opportunity to write, having a weekly column is not without its own challenges. Some weeks the topics – and subsequent words – flow easily. Other weeks, they trickle. And then, occasionally, the flow is completely damned up. This has been one of those weeks. I still have quite a number of special memories to share, but I’m determined to find accompanying photos before I go with them.
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To Your Good Health

Without your immune system you will die so it is a good idea to learn more about just what it is and how it works. Bull Shoals Library has just the book to help you understand this very complex system on which your health depends. Immune by Philipp Dettmer explains elements of the immune system including defenses like antibodies and inflammation as well as threats like bacteria, allergies, and cancer.
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Cryptocurrency?

If you take financial advice from this column, in the future, you may not be able to afford to read this column. That said… let’s talk digital currencies. There are more than 18,000 cryptocurrencies on the market but what is it? Most agree it’s a digital currency that operates outside the traditional government/banking control, instead using public ledgers known as blockchains. But did you know that anyone can make a digital currency with a little coding? Yes, you and I can make our own digital currency. Late Show host Stephen Colbert’s crypto is called Ijustmadethatupeum. But is it a currency?
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