Opinion
Haiku to Spring
Trees are leafing out Daffodils wave in the breeze Spring is here – achoo! Carol Simmons Durango
Letters to the Editor
Opinion
The Orchestra
The orchestra starts and the notes dart as the audience sways the notes play the basses start their solo continuing the song La Polo the audience stirs and the applause…
Opinion
GOP ‘believes in autocratic rule’
While reading the story about the Republican gathering of the lunatic fringe in Colorado Springs, I had to fight off the tears of laughter as each speaker floundered in their…
Opinion
Sweet Sound
Sweet sound of music fills the air it does everywhere you can hear the sound of the violin play but you can hear the whole orchestra play sweet songs that…
Opinion
Herald ‘mischaracterizes’ Florida law
The Herald’s predisposition for left-wing causes has actually gotten worse lately. Saturday’s editorial cartoon about “Don’t Say Homo” with a caricature of Ron DeSantis is a case in point. Leftist…
Opinion
A Poem Starts
Friction of pencil on paper Sets it all in motion. Dry scraping sound Uncovers worlds locked in silence. Until the scraping starts There’s no form; there’s nothing. The scraping is…
Opinion
Mountain Muses
It is the dawn breaking over their peaks That shimmers the morning’s glory in glowing valleys. Mountains, as poets, often speak in cloud stanzas, Seducing my emotions and binding me…
Opinion
Rocky Mountain Hike
Resting On a granite slab left by a retreating glacier At the shallow edge of an alpine lake. Scents of spruce and fir mingle With the harsh complaint of a…
Opinion
Teach kids ‘differences okay’
As a pastor and parent, I was disturbed to read in The Durango Herald (April 8) that a state Social Studies Review Committee has decided to recommend banning any reference…
Opinion
Who Are You?
Who are you my friend? A person with a good heart? Someone who will care? If so, go for it. See what happiness you bring. When speaking aloud. Let fear…
Opinion
Chaco Canyon
It’s breezy in Nageezi, down a lonely, dusty road. Ancient Great Houses anchored to the earth, resting under blankets of sand and sage. They count the millennia as the earth…
Opinion
Reuse rallying cry: ‘Lock him up’
Back in the 2016 campaign between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, a big deal was made of Clinton’s missing emails. The right’s rallying cry was “lock her up.” Fast forward…
Opinion
Spring Haiku
Winter bared branches bud in tender green. Pear trees burst into white froth. Judy Clifford Bayfield
Opinion
Put parking garage in ‘big old hole’
So, with all the quibbling over lack of parking downtown, there’s a big old hole to nowhere (you know, the one across from Gazpachos). Put a parking garage there. Problem…
Opinion
I Dream of a World
I dream of a world where birds look down on a green earth, blue and green meshing harmoniously I dream of a world where the labyrinth leads us to peace…
Opinion
Perhaps Love
Your words were thoughtless and hurtful, The tone of your voice sharp and cruel Your embarrassing tirade was childish, Only making you look like a fool What happened to make…
Opinion
Show Me You Are Real
Cacti, Irises, Skyrockets blossoms finessed by hummingbirds. Ashamed to invade this most ancient play. Something eternal as I finger a white bone cleansed by decay. Lengthening, a Snake travels among…
Opinion
My Son
They folded the flag. I remember you falling from your bicycle. You got up. I remember. They folded the flag in front of me. I remember you on the football…
Opinion
Protect Chaco, submit comment
In response to the article “Bureau of Land Management extends comment period on Chaco proposal” on April 2, I believe it is essential that the Biden administration move forward with…
Opinion
COVID-19 distracted from climate crisis
Dick White presented another insightful article on the tragedies the COVID-19 pandemic has generated. I note that he states “at least 4 ways.” I’m guessing Dick is aware of another…
Opinion
A Forgotten Cemetery
I visited a forgotten cemetery, high on a dusty hill, The bristly weeds grew rampant, and the air was strangely still. I climbed the scarce-trod path in search of stories…
Opinion
The Pillowy Clouds
December’s been extra cozy, Feelin’ as merry as can be, Want to thank God above, My heart sank into Love, Paycheck’s here Friday, Babe, Cashin’ it all to spend on…
Opinion
Conflict with My Flesh
Do I need this fragile shell? My body reigns my knowing, It gives me pain and sometimes fails, With grief and doubt revealing, I gaze in the mirror and see…
Opinion
Lodgers tax revenue for child care, housing
Like many people, I was supportive of the increase in our lodgers tax in 2021. And like many, I was dismayed to find that the city planned to spend the…
Opinion
Lost school board meeting too familiar
In 1972, lawyers requested former President Nixon’s tape recordings of his conversations in the White House. This was in relation to the break-in of the Democratic Party’s offices in the…
Opinion
Vote ‘yes’ on universal preschool
As a longtime early childhood educator in La Plata County, I celebrated when Colorado voters approved universal preschool with passage of Proposition EE in 2020. This valuable education will be…
Opinion
Standard time is best
Our Congress is in the process of deciding whether to end the twice a year time changes of Daylight Saving Time. However, they seem to be leaning toward permanent “daylight…
Opinion
Some foundations have strong networks
History is plagued with conflicts, such as the current situation in the Ukraine initiated by power-hungry, out-of-control despots. I’m hoping that we all do what we can to prevent the…
Opinion
School board ‘has gone rogue’
The Montezuma-Cortez School Board canceled a meeting where it planned to “re-create” a secret meeting they held previously to ask Superintendent Risha VanderWey to resign. No recording of that meeting…
Opinion
Privatized REACH could drain Medicare
Traditional Medicare is our nation’s most efficient and popular health care program. A failed effort to privatize it, the Direct Contracting (DC) program, devised by the Center for Medicare Service…