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Sonoma Valley Sun Articles
 MiscellaneousErica Goldson, age 18, courageously speaks out 9-02-10It’s my understanding that a prophet is someone who is willing to stand up and speak out against injustice of any kind anywhere in the world. I hereby proclaim Erica Goldson of Coxsackie, New York a prophet of 2010. Graduating from Coxsackie-At... read more… How to make the world a better place by buying books 8-05-10Most readers of this column understand my impatience with corporate greed. And many of you might be unaware of my excitement over corporate scale and principles put to work for the greater good of humankind. Examples keep popping up while amazi... read more… Some things just change your life forever 7-29-10Nearly four months after its presentation, people are still stopping me on the street to tell of the impact The Vagina Monologues 2010 has had on their lives. Which reminds me of my promise to tell my readers about its impact on the women who h... read more… A quite unexpected roadside reunion 7-22-10National Public Radio recently ran a segment called, “A Beginner’s Guide to Hitchhiking.” I liked what I heard as it reminded me of hitchhikers I’ve picked up in recent years. Oooh, I can already hear your condemnation, ... read more… Joyful Generosity supports a grand career 6-24-10Today’s featured volunteer has built a lifetime on Joyful Generosity. And he lives with sweet satisfaction for having made some big differences in the world. Let’s take a romp through this lifetime looking for clues to that satisfac... read more… Learning to work with your body instead of forcing painful change 4-22-10Ralph Scott is a knowledgeable, caring, highly intuitive and professional healer who helps clients get past pain without inducing more pain in the healing process.At age seven, he knew for certain that one day he’d be helping people get o... read more… Racism – still alive in our world, in our nation, in our valley? 4-15-10Many believe racism in our country to be ancient history, that it was handled in the 60s by Martin Luther King and that it just hasn’t been a problem since. And it’s quite easy to believe that when your life and your lifestyle protect you... read more… Sonoma joins hearts and soles to end hunger 4-01-10Get out your walking shoes, Sonoma. Or support and nurture your walking neighbors. Or open up your pocketbooks to help us fill the coffers of the Redwood Food Bank and Friends in Sonoma Helping (FISH). Or bring your employer along on the walk. ... read more… An upcoming benefit performance and a just-past conference 3-18-10Peeking into two extraordinary events: three weeks from today, you can attend opening night of Sonoma’s second annual V-Day production of The Vagina Monologues. Last week, nearly a dozen Sonomans were edified, astounded and motivated by the two... read more… Who knew birds have stories to tell? 1-15-10Well aware of the annual bird count in Sonoma, I feel connected to you as I enjoy a continuous experience of delightful bird-watching in northern Indiana. Both of my sons residing here have numerous feeders to attract splendid varieties of thei... read more… Scraps of paper, bits of the past 1-07-10The hunter-gatherers brought home food, but for just joan it’s all about paper. An entire lifetime I’ve been clipping/saving scraps of paper and filing them away for the day I have some use for each. Oh, I purge those files occasionally, ... read more… The folly of waiting so long 12-17-09“All these bills—and others—will go before the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee for evaluation … Then, if usual Congressional practice is followed, selected features of all the proposals w... read more… The joy of making a difference 10-30-09On the very day The Sun came out last week, I received a response to my column all the way from Singapore. A gentleman I haven’t met wrote, “Thanks for the article, Joan. I have emailed the folks at Self-Help for details that I am sure ou... read more… Two “don’t miss” opportunities in Sonoma 9-18-09Two noteworthy events coming up and I can’t imagine you’d want to miss out on either opportunity.First comes Esperanza, a delightful 6-year-old with a great desire to learn to read. She pesters her papa and her mama and the older children... read more… Global warming on the other side of the world 7-10-09This time it was a short flight to India. Well, virtual India perhaps. Landing at Chicago’s Midway Airport in late June, I was met by the couple who had hosted my visit to their country six months earlier.Who knew that so many thousands have im... read more… Every scream represents an unmet need 7-03-09With the self-deprecating humor of a talented comedienne, Cindi Vian peppered her PowerPoint presentation with remarks that regaled her audience and at the same time established a direct connection among them regarding her very serious topic.I was on... read more… Oh, to be a kid again – I’d sure want to go to this kind of camp! 6-05-09I was one of those really lucky kids who got to go to summer camp for a week or two some of the summers of my childhood, and I loved it. I’m astounded and delighted to learn that Camp Tannadoonah is still going strong on lovely Birch Lake in so... read more… Flu, flu, go away. Don’t come back any other day. 5-22-09Everyone knows the annual flu season is upon us – old strains, new strains, sniffles, sneezes and coughs. Everyone does not know that one of the most effective means of prevention is a safe and inexpensive over-the-counter product found in your... read more… Nature knows how to cure if we just give it a chance 5-15-09If you read last week’s report about my friend Barbara Long who was given just three to ten days to live because virulent cancer was consuming her, you’ll be interested to know more about the nutritional and natural approach that knocked ... read more… Feel joy and love while being edified and inspired 5-01-09Some of you were swept away by the delightful Margaret Trost when she appeared in Burlingame Hall last October. Her story, documented in her deeply inspiring, quick-read book, “On That Day Everybody Ate; One Woman’s Story of Hope and Poss... read more… It’s up to you and me to demand genuine food safety 4-17-09Alarm bells have been clanging all over my in box for a month. E-mails from around the country raising fear and dread about a proposed piece of legislation. A bill with provisions sounding so draconian I wanted to believe the e-mails were hysterical ... read more… Looking for the “perfect job” isn’t even an option today 4-03-09When your resume swims into the recruiting office amidst hundreds, how likely is it to be fished out for further review? Having spent hours on the attempt to have your resume represent you well, you obviously want your work to be carefully read and t... read more… Making your resume stand out among a thousand 3-27-09This much I can say for sure – looking for a job today is nothing like it was last time I put a resume together. Oh, pshaw, it’s nothing like it was even five years ago!I use that antique interjection in consideration of the many who neve... read more… It’s almost like turning my own thumb green 3-20-09Once upon a time, I was offered the opportunity to become a member of a CSA. This was something I had never heard of, but I tend to be open to inspiring new ideas.CSA, it turned out, stands for Community Supported Agriculture and the Community involv... read more… Inspirational story of a Bay area woman 3-13-09The first moment she met the young widow from California, the wizened and wrinkled elderly women gestured toward her open door, saying in English, “Welcome home.” And, although it was only her second time in this country after a two... read more… Young folks plead for intergenerational activism 2-20-09While we’re awed and thrilled to watch as the presidential campaign of Barack Obama mobilized young people in the political process, we also acknowledge a vital need to find ways to maintain that interest and energy now that their candidate has... read more… For me, home is the journey 11-21-08How many houses have you lived in throughout your lifetime? As for me, I couldn’t even begin the count. I know that before I was able to hold things in memory, my family of six piled into a sedan and drove from Indiana to California in the mist... read more… Teaching public speaking to sixth-graders 11-07-08Jerry Seinfeld once said that at a funeral, most people would rather in be in the casket than giving the eulogy. A humorous Seinfeld exaggeration, yet fear of speaking in public may well be America’s greatest anxiety. How might your life ha... read more… Who owns our infrastructure? 6-05-08The newest bridge in town is named for one of our notable residents, Ig Vella. Most of us remember well our inconvenience through the many months of construction. People who had to drive the extra miles to get from here to there rejoice that the new ... read more… just joan just questions 5-22-08People of Sonoma still reflect unsettledness concerning a major event in our lifetimes. Many of you are concerned, have lingering questions and you’re not wanting to take sides. I’d like to give voice to some of your questions. Who ha... read more… Louann Carlomagno has a framework for understanding poverty 10-18-07Imagine this. You have a teaching contract at the very high school you attended some years ago. Now it’s opening day and you’re ready to walk into a classroom to teach some 150 students throughout the school day. You’re excited. And... read more… just jottings from just joan today . . . 9-27-07Once more, today's column offers a collection of assorted tips, suggestions and pieces of wisdom I've gathered for your pleasure and edification. Did you know you can catch a cold from putting your wet laundry in the dryer? As goofy as it... read more… Faith as a journey to justice and compassion 9-13-07Sitting at the microphone awaiting my turn, it felt a lot like sitting in the KSVY studios with Ken Brown. And a lot different, as well. We were visiting one additional lively community center whose council had designated a broadcast studio as a n... read more… In the U.S. employers pay for medical care. How did that happen? 8-02-07The high school debate team chose as its topic: "Should the United States provide health care for its citizens through a system of socialized medicine?" This Central High School senior chose to argue on the affirmative side and did extensive research... read more… Teaching public speaking to sixth-graders 7-26-07Jerry Seinfeld once said that at a funeral, most people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy. A humorous Seinfeld exaggeration, yet fear of speaking in public may well be America's greatest anxiety. How might your life have bee... read more… Forget the rocking chairs, these seniors really rock! 7-12-07In today’s world, her lifestyle might seem rather ordinary. But in 1980, 95-year-old Bertha made quite an impression on me. Through the local newspaper I’d invited folks to participate in an evening meal for the homeless population.&ldquo... read more… Send in the clones? 1-11-07According to Angela McManus, Starbucks regional food manager in San Francisco, “Northern California started the whole thing by being so far ahead on the no-trans-fat trend. Customers demanded it.” She was referring to the announcement ... read more… Elections, selections and predilections 7-13-06Proud moments: Nov. 4, 1952. First time I was eligible to vote and I so looked forward to it. However, at the stroke of midnight, labor pains began. Instead of helping deliver a defeat to Gen. Eisenhower for President that day, I delivered over eight... read more… Do we need a feminism movement today? 6-22-06The reaction to last week’s discussion of feminism in the Fine Life section of The Sun prompted today’s column. Younger folks expressed astonishment on reading in my essay that I had been fired from a very domestic position in the applian... read more… “Home of the Brave” — does “Brave” apply to you and me? 3-16-06Moving rapidly up the non-fiction best-seller lists is the latest book from San Francisco’s famed rabbi Michael Lerner. In “The Left Hand of God,” Lerner posits cultures have moved back and forth between worldviews for thousands of ... read more… Are we, as a nation, being overwhelmed with fear? 3-02-06When I left for Israel in January of 1997, I was excited and ready for some significant work. But many of my friends expressed a different emotion: fear. Nearly every e-mail or letter I received during my year in the Holy Land reflected more of the s... read more… Will we snuff out a life-generating work? 12-01-05December 13 is a date I remember well. Years ago I was seriously burned on December 13th and the life-generating work I was involved in was snuffed out as I lay in a hospital bed for three long months. Stanley has been involved in life-generating... read more… |
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