Mukilteo Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

"It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?" – Henry David Thoreau Busy is how most of us begin (and persist through) our days. A... — Updated 11/15/2023

“We could be heroes, just for one day.” – David Bowie Walking down a long hallway the other day, looking at statues of important figures from American history, I saw an... — Updated 10/11/2023

“To be fair …” begins many a sentence intended to present the other side of a situation or issue. It is not a phrase we hear much these days, except in jest. If you have not... — Updated 9/13/2023

Loss, noun: The act or an instance of losing; one that is lost; the condition of being deprived or bereaved of something or someone. “Loss” is a complex word. We only consider... — Updated 8/30/2023

Editor’s note: We are returning to a column published in October 2021. It seems timely with Elon Musk’s decision to replace “Twitter” with “X.” X – such a dramatic... — Updated 8/9/2023

“It’s hot. It’s like Africa-hot. Tarzan couldn’t take this kind of hot.” – Eugene Morris Jerome, “Biloxi Blues” “The Pacific Northwest is a temperate climate.... — Updated 7/26/2023

“A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy.” – Teddy Roosevelt “America the Beautiful” is a tune we all know... — Updated 7/12/2023

“Birds are mediators between heaven and earth.” – Terry Tempest Williams My dad used to hold me in front of the kitchen window of our duplex in the city, and we would watch th... — Updated 7/5/2023

“After silence, that which comes closest to expressing the inexplicable is music.” – Aldus Huxley There is something about a good song. It transports you to a place in time,... — Updated 6/14/2023

grudge v. : to be unwilling to give or admit: give or allow reluctantly or resentfully n. : a feeling of deep-seated resentment or ill will The other day at a meeting, someone... — Updated 5/31/2023

Imagine your favorite restaurant or café, the place you go when you want to relax or share stories with friends and family. The dishes come, you put your napkin in your lap, pick... — Updated 5/24/2023

“There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine.” – Ray Bradbury, “Fahrenheit 451” When I was 13, I saved my allowance to buy a biography about a rock sta... — Updated 5/3/2023

“Under certain circumstances, there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” – Henry James Few bites compare to a... — Updated 4/26/2023

Growing up, I spent a lot of time reading. My mom would say that hours would go by and they would not see me unless they peeked into my room to find me in a corner, usually sitting... — Updated 4/12/2023

Desensitization: noun. The process of reducing or eliminating sensitivity; the act or process of desensitizing, of dulling or reducing sensation. I have always said I want to... — Updated 3/22/2023

”Men explain things to me, and facts do not get in their way” – Rebecca Solnit Molly Tuttle, one of the most extraordinary bluegrass singers, composers, and guitar players,... — Updated 3/8/2023

“There’s a starman waiting in the sky/He’s told us not to blow it/’Cause he knows it’s all worthwhile” – David Bowie Is there a difference between an unidentified... — Updated 3/2/2023

Before the holidays, we read and heard the reports about a tripledemic, about the virulent flu strains, and about RSV more intense than in past years, not to mention the common cold... — Updated 2/1/2023

Oh, the weather outside is frightful But the fire is so delightful And since we've no place to go Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow Like the song says, if the weather has to be... — Updated 12/28/2022

“I am woman, hear me roar, in numbers too big to ignore, and I know too much to go back and pretend.” – Helen Reddy My mom loves to tell a story from my childhood of one... — Updated 12/14/2022

Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and ca... — Updated 11/10/2022

Anniversary, celebration, remembrance, birthday, National Day of … Oct. 24 was National Chicken Fried Steak Day, National Day of the Deployed, National Mincemeat, Mule Day, and... — Updated 11/2/2022

"Luck is preparation meeting opportunity." – Oprah Winfrey I recently the honor of traveling to Washington, D.C., with scholars and alumni from my scholarship organization to expe... — Updated 10/5/2022

During a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Madrid a few years ago, I visited the mecca of the Spanish language: the Real Academia Española, the defender of proper Spanish. I grew up... — Updated 9/21/2022

Fifteen, 15. It’s a complex number. It’s a composite number (formed through multiplication), a deficient number (like all prime numbers, but it’s not prime), a pernicious... — Updated 9/14/2022