Off the Wall

By Bob Spiwak Oct. 29 marked the first anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, the second-costliest and largest hurricane in size to hit the Atlantic coast. It covered 1,100 miles of ocean and inland area. New Jersey was among the largest states devastated by the storm. New Jersey is considered a dump by many, and lives up […]

– or a golf course that looks like a sand trap By Bob Spiwak While what follows is obviously about golf, it could ultimately have an effect on the economies of the Methow Valley and beyond. Eighteen of us of the Northwest Golf Media Association were invited to a “pre-preview” of the new Gamble Sands […]

Sept. 11, 2013 By Bob Spiwak In the current issue of Audubon magazine there is a feature article titled “Eight Great Fall Birding Trails.” At first glance this might be of little interest to anyone other than bird watchers, but where the birds are, there would be other wildlife in the area – which makes […]

Now that you’re not here I am considering writing an e-book containing humor columns I have written for the Methow Valley News, golf magazines, Grist and The Goat Wall Street Journal.  (Well, I think they are humorous.) As some of the columns go back 30 years or more, I asked Ms. Gloria to ferret out […]

When zucchinis are outlawed, only outlaws will have zucchinis Years ago a job market expert predicted that as more and more regulations are passed, a third of all professionals in the nation will be lawyers by 2020. I suppose the reason for this is that we continue to elect them as legislators – local, state and […]

Ready when it really counts BY BOB SPIWAK Maybe I should have been a statistician. I have always counted things, and these genes have been passed along to my son. I was aware of his proclivity when driving to the East Coast when he was 11 or so and counted VWs as we went east […]

Sittin’ around talkin’ trash BY BOB SPIWAK The end of March brings us to income taxes, property taxes and ducks back on the pond. It brings to us new garbage cans. In West Boesel, as in Carlton, anything out of the ordinary is newsworthy and the object of deep intellectual conversation. “Deep” does not necessarily […]