It should shock no one that, when I was in school, I often fought with my professors. I was raised by parents who taught me to trust my internal logic, and so when anyone, even authority figures, told me something…
Well, it’s the 25 year anniversary of the Zephyr, and it’s been difficult for me to think of something to write this issue. I feel unqualified, as you might imagine, to write about the long history of the paper, since…
You’ve probably seen this video: fast-cut scenes of tornado chasers, children hiking, a man standing over a massive waterfall, an engineer staring up at a wind turbine, a pilot in a rescue helicopter, Indian women dancing, hockey players skating, a…
It’s a cliché to say that every object has a story. But, when you’re a consummate thrift store and flea market browser, as Jim and I are, the truth is that each of our belongings probably has three or four…
Gather a few confirmed environmentalists in any room and give them 90 minutes to get acquainted, and the conversation will inevitably coalesce around one question: What’s the deal with those conservatives? It is almost impossible for a liberal, especially one…
I am hopelessly nostalgic. By nature, it seems, I am drawn to historic town squares, brick streets, and dusty museums. I am a sucker for trains and soda fountains. Any pre-World War II architectural style fascinates me. And this fascination,…
Little did I know, as I wrote my article in January about the desire for snow, that winter hadn’t truly passed us over this year. It was just delayed. And, two weeks after the last Zephyr went up, down…
Lately, I’m preoccupied with the thought of snow. It has been near sixty degrees the past few days here in Kansas, and what little snow we accumulated in a fleeting New Year’s storm melted weeks ago. It could be any…
The election ended weeks ago, and I must be the only voter in America who could still call herself “undecided.” I may not look it. To judge by the voting patterns of most of my family and friends, the…
I’ve read quite a few articles over the years–and it seems like a slew lately–telling me what “women” are saying, thinking and wanting. All are about as predictable as you’d expect. Usually they refer to some small subset of women…