Ellen Waterston

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry In writing classes and programs there’s a lot of talk about the importance of an author or poet’s voice. Emerging writers are urged to find theirs. Book club groups discuss authors who have […]

You have to admit, the first 66 days of Trump’s presidency have been a rodeo. I’d like to feel everything is fine, but don’t. I’m not alone. I. Maria Ressa’s book, “How to Stand Up to a Dictator,” recounts her dogged and personally dangerous commitment to standing up for fact-based journalism in the Philippines during […]

Let’s hear it for conversation hearts, Valentine’s Day cards, bouquets or heart-shaped chocolates from unknown admirers! Sure, sure, but feeling and expressing heartfelt emotions is not a once-a-year thing. We don’t have to be “Damn Yankees” to know we gotta have heart every day, miles and miles of it, in order to get through life. […]

Ok. A new year. If you’re my age, or older, you’re now in full awareness mode. I read somewhere that in galactic or geologic or anthropologic time (I don’t remember which), one life will have only lasted an hour. That would mean, at my age, I have the equivalent of a few nanoseconds left, if […]

No sooner is holiday buying over, no sooner are living rooms out from under the jolly chaos of ribbons and wrapping paper, than we’re headed back to the malls and downtown shops with returns. Gift givers, I feel your pain. I know the ouch factor when you’ve spent hours agonizing over the perfect present, only […]

As it turned out, on the night of the presidential election I wound up driving south and east on Highway 205, on my way to meet with a couple whose ranch lies on the Oregon/Nevada border. Over the course of the past two years, I have been interviewing people throughout the southeastern corner of the […]

I had the pleasure of attending a gala for the Friends of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge this month. A small but mighty nonprofit promoting “conservation and appreciation of natural and cultural resources…through education, outreach, advocacy, and on-the-ground stewardship,” its territory includes nearly 190,000 acres of critical wildlife habitat. The gathering coincided with the birthday of […]

Taking a spill wasn’t a medical red flag when first learning to ride a two-wheel bike or, at 30, cartwheeling down the ski slope leaving a trail of goggles and skis. So, Boomers, when you commit a young person’s fall, don’t admit to your doc you tripped on a root while on a September hike. […]

Don’t tell me if you don’t want to, but I bet it’s true…red, blue or RFK Jr. (that’s a new color on the spectrum), aren’t you feeling a little cheerier now that the political gloom and doom has lifted slightly? No one was smiling a few months ago. I mean, we, all of us, have […]

On July 13, a 20-year-old white male was able to get his hands on a legally purchased semiautomatic AR-type rifle and nearly succeed in assassinating a United States presidential candidate. This tragedy is a call to action that includes all of us and especially those of us over 65. Our experience and our perspective are […]