Facepaint vs. fascism

By Skip Mendler

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A Christmas story

Perhaps it was the unusually warm weather that New York has been experiencing over the past few weeks.

Perhaps it was the loud Christmas carols playing in my usual deli before Thanksgiving.

“A little early with the carols,” I said to the cashier at the time. He smiled and nodded.

“Cheerful,” he added. He doesn’t speak much English.

Perhaps I’m just getting older or maybe just more cynical.

It could be the recent loss of my girlfriend, the realization that we aren’t getting back together, and that I would spend this holiday season without a love to share it with.

But Christmas just seemed to be more about spending money and much less about family and good cheer. And it seemed like it was coming too early this year, way too early.

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Making memories in Pike County

By Daniel Kennedy

Along the road my house is on, white birch trees shine in spring sunlight. Across the street a small lake yields healthy largemouth bass. I have fished there through most of my 12 springs in Pike County. Sometimes I go with my father; sometimes I go alone, usually in the evening when the sun begins to dip behind the tree line.

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