Columnists

It is March 1963. The place: the depths of Glen Canyon in Arizona.  An epic is being filmed. George Stevens is directing “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” Charlton Heston as John the Baptist is finishing filming for the day. He has a  wet suit under his costume (he had been doing scenes at the Crossing of The Father’s, where Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico meet). He has been standing in cold, waist high water all day (enacting the baptizing of Jesus.) He is rushing to catch the movie company’s leased DC3 for Burbank, out of the airport under construction in Page, Ariz. before daylight turns into a swampy black night, with no lights installed yet on the runway.

There comes a time in every mom's life where she asks her

Creative, unique, elegant, artistic and inventive would be understated adjectives when describing “The Lion King.” The phrase “pushing the envelope” must have been created for it. Here is theatre never seen before, a production where the star is the director, who uses her abilities to bring to the stage an experience that unfolds as a story most are familiar with, but with out-of-the-box imagination.

Like a canary in a coal mine, roses provide an early-warning detection system in our vineyards. Roses are generally weaker than grape vines, yet have almost the same genetic make-up. Planted among the grapevines, roses react first to disease, soil and water conditions. Roses are “indicator plants” that give the vineyard manager time to fix the problems before they reach the grape vines. Not only are roses a harbinger to the production of healthy vines, they also lend a colorful contrast to the vineyard.

Triathlon dream dashed

Earlier this week I was driving down San Benito Street in my 2001 Ford truck unwillingly going below the speed limit behind a distracted driver behind the wheel of a Dodge Viper sports car.

As the world marks the centennial of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, my own thoughts recall an ordinary object – a toothbrush salvaged from the debris field surrounding the rusting hull of the great oceanliner that found its final resting place two miles below the Atlantic’s surface.

As you and your friends and family get set for the Independence Day celebrations here in the South Valley, I hope you’ll take a moment to think about the great American experiment we are a part of today. The word “experiment” to describe our republic is a fitting one. Many of the leaders who founded our nation were scientifically astute and understood the principles of carrying out tests to prove or disprove revolutionary ideas – including political ideas.

In my Christmas column last year, I wrote about my family's Christmas Eve menu and how it changed when I began hosting duties. I shared the recipes for Decadent Hot Chocolate and Spiced Apple Cider. I also mentioned one other item on the menu called sfingi. This week, I describe what it is and share the recipe.