Meet the 98-year-old ‘Angel of Route 66’

by Rebecca Treon BBC    On a dusty stretch of northern Arizona, about an hour west of Flagstaff, the neon glow of Angel and Vilma Delgadillo’s Original Route 66 Gift Shop still flickers to life each morning.    Inside, 98-year-old Angel Delgadillo greets the stream of visitors pouring in from tour buses with a handshake and …

Alberta To Vote On Separation From Canada

by Nadine Yousif and Sareen Habeshian BBC    Alberta will hold a referendum on whether the province should remain in Canada or move ahead with a second binding vote on separation, marking the first significant test of the country’s unity in decades.    Thursday’s announcement by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith comes after a citizen-led petition …

My Friend, “Prepaid” Is The Only Way To Go

by Kevin Burton    I called the cemetery where my mother will be buried next week and told the clerk that the time had come.    The clerk was actually en route to work. She said she would look up our family’s records once she got there, and call me back.    “Everything is paid …

Dave Mason And A Place That’s Far Away

by Kevin Burton    There was just one song that brought Dave Mason into my top-40-based musical awareness in the 70s, but that was enough to keep him there.    Mason died April 19, and tributes began to pour in from people who knew him as I didn’t,  as a co-founder of the British rock …

Tempering Expectations For McCartney Album

by Kevin Burton    I think writers borrow the whole Dickens thing too much. You know, best of times-worst of times. But here I think, it fits.    As a Beatles fan I am of course looking forward to “The Boys of Dungeon Lane,” PaulMcCartney’s first new solo album in six years, set for release …

He Is Risen! There Is Hope For The Hopeless

by Kevin Burton    Your tombstone and mine will land with the thud of finality. Jesus’ tombstone was pushed aside in very short order.    This was God’s plan, and we rejoice in it today on Easter, as we serve a risen Savior, who conquered death to make a way for us to be saved. …

Finding Contentment In The Little Dance

by Kevin Burton    Perhaps you noticed that all the teams in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA basketball tournament this year were from the Big Four conferences.    That and Kansas losing in the second round has dialed my enthusiasm down very close to zero.    A pox on all 16 of their houses …

Dual Citizenship Now A Popular Escape Route

by Ellie Cobb BBC    When Emily Hill, a novelist from Everett, Washington, heard about the recent changes to Canada’s citizenship-by-descent rules, she immediately wondered whether a family connection might make her eligible.    “I felt like I’d been struck by lightning,” she says, explaining that her grandmother was born in Montreal. “This possibility was …

US Tourism Industry Could Lose Billions

by Soo Kim Newsweek    A significant downturn in international tourism threatens to erode billions in spending and deepen the nation’s travel trade deficit, according to a forecast by the U.S. Travel Association.   The report, outlines a projected 6.3 percent drop in international inbound visits in 2026 year—the first decline since 2020, the year marking …

International Women’s Day, Because Why Not?

by Kevin Burton    Tomorrow dear reader, is International Women’s Day.    When I gave my wife Jeannette those glad tidings she said “What does that mean?”    An excellent question from an excellent woman.    “Imagine a gender-equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination,” is the invitation from the International Women’s …