Articles written by Pam Burke
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View from the North 40: This should be National Word Appreciation week
In honor of 14-year-old Dev Shah of Florida, who won the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday, this week’s column is about official words. Scripps uses the Merriam-Webster... — Updated 6/2/2023
View from the North 40: It's the news you most likely can't use
In April, the Belgian coastal town of De Panne crowned the top seagull screecher in the closing ceremony of its European seagull immitation championship. Reuters reported in an... — Updated 5/26/2023
View from the North 40: I recommend you don't goat there
Though this is not the year of the goat, one goat’s demands for attention were recently met with an official response that two officers may learn to regret. An Enid, Oklahoma... — Updated 5/19/2023
View from the North 40: It is easy being green, right now
I love living where we have four seasons, even if only two of the four are really likable — and with all due respect to fall, spring is my favorite time of year. If I continue... — Updated 5/12/2023
View from the North 40: When tragedy stalks the house
As truisms go, it’s not very catchy, and it’s pretty unsavory, but after last week, I can vouch for its truthfulness: The night isn’t really dark until your horse starts... — Updated 5/5/2023
View from the North 40: Pasture fencing as a mixed metaphor
At the point my friend, Kerri, asked me last weekend what I was doing, I was at the tipping point into the realm of too tired to make words happen, so I let my cellphone camera do... — Updated 4/28/2023
View from the North 40: O vent pipe, vent pipe, wherefore art thou, vent pipe?
1. “The vent pipe is not regarded as lost until you realize it’s lost” — Mehmet Murat Ildan. The vent ducting had to be installed on the range hood before any other major... — Updated 4/21/2023
View from the North 40: I don't even like goldfish in a bowl
While I was talking with an avid fisherman in late February, he confessed he was tired of ice fishing and had put all of his ice fishing gear away, even though it meant he may not... — Updated 4/14/2023
View from the North 40: Spring, it's pretty much its own sport
Yes, folks, it’s finally that time of year we’ve all been waiting for — the annual running of the snowmelt. The celebration has, as we all know, experienced several delays... — Updated 4/7/2023
View from the North 40: My apologies for the cuteness overload
I was going to move on from the whole drama of my illness, but I have one more thing to say about being sick and then I’ll let it go — my pets deserve a shout out for their... — Updated 3/31/2023
View from the North 40: Of all the things I still have ...
My grandma developed Alzheimer’s in her early 80s, which isn’t a particularly funny way to start a humor column because, of course, the disease is not funny. There were moments... — Updated 3/24/2023
View from the North 40: It's an exercise in lunacy
It seems only fitting that a recent push to define and enforce some kind of time zone system on the moon has a link to the word lunacy. The Associate Press reported Feb. 28 the... — Updated 3/17/2023
View from the North 40: This is how our world ends? Pigs?
Really, Canada? Super pigs? What were you thinking? I mean, of all the countries in all the world we might’ve imagined would bring about the end of mankind in some manner, did... — Updated 3/10/2023
View from the North 40: It's that old sinking feeling, again
I sound bonkers, even to myself, when I talk about how this whole kitchen sink project has affected me. I mean, it’s a sink — houses have them in 21st century U.S.A. They do.... — Updated 3/3/2023
View from the North 40: It's when that sinking feeling gushes over you
In a good two week’s worth of miscues and mishaps and daily trips to the plumbing store on our way to a fully functioning kitchen sink, my husband, John, won the Video-worthy... — Updated 2/24/2023
View from the North 40: OK … but what aren't they saying?
My bar for evaluating news content is pretty old-school: Is it factual, truthful and unbiased? Sometimes, though, I desire more of this than is provided in article, not in the sense... — Updated 2/17/2023
View from the North 40: Hmphy Valentine's Day to one and all
Valentine’s Day is one of the oddest holidays of the year. I can remember back in grade school being required to fill out little Valentine’s cards for all my classmates and... — Updated 2/10/2023
View from the North 40: Where greed can take you
I recently recognized the fact that I’ve been working my way through the five stages of greed. All I can say is that not all of life’s progress is in a positive direction.... — Updated 2/3/2023
View from the North 40: Does no one pay attention to movie plots?
One of the big stories this week is about how eight U.S. Marines outsmarted a government artificial intelligence system by employing classic stealth tactics usually seen in... — Updated 1/27/2023
View from the North 40: What makes my peasant heart sing
My husband, John, and I come from a long line of peasant stock, hellbent do-it-yourselfers, who don’t put a price on our time but feel all the richer for our experiences, skills... — Updated 1/20/2023
View from the North 40: It's everything but the kitchen sink
Research says one of the most common lies we humans tell ourselves is the one about how long a project will take to complete, which isn’t an explanation so much about why I... — Updated 1/13/2023
View from the North 40: It's a winter brain thing
Nature and the creatures it mothers think in seasons not days and dates. This weekend we transition to a whole new calendar year whilst, sadly, we remain stuck in the same old... — Updated 12/30/2022
View from the North 40: Where will Christmas Day find you?
The solstice arrived with very negative temps giving off a vibe that said “first day of winter” — in a doom-filled sort of “Game of Thrones” way — more than “brighter... — Updated 12/23/2022
View from the North 40: The fabric works in mysterious ways
I don’t mean to sound overly dramatic, but I think I may have proven the existence of God while I was at a church Monday. I know, no one can be more shocked than I am that this... — Updated 12/16/2022
View from the North 40: Maybe I can call it a grammar affirmation exercise
This whole idea started out lighthearted, but then it got all data-driven and serious. Leave it to the science nerds to research the life out of the fun. I had a thought about... — Updated 12/9/2022