SMILE AWHILE
Not-by-request music often falls on deaf ears
By IRENE HASKINS
The oft-misquoted saying that music hath charms to soothe the savage beast works both ways. Music also hath ways to bring out the savage beast in otherwise calm creatures, like when I’m sitting peacefully in the privacy of my own car and I hear cruising stereos approaching from three blocks away.

SNAPSHOTS
By IRENE HASKINS
Joni Bramon and Suzanne "Suz" Giesler have been close friends and soul sisters for five years. One of their shared joys is traveling together. Their first trip was in the spring of 2003 while Joni was living in Spain and told Suz she would meet her anywhere in Europe if she would come. They met in Amsterdam and spent three weeks traveling by train through Belgium, France and Spain.

Challenge your boys to succeed in school
By JOYCE HULETT
Why are colleges now graduating more girls than boys?

NEWTON'S BOOK NOTES
Summer is a time for mystery and adventure
By HOLLY NEWTON
School’s out, and here’s my list of best summer "reads" from this past school year. These top 15 fiction books are a nice variety of different genres that include historical fiction, fantasy and mystery. Almost all of the books are great for ages 9 through adult.

LET'S TALK ANTIQUES
Ancestors dipped candles and said let there be light
By NANCY RUSSELL
Can you imagine just how dark early homes were at night before electricity? Our ancestors might have lit their homes with whale oil lamps, kerosene lamps, or gas, but most of the struggling colonists and pioneers made and burned candles. They could be hand dipped or molded at home out of materials that were readily available such as beeswax, tallow and bayberry.