- Details
- Written by: Op-Ed Shaydee Lane
- Hits: 625
While the new aces argue about the runway, the old crew still knows how to land a plane.
What if you could hold one single moment from your entire life, just one, to carry with you forever? Which one would it be? The answer may tell us more about who we are than any story we tell ourselves.
There’s a photograph in your mind, faded, perhaps, but alive...a moment from your past that never quite lets go. Maybe it’s the day you first rode a bike, the night you whispered secrets to a friend, or the first time you saw your newborn child. Why do these moments cling, while others vanish without a trace?
What moments shape us, and what will our children and grandchildren hold onto in a noisy world?
That is my question today. What memories are we leaving to our new generation? Lockdowns? Climate Change? Global Warming? Guilt? What have we allowed to happen?
Read more: The Flight of the Navigator - Old Pilots, New Aces, and Why Childhood Matters
- Details
- Written by: Op-Ed Monty
- Hits: 726
When a lifetime isn’t enough to be believed
I know a person... in her older years. She has a smartphone. She knows how to use it, She tries to keep up with the modern world..even when it changes faster than her knees can carry her. She can type faster than me and while she is drop dead gorgeous in my eyes, you can tell she is not 18 anymore.
She’s not stubborn. She’s not lost in the past.She’s just… older.
And this week, standing at her front door, she was asked to prove how old she was. Yes, by a delivery driver from the local adult beverage shop...... with a bottle of Irish whiskey I had ordered for her. What happened next was shocking. Welcome to E- Australia...
Read more: Expired IDs, Expired Lives? What turns older People into In Valids?
- Details
- Written by: Op-Ed Ratty News
- Hits: 596
RATTY NEWS SPECIAL BULLETIN
By Roderick “Whiskers” McNibble, Editor-in-Cheese
It has been a busy week here in Dusty Gulch.
It all began with a report I filed a few days ago but held back from publishing due to rising duck-threat levels and escalating biscuit security.
But now, with the town in open uproar and the smell of conspiracy wafting stronger than Maude Elphinstone’s curried egg sandwiches, I can at last reveal the events that have shaken Dusty Gulch to its very poultry-plucked core:
“Mayor Abduckted!”
Read more: DUCKS, DECEIT & DUSTY McFOOKIT: The Marmalade Coup
- Details
- Written by: Op-Ed Monty
- Hits: 617
Before he was a U.S. Senator, Vice President, or bestselling author, J.D. Vance was just a kid in a holler in Middletown, Ohio - raised by his grandmother, shaped by chaos, yet grounded by a stubborn Appalachian pride. In Hillbilly Elegy, Vance wrote not just of poverty or politics, but of a cultural inheritance: the fierce loyalty, front porch wisdom, and the sounds that echoed through the hills and into his soul.
For many like him, Appalachian music wasn’t just background noise - it was the heartbeat of a people who had little, lost much, but clung fiercely to their identity. Carried across oceans from Ireland and Scotland, shaped by African, English, and frontier influences, this music tells a story that stretches from ancient highlands to the misty mountains of Kentucky, Tennessee, and beyond.
It is a story of survival. Of belonging. Of a people bruised but unbroken - still finding harmony amid hardship.
Read more: Music That Refuses to Be Forgotten: Grit, Ballads, and the Appalachian Soul
- Details
- Written by: Op-Ed Happy Expat
- Hits: 643
From the rat-hunters of age-old sailing ships to the black-cloaked Catalinas prowling the Pacific skies, cats have served the military with a quiet, enduring presence. Agile, alert, and unflinching under fire, they’ve been more than mascots - they’ve been symbols of readiness and resolve.
My favourite of them all flew under the callsign PBY: the mighty Catalina, a slow but unstoppable flying boat that saved lives, hunted submarines, and watched vast oceans with tireless eyes.
Whether curled on a warship’s deck or gliding through enemy skies on midnight raids, cats - furry or winged - have always stood ready to fight or fly. The question is… are we?
Read more: Some Cats Slumber While Others Hunt - Cats of War and Peace
- View all
- Blog
-
From Nova to a…
I am personally horrified by what has happened since October 2023. This wasn’t just a…
58 hits
-
Aussie Slang - Where…
Much of Australia’s early slang comes from the convict culture of the late 18th and…
258 hits
-
The New Dogma: How…
In 1925, a small courtroom in Dayton, Tennessee, became the stage for a battle over…
254 hits
-
From Gala to Galah:…
Ratty News Exclusive By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Special Correspondent (aisle seat, back row) Reporting from…
293 hits
-
The Secret Covenant...... Warning…
Back in 2002, an anonymous person sent an email from a disposable email address to…
241 hits
-
I Pencil - a…
“We are perishing for want of wonder, not for want of wonders.” G. K. Chesterton Leonard…
291 hits
-
Albert Facey’s Fortunate Life:…
Albert Facey’s A Fortunate Life is more than a memoir. It is the voice of…
653 hits
-
Gaza, Pipelines, and the…
A Journey Through Time: From the Suez Canal to the Speculative Ben Gurion Canal Let’s…
367 hits
-
When Pirates Weren't the…
I recently watched the film " Captain Philips " on Netflix. I had resisted for…
341 hits
-
Dusty Gulch Dispatch: Mission…
By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Special Correspondent (aisle seat, back row) The Prime Minister has officially…
324 hits
-
The Sky Guardians -…
Those who are not familiar with this title may be excused for thinking that it…
353 hits
-
Memories are Made of…
It was back in the early 80's that Redhead and her late husband bought their…
353 hits
-
The Bailey Bridge: A…
During the early years of World War II, the British Army faced many obstacles. Chief…
394 hits
-
A Bridge Too Far
When people think of World War II, they often picture D-Day, the Blitz, or the…
400 hits
-
What Makes Good Government?
I asked the question " What makes good government? " on a forum I belong…
437 hits
-
The Chicken Man’s Call:…
Imagine the joy of discussing life's great mysteries or the simple art of cooking a…
415 hits
-
Whiskers Remembered – A…
Dusty Gulch Dispatch: Whiskers Remembered – A Follicle-Fueled Fightback Against Feather-Brained Folly By Roderick (Whiskers)…
403 hits
-
The Home Children
Between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, more than a hundred thousand British children were…
431 hits
-
The Eagle Squadrons: Friends…
The Battle of Britain ended on 15th September, 1940 but the Blitz continued long after that. Following…
465 hits
-
The Lost Art of…
In an age of glowing screens and fleeting texts, something precious has quietly slipped away:…
474 hits
-
From Jim Stark to…
As young folk, didn't some of us feel like rebels without a cause? I am…
505 hits
-
Our Finest Hour: Then…
As our countries are collapsing under the weight of wokeism, social and communist ideology, who…
564 hits
-
The Death of Laughter:…
Crack Up or Crack Apart When the world gets grim, you’ve only got two choices:…
581 hits
-
The Croc Cavalry &…
Dusty Gulch Dispatch: The Croc Cavalry & the Great Duckening By Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble, Special…
659 hits
-
Who Owns Our Land,…
The Warning of Gareth Jones: Who Owns Our Land, Our Water, Our Future? When we…
570 hits
-
Separated from Justice, Law…
"At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice,…
565 hits
-
The Timeless Strategy of…
As a teacher seasoned by years of studying history and upholding the integrity of language,…
696 hits
-
The Stupidity of Democracy…
“The stupidity of democracy. It will always remain as one of democracy’s best jokes that…
658 hits
-
Gone but Not Forgotten:…
It was 19 years ago on the 4th of September 2006 that Steve Irwin rolled…
779 hits
-
Maslow, Munitions and My…
Why Even a My Little Pony Rifle Makes More Sense than Gun Bans We have…
715 hits