Columns & Opinions

Friend charges guests to attend wedding

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

DEAR HARRIETTE: I just received an invitation to a wedding from an old friend. This friend and I used to be close, but frankly, we started hanging out a lot less because I couldn’t afford her lifestyle.

Elizabeth Ko, M.D.

Estrogen cream may help with UTIs

Saturday, March 21, 2026

Hello, dear readers! Welcome to a bonus letters column. Right before writing this column, we made the annual shift into daylight saving time.We’ve given up an hour of morning light for a longer, sunlit evening.

Husband loses focus after retirement

Saturday, March 21, 2026

DEAR HARRIETTE: My husband retired last year, and ever since, he has done virtually nothing. He watches YouTube all day long, eats snacks, sits, smokes weed, drinks and complains.He was already becoming somewhat of a curmudgeon in recent years, but now he has gone off the deep end.

TODAY IN HISTORY

Saturday, March 21, 2026

In 1788, a fire destroyed most of the city of New Orleans.In 1963, the federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay was closed.In 1980, President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympic Games.

40 YEARS AGO Crowned Clinton wrestling queen at the homecoming match with El Reno was sophomore Lisa Gayle Jones, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Jones. Her escort was undefeated senior wrestler Buster Loving, who later won his 20th match of the season.

CLINTON’S HISTORY 10, 20, 30 AND 40 YEARS AGO

Saturday, March 21, 2026

30 YEARS AGO• Clinton Police patrolmen Richard Rose and Gene Kelley stood in front of one of the cars that had been assigned for take-home duty. They were keeping police cars at their homes and using them for in-town personal errands.

The insane government shutdown

Friday, March 20, 2026

On March 1, an immigrant from Senegal, apparently angry over the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, donned a T-shirt that said “Property of Allah,” grabbed a Koran, a pistol and a semi-automatic rifle and headed toward a popular nightlife area in Austin, Texas.

Elizabeth Ko, M.D.

Likelihood of getting parasite in the pancreas

Friday, March 20, 2026

Dear Doctors: How do I cleanse my pancreas of parasites?Dear Reader: Your question assumes that you have a parasitic infection in your pancreas. Without additional details, such as symptoms you are having, any tests you’ve done or a specific diagnosis you received, we can’t offer much guidance.

Godson being pursued by much older woman

Friday, March 20, 2026

DEAR HARRIETTE: My godson is 22 years old – soon to be a college graduate beginning his life as an adult. He confides in me about his life, including his dating life. He told me that he is being courted by a woman who is 20 years older than him.

It’s gas and groceries again

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

The single biggest reason Donald Trump won the last election boils down to two words: gas and groceries. Joe Biden’s failure to control prices on those key commodities enabled Trump, who has never won a majority of the popular vote, to capture a second term.

Elizabeth Ko, M.D.

Dancing helps to preserve memory

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Dear Doctors: In regards to the phenomenon of music and cognition, multiple studies show folks who dance are less likely to develop dementia. This presumably takes the music component and adds memory, movement and doing something to a beat.