Christmas allows time to pause

Christmas is not about gifts, shiny baubles or things that will be quickly discarded to the pending garage sales of yore. It’s not the gadgets and gizmos – it’s the memories and true spirit of the holidays.

Haley claims chaos follows Trump

Like all the Republican candidates for president, Nikki Haley is trying to find the secret formula for running against Donald Trump.

Swimmers with parkinson’s require help

ASK THE DOCTORSHello, dear readers, and welcome to a bonus letters column. We will begin with the reminder it’s still not too late to get your flu shot or the updated COVID vaccine. As we mentioned before, it is safe to get these at the same time.

Parent concerned with child’s social life

DEAR HARRIETTE: I’m reaching out to you as a concerned parent grappling with a situation involving my teenage daughter. We recently switched our daughter from a private high school in town to the public school. Unfortunately, it seems she’s having difficulty making friends.

Parsing the language of war

Watching coverage of The Three Equivocating Presidents on TV – that is, the recent House Committee on Education hearing that featured testimony from three lofty academics – I found myself marveling that such a trio of seeming nonentities had been put in charge of prestige universities in the first...

Dark circles arise from many issues

Dear Doctors: What causes dark circles under the eyes? I have always had areas of darker skin under my eyes, but as I’m getting older, it has been getting more noticeable. Could it be something to do with sleep, or with my diet?

Student needs help navigating group

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently found myself in a bit of a predicament that I hope you can help me navigate. I was assigned to a group project at school, and as the deadline loomed closer, it became apparent that not everyone in the group was contributing equally.

Some holiday reading selections

Rummage through a used-book store and you might encounter two forbidding volumes with the anodyne title “North America.” In his autobiography, the author of those books, Anthony Trollope (1815-1882), said that this work was not worth the time needed to peruse them.

Wild children are often not what they seem

The children were in the pew in front of me. We had not arrived early enough at my sister’s church for the Christmas Eve service to secure a seat in the back, so we were in the fourth row. The first row is never used by anyone; the second row is only for people who arrive impossibly late.

Friends’ messy home stresses out houseguest

DEAR HARRIETTE: I’ve received an invitation to stay at a friend’s house over the holidays, but I feel uncomfortable about the living conditions. Their place tends to be messy, and I’m unsure how to handle this situation without offending them.