Making the best of a not-the-best year

January 2, 2022

I saw a meme the other day with a woman ugly crying and the words, “The moment you realize 2022 is pronounced 2020, too” written above it. A pretty horrible thought, given that 2021 already felt like an extension-slash-bad sequel to that terrible enough year. Here we are with this pandemic still clouding our collective conscience, keeping us mired in disconnection and uncertainty. So much for all that optimism we felt last New Year’s, amirite? But you know, when I sit back and think about everything that did happen this year, it’s a lot, at least in my little ...

Behind every window is a story: Just imagine

September 12, 2021

A handful of mornings ago, during my workout walk, I saw a man step outside a house, onto the porch, and bend down to embrace the woman sitting there.  I’ve thought about it ever since. Did they argue, and he was apologizing? Had she experienced a loss, and he was trying to ...

The DP earns 14 WVPA awards

August 7, 2021

Newsroom@DominionPost.com The Dominion Post newspaper took 14 editorial awards in the West Virginia Press Association 2021 Newspaper Contest. Morgantown’s newspaper, competing in Division 1,  took four first-place awards, including one for Best COVID-19 coverage. “This award ...

The Marvelous Mr. Moo: His guide to the good life

July 31, 2021

I am in awe of my dog. I simply find him fascinating — the way he walks through the world. As though it’s Mr. Moo’s Universe and we’re all along for the ride. And not just because he has 0% body fat, either. Every time I watch him, I marvel at what it must be like to live without a shred of self-consciousness the way he does. He doesn’t care if people look at him — actually, I imagine he assumes they will and figures it’s his due. “He’s so cute,” a woman told me the other day. “Yeah, he thinks so, too,” I answered. And while I understand ...

A COVID-19 time capsule

May 23, 2021

Katie McDowell When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the time capsule buried in front of my elementary school (shout out to William Tyler Page in Montgomery County, Md.) It was planted in among an herb garden  in a little square near the entrance (the smell of fresh thyme still takes me there), a stone bearing a plaque with two dates: when it was set, and when  it would finally be unearthed. I didn’t understand what it was at first, only that it seemed like some sort of treasure, or clue. When I asked my mom about it I only became more obsessed.  What could be ...

Gratitude list helps keeps blues at bay

March 22, 2021

Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about “journaling.” I put it in quotes because I doubly dislike the use of it as a verb. Even in my teens I was hopeless at keeping a diary, breaking open the one I had only to occasionally profess my love, or hate, for a particular boy. Probably my most successful attempt was the clothing log I kept in high school, where I would write down what I wore every day in order to avoid repeating anything for at least a month between wearings. Even that I gave up mid-junior year, when I guess I decided it was OK to put on those Guess ...