Interesting People A Decent Person—Some Indecent Programs       I never voted for Ronald Reagan. Not the first time he ran for governor in 1966, nor for his re-election in 1970. I didn't vote for him for president in 1980 or 1984. But, it was Mr. Reagan who was responsible for me becoming involved in my first political race. [ more ]   A Woman and Her Dogs       Every morning about 7, Gloria DiMicco lights the logs in her fireplace, inside an 800-square foot two-story A-frame chalet on 1.6 acres of rugged woodland near Newfoundland, Pa. She likes the warmth of the fireplace, but that isn't why she makes it one of her first morning duties. [ more ]   Life is a Trap Shoot       I know him only as Ray. I doubt he even knows what my name is.       But there we were, the two of us, sitting on a park bench about 10 yards behind the firing line at the Pennsylvania State Sportsmen's Association annual shoot, one of the largest trap shoot tournaments in the country.[ more ]   Days of our Repair       The '77 Novasaurus died. Just choked, sputtered, and died right there on the highway.       So, we had it towed back to the house where our oldest son declared he would fix it and save the cost of taking it to a garage. "If given enough time, I can fix anything,"he declared. "It's just a process of elimination."[ more ]   Heidi Prescott: A Dedication to Preserve Life       She's been lied to and cursed at; handcuffed, arrested, and jailed. Supporters of the annual Labor Day Hegins pigeon shoot in Schuylkill County have shoved her, hit her, pinched her, body slammed her against a car, and ground their boot-clad feet onto her sneakered-feet. The 5-foot-8 inch, 140-pound pacifist never resisted. [ more ]   'He Loved the Area': The Death of a Teenager       Philip Longo should not have died. Not at 18. Not 2,400 miles from his home in Yardley, Pa. [ more ]   Sherry Carpenter: A Love of Dogs       Ask Sherry Carpenter of Bloomsburg anything about pets--any species, any breed--and she'll cheerfully give you the answer, or find it for you. Just don't expect it to be a short conversation. She'll answer your question, then others you may not have asked, then others you didn't even know you needed to ask, leaping transitions of thought as quickly as she's available to help. [ more ]   State-Sanctioned Sexism       "Are you married?"       "Are you interviewing me for a job or asking me out on a date?"       Kiki Peppard, of Effort, Pa., had long since stopped being polite when employers asked her questions that were not only irrelevant to her job application, but which should have been illegal as well. Such questions about family status were illegal in New York where Peppard had worked more than 20 years as a secretary, bookkeeper, and administrative assistant. They weren't illegal in Pennsylvania. With persistence, Peppard convinced the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission that change was necessary. But, it wouldn't be the Commission that would write the proposed legislation. [ more ]   The Boys from Lagos       Steve Chuks, who says he's the auditor general of "one of the prime banks"in South Africa, wants to make me rich. Not just rich enough to be able to afford tickets, parking, and hotdogs at an Eagles game, but rich enough to actually be able to live in Philadelphia and pay its 4.54 percent wage tax. [ more ]   The Ching-Chang Chumps       She's a 77-year-old slightly overweight white-haired widowed grandmother from northeastern Pennsylvania who has worked the past 15 years for the state at a minimum wage "Green Thumb"job. But five or six times a year, she and two of her closest friends pay $22 to a bus company that hauls passengers the four hours to Atlantic City. [ more ]   The Late-blooming Azalea       It was only an azalea bush. A 4-foot tall, 15-foot around azalea bush. A dead brown azalea bush. No flowers and no leaves. Not even the microscopic appearance that there would ever again be a leaf. By the middle of April in northeastern Pennsylvania, the other azalea bushes had begun to sprout leaves; many had even begun flowering. But not this one. It was an unsightly bunch of dried hard-brown spindly sticks jutting hodgepodge from the ground, every stick dead. Not just cryogenic dead from its winter hibernation, but cease-to-exist dead. As in never again. [ more ]   Learn more about Dr. Brasch's books, click on the cover. Forthcoming