Category: Features

In Passing – December 2025

John Courtney Vaughan John Courtney Vaughan passed away on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, at age 74. He was born on June 28, 1951, in Chicago, Ill. He is the beloved husband of Elizabeth Caroline Rathbun and loving father of Alexander Vaughan (Christina) and Caroline Vaughan. He is the grandfather of Henry Vaughan. He is survived…

G-E-R-M-S

Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg Do not look now, but the flu season is inexorably upon us. Time to bulk up on antibacterial solutions/wipes—anything that will be used to remove the unwanted ubiquitous (and dangerous) critters that are everywhere! So … If we shake hands, clean your hands, or if we touch a door handle, clean…

Ask Emma: Advice and Paw-spective

Emma, a Little White Dog Who Lives in SaddleBrooke Hi SaddleBrooke Progress friends! I’m Emma, your cheerful little white dog who loves morning golf course walks, greeting neighbors, and riding through the community in our golf cart. I write this column to share a dog’s-eye view on life here in SaddleBrooke—with kindness, gentle humor, and…

Consider Reexamining the Meaning of the Holidays

Suzanne Marlatt Stewart December is a time of friends, family, fun, festivities, and food, but it is also a time of reflection and planning for the year ahead. The winter festival predates all organized religions by millennia; we celebrate Christmas when we do because it aligns with the cycles of nature and of our lives.…

2 Your Health: Holiday Grief

Dr. Rose Bricker Yes, it is a real thing! We often feel grief as early as November, and it can continue on through December. It’s also not uncommon for the feelings to last as we enter into the new year. Those three months can be emotionally painful. Sometimes grief is only seen as the death…

Dollars & Sense: Details Matter

Leah Kari, Retired Pharmaceutical Representative and Licensed Insurance Agent Licensed insurance agents are part analyst, sleuth, and detail man. As a former pharmaceutical representative of 16 years, people would joke about representatives being called “detail men” in days past. Diligence in details was a professional requirement. It is equally important for licensed insurance agents reviewing…

Freaky Factoids for the Holidays

Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg Can anyone explain where the last 12 months went? Seriously, wasn’t it just March? Actually, we have managed to use up another year—one that was filled with tons of memories, both good and bad. And on Dec. 31, as you lift your glass for a toast and sing “Auld Lang Syne,”…