Columns
By Michael Oberschneider, Psy.D. “Summer has a flavor like no other. Always fresh and simmered in sunshine.” – Oprah Winfrey When I was a kid, a typical summer day involved me jumping on my bike after breakfast to explore; maybe I’d head over to a friend’s house or to the wooded park near my house…
For the second consecutive year, peregrine falcon chicks have successfully fledged and are learning to fly at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (NHP), Maryland. Out of four hatchlings, three chicks survived the vulnerable nestling phase and have entered the fledgling phase after they developed feathers enabling them to fly. Monitoring program volunteers and park staff have…
By Michael Oberschneider, Psy.D. Sharing the nest again and navigating how to function as a family when your son or daughter returns home from college can be challenging. Sure, your child will always be your child, and you may believe that you still know what’s best for them as mom and dad, but with every…
By Tim Jon I wish I’d had time to make the complete circuit around that lake with the little wooded point and the geysers, happily spraying their morning mist for all to enjoy – but I cut my walk short, and I believe that – except for a sleepy bittern snoozing in a side channel…
By Michael Oberschneider, Psy.D. Do you often mindlessly scroll through your Facebook page when visiting with friends or family? How about checking Instagram at the dinner table? Is watching YouTube, while in the company of others, common practice for you? Does TikTok captivate your attention when you’re socializing? If you answered “yes” to any…
By Tim Jon It’s the same place, yet it’s a completely different place; it’s a bit of the forest primeval, and still, it’s a new beginning for swaths of new trees. Really. “So – has Tim Jon finally, completely lost it?” Well, I won’t answer that question, but I will stand behind my first sentence.…
By Michael Oberschneider, Psy.D. COVID-19 may be ending, or at the very least its control over us all as a pandemic may be coming to an end. But what does getting back to life as normal (or some version of it) look like for our children? Research has shown that the protracted changes, adjustments,…
By Samuel Moore-Sobel It’s time for me to bid you farewell, my dear reader. After nearly eleven years of writing, this will be my last column. I wrote my first column in November 2011. At the time, I was in high school, and I had submitted a story to my school newspaper about the upcoming…
By Tim Jon “What is it, exactly? … I mean, it must be something concrete – something to be weighed, measured, described, somehow quantified… or perhaps, qualified, to satisfy this nagging interest?” Well, I was going over this very question – this complicated, yet simple, inquiry as to just why in the heck I push…
By Michael Oberschneider, Psy.D. Get vaccinated. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Avoid crowds. Practice social distancing. These have been, and continue to be, the main directives from the experts when it comes to COVID-19 prevention. For the past two years now, news and media outlets have blanketed us with precautionary messaging 24-7. What’s missing…