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PAGE 4 DECEMBE R 29 , 2023 C O M M U N I T Y F O R U M YE L LOW SPR INGS NEWS Printed on recycled newsprint YELLOW SPRINGS NEWS An Independent Community Newspaper 253½ Xenia Ave., P.O. Box 187 Yellow Springs, OH 45387 937-767-7373 ysnews@ysnews.com | www.ysnews.com Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., or by appointment; hours may vary. Cheryl Durgans .................................... Editor Lauren “Chuck” Shows ..... Associate Editor Reilly Dixon .................... Reporter, Production Matt Minde ... Advertising, Design, Production Lynda Highlander ............... Office Manager; Classifieds, Circulation Truth Garrett ..................................... Reporter Carol Simmons ............................ Proofreader, Village Desk Editor Kitty Jensen ..................................... Proofreader Jeff Vawter ...................................... Distribution Editor Emeritus: Kieth A. Howard, 1946–1976 Publisher Emeritus: Ken Champney, 1950–1992 Bookkeeper Emeritus: Peg Champney, 1951–2019 A Y E L L O W S P R I N G S A L M A N A C K B Y B I L L F E L K E R DEC. 30, 2023–JAN. 6, 2024 The first week of Deep Winter I will confront these shows of the day and night, I will know if I am to be less than they, I will see if I am not as majestic as they. —Walt Whitman The Mistletoe Moon , full on Dec. 26, wanes through the week, entering its final phase on Jan. 3. Rising in the night and set- ting in the day, this moon passes overhead before dawn. During January, Venus in Ophiuchus is still the bright Morning Star, rising in the dark before sunrise, followed at first light by Mars in Sagittarius. Jupiter and Saturn remain in Aries in the far west at dusk and disappear as the waning moon rises with the Morning Star. SUPPORT YELLOW SPRINGS BUSINESSES • It keeps funds in your community. • Local businesses create local jobs. • Local businesses give back to the community more than others. • And you can get to know your vendors. SHOP LOCAL! placency and new vulnerability and about the uncertainty of events in the year ahead. D E C E M B E R 3 0 Sunrise/set: 7:56/5:19 Record hi/lo: 63 (1972)/-9 (1983) Average hi/lo: 36/21 Moonrise/set: 8:56 p.m./10:42 a.m. Age of Moon/Year: 19 days/364 days D E C E M B E R 3 1 Sunrise/set: 7:57/5:20 Record hi/lo: 67 (1951)/-6 (1976) Average hi/lo: 36/21 Moonrise/set: 9:57 p.m./11:07 a.m. Age of Moon/Year: 20 days/365 days J A N U A R Y 1 Sunrise/set: 7:57/5:22 Record hi/lo: 61 (1952)/-8 (1968) Average hi/lo: 35/21 Moonrise/set: 10:56 p.m./11:29 a.m. Age of Moon/Year: 21 days/1 day J A N U A R Y 2 Sunrise/set: 7:57/5:22 Record hi/lo: 61 (1916)/-11 (2018) Average hi/lo: 35/21 Moonrise/set: 11:55 p.m./11:49 a.m. Age of Moon/Year: 22 days/2 days J A N U A R Y 3 Sunrise/set: 7:57/5:23 Record hi/lo: 65 (1897)/-17 (1904) Average hi/lo: 35/20 Moonrise/set: —/12:09 p.m. Age of Moon/Year: 23 days/3 days J A N U A R Y 4 Sunrise/set: 7:57/5:24 Record hi/lo: 63 (1897)/-18 (1904) Average hi/lo: 35/20 Moonrise/set: 12:55 a.m./12:29 p.m. Age of Moon/Year: 24 days/4 days J A N U A R Y 5 Sunrise/set: 7:57/5:25 Record hi/lo: 62 (1939)/-22 (1884) Average hi/lo: 35/20 Moonrise/set: 1:56 a.m./12:51 p.m. Age of Moon/Year: 25 days/5 days Although sunrise time remains stable for another week, days start to lengthen at the rate of 60 seconds every 24 hours, thanks to sunset occurring a minute later every day. Perihelion, the point at which the Earth and the Sun are closest to one another, occurs Jan. 2. Danger in Exurbia A month or so ago, Jill and I took a week off and went to see my daughter, Neysa, in Italy. Before we left, I talked to the 16 tame koi in my fish pond and told them I would be back soon to give them their morning feeding. When I got back however, only five fish were left, and they were cowering at the bottom of the pond. And the next day, when I looked out toward the water, I saw a huge eye of a creature as tall as I am. And it was peering at me through the bushes. I ran outside, and off flapped a giant great blue heron. Then I imagined the dense field of fear that must have permeated the water as the truth became apparent, and one by one, 11 trusting adolescent fish were seized and gulped down. Up until recently, they had lived unthreat- ened, year after year, in their parochial habitat. A raccoon had hurt one of them in 2008, but then no other attacks had occurred. The fish and I, like the whole village around us, were quintessential exurban creatures, free from violent conflict and privation. Like the koi, I trusted, without much forethought, that some great protector — God? the government? Society? — would provide sustenance and security. At any rate, the heron with the evil eye is gone for now. I’ve put a net across the water to discourage further marauding. The field of fear has apparently evaporated from the pond. The remaining fish have started to return to the surface for their morning feeding. However, I keep watching for that omi- nous eye and for the gigantic wings and beak. And I ruminate about our past com- We often tell potential subscribers that the most-read section of the weekly Yellow Springs News is the “Community Forum” on page 4 (and sometimes page 5, and — if things are really cooking in the village — occasionally 6, 7 and 8). What we like to remind all of you current subscribers and regular read- ers around this time of year is that the Yellow Springs News would not be what it is without the Community Forum. The Community Forum, in turn, wouldn’t exist without the ef forts of the many folks who take the time to write their questions, concerns, joys and sorrows and share them with their neighbors on these pages every year. It’s with the deepest gratitude that the staf f of the News recognizes those who wrote letters and columns in 2023. We hope you’ll keep writing in 2024 and beyond, too. —Lauren “Chuck” Shows E D I T O R I A L Keep writing, sharing Lisa Abel Tia Acheson Kathy Adams Lynn Adams Susan Alberter Denise Allen Lori Askeland Joe Bachman Amy Bailey Jason Bailey Jim Bailey Linda Bankston Bob Barcus Rubin Battino Brittany Baum Paul Beck Jill Becker Sam Benac Gina Benning Jennifer Berman Alex Bieri Sharon Bonadies Chris Bongorno Naomi Bongorno Jerome Borchers Theresa Borchers Dorothée Bouquet Yanus Brevik Whitney Brown Pat Brown Carmen Brown Steve Bujenovic Brady L. Burkett Michele Burns Susan Butler James Butler Meghan Calfee Mary Cargan Ryan Carpe Kate Anderson Carrigan Kelsey Chance Diane Chiddister Abigail Cobb Daniela Cohen Pam Conine Steven Conn Susan Conner Craig Conrad Dawn Cooksey Ann Cooper Katherine Cooper Carolyn Cordova Sarah Courtright Jeannamarie Cox Linda L. Cox Shane Creepingbear Connie Crockett Iden Crockett Carole Culbertson Patti Dallas Tony Dallas John Day Donna Denman Patricia Dewees Celia Diamond Diane Diller Sue Dillon Rick Donahoe Toni Dosik Ellen Duell Vernon Dunlap Pati Dunlap Mary Eby Jane Fernandes Scott Fife Terry Fife Jordan Fisher John Fleming Betsy Fox Dan Gediman Jennifer Gilchrist Teresa “Misty” Gill David Goodman Bethany Gray Sharon Greitzer Erika Grushon John Gudgel Wayne Gulden Anna Hall Franklin Halley Kate Hamilton Chris Hamilton Shanah Hammock Susan Harrison Carly Hauser Judith Hempfling Paul Herzog Erin Hill Stephanie Hill Tracy Hoagland-Clark Wendy Ricks Hoff Elizabeth Hohl Don Hollister Jeremy Holtgrave Heidi Hoover Allen Hunt Brenda Hubbard Ibarra Ellis Jacobs Sabrina Jewett Eric Johnson Juniper Johnson Dawn Johnson Lindie Keaton Thomas Kellar Barbara Krabec Len Kramer Michael Kraus Lisa Kreeger Shirley Kristensen Stephanie Kurivial Catherine LaPalombara Carlos Landaburu Ruth Lapp Moira Laughlin Jason Laveck Jalana Lazar Kate LeVesconte Julia Bergman Lee Frederic Stuart “Skip” Leeds Gavin DeVore Leonard Philip Leppla Todd Leventhal Nancy Lineburgh Lucia Livingston Tom Logsdon Marianne MacQueen Krista Magaw Amy Magnus Eric Mahoney Jim Malarkey Barbara Mann Jody Manzo Robert Marcum Rosa Ando Martinez Paloma Martinez- Cruz Nishin Mathur Linda Mattila Brenda McDonald Kevin McGruder Jeff McWilliams Leah Mendenhall Vick Mickunas Mitzie Miller Marian Miller Evan Mills Joseph Minde Kurt Miyazaki Marilan Moir Carl Moore Faith Morgan Michael Mucher Chris Mucher Janet Mueller Caroline Mullin Henry Myers Kristi Nowack Myers Brian Norman Ned Oldham Rose O’Brien Dino Pallotta Jerry Papania Sue T. Parker Suzanne Patterson Patricia Peters Nancy Peters Jonathan Platt Catherine Price Rachel Price Alan Raney Matt Raska Janeal Ravndal Dimi Reber Pan Reich Kay Reimers Luisa Bieri Rios Erin Ritter Alisha Ritter David Roche Catherine Roma Jay Rothman Moriel Rothman- Zecher Jenny Cowperthwaite Ruka Lisa Russell Sammy Saber Joyce White Sandberg Annette Schooler- Zanders Alexandra Scott Tom Siebold Cindy Sieck Linda Sikes Margaret Silliman Mikasa Simms Jeff Simons Judith Skillings Cessili Slaughter Michael Slaughter Terry Smith Holly Smith-Conway Lynn Sontag Elecia Spain Pat Stempfly Theo Stephan Kevin D. Stokes Anita Stratton Jerry Sutton Ron Swaffort Michael Taint Ilse Tebbetts Kenneth Tiven Peter Townsend David Turner TJ Turner Larry Turyn Corrie Van Ausdal Malte von Matthiessen Pam von Matthiessen Camilla Varandani Kat Walter Holly Weir Maria Whittaker Karen Wintrow Erika Wood- Heidemann Chris Wyatt Jim Zehner Catherine Zimmerman Joshua Zinger Richard Zopf COLUMN WRI TERS: Don Cipollini, Cynthia Olsen, Macy Reyn- olds and the YS Habitat Community Team (“Down to Earth”) Iden Crockett (“My Name is Iden”) Ed Davis (“Emergent Verse”) Bill Felker (“A Yellow Springs Alma- nack”) Nancy Lineburgh (“Vegan in the Vil- lage”) Bomani Moyenda (“Sankofa Talk”) Neil Silvert (“Thoughts From a Dog Guy”) Chris Wyatt (“Patter- dale Hall Diary”) SUBMIT A LETTER At ysnews.com/submissions; by email, ysnews@ysnews.com, by mail, P.O. Box 187, Yellow Springs, OH 45387; by foot at 253½ Xenia Ave. THE NEWS WANTS TO KNOW! Each year, the News asks its read- ers to meditate upon and respond to a question as our community heads into the new year. This time, we’re asking readers: What will be your personal motto, mantra or maxim as 2023 becomes 2024? What words of wisdom will you choose to guide, bolster or entertain you through the next 365 days? And as you’re writing, consider this mantra — a personal one for some of us here at the News: There is no writer’s block — there are only writers who need a snack and a nap. Send your responses to chuck@ ysnews.com by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 2, for publication in that week’s issue. The Dec. 22 “Tin Can Economy” column is an exercise in religious bigotry, and full of misinformation. Falun Dafa, aka Falun Gong, is a peaceful spiritual practice based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. Any fair-minded reader can learn about the practice at falundafa.org or faluninfo.net . There are tens of millions of practitioners around the world, including millions in China who face horrific repression and human rights violations at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP. The author’s smearing of Falun Gong as a dangerous cult has no factual basis, but it echoes the CCP’s decades-long pro- paganda campaign to vilify Falun Gong as a cult, to incite hatred and justify ongoing persecution of Falun Gong members in China. See Matas and Kilgour’s “Bloody Harvest: The Killing of Falun Gong For Their Organs,” which reads: “The Chinese government labeling of the Falun Gong as an evil cult is a component of the repression of the Falun Gong, a pretext for that repres- sion as well as a defamation, incitement to hatred, depersonalization, marginalization and dehumanization.” Matas and Kilgour’s book goes on to explain that Falun Gong actually “has none of the characteristics of a cult.” Similarly, Ian Johnson, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the persecution of Falun Gong, wrote in his book “Wild Grass: Three Stories of Change in Modern China” that the “cult” label was designed to cloak “the government’s crackdown with the legit- imacy of the West’s anti-cult movement.” Johnson went on to explain that: “The group [Falun Gong] didn’t meet many common definitions of a cult: Its members marry outside the group, have outside friends, hold normal jobs, do not live isolated from society, do not believe that the world’s end is imminent and do not give significant amounts of money to the organization. Most importantly, suicide is not accepted, nor is physical violence. … [Falun Gong] is at heart an apolitical, inward-oriented disci- pline, one aimed at cleansing oneself spiritu- ally and improving one’s health.” It is reckless for the YS News to spread the CCP’s “cult” smear, which is used to justify persecution, torture and imprison- ment of Falun Gong practitioners in China to this day. A 2021 U.S. State Department Report on International Religious Freedom notes that the millions of Falun Gong prac- titioners in China face propaganda cam- paigns, harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention, severe discrimination and other “gross violations of human rights.” As for the article’s other attacks on Falun Dafa, it is true that Dafa teaches conserva- tive sexual ethics, including that homo- sexuality is immoral, but I’ve never seen any reference to such an issue in a Shen Yun performance. Dafa is tolerant and does not advocate any form of discrimination or maltreatment against gay people. Dafa teaching on homosexuality is pretty much indistinguishable from any of the world’s major religions — at least in their standard forms. You may disagree with the teach- ing, but the disagreement is not grounds for depicting Falun Dafa as a “fringe” or “dangerous” group. As the Falun Dafa InfoCenter puts it, “we make no attempt to impose these views on others, certainly not to non-practitioners.” Similarly, there is no basis for the accu- sation that Falun Dafa is “racist.” Dafa teaches that all human beings were made in the image of gods and should be treated with compassion and respect. For example, one of the most recently published Dafa teachings, “How Humankind Came to Be,” states: “When divine beings made man, they did so at the Creator’s behest, and He instructed them to each make human beings in their own unique image. For this reason, there are the white, Asian, Black and other races. While their outward appearances differ, the souls within them were given by the Creator. And that is why they have common values.” Finally, it is misleading to suggest that Falun Dafa supports “far right” politics. Support for right-wing politics is not part of Dafa teachings, and Dafa practitioners have diverse political views. Dafa’s founder, Li Hongzhi, has consistently taught that Dafa should have nothing to do with politics, including in some of the practice’s most important texts. It is true that some individual Falun Gong practitioners oper- ate The Epoch Times, and the newspaper is considered right-wing. But The Epoch Times does not speak for Falun Gong gen- erally and does not purport to. It is inaccurate and unfair to smear Shen Yun based on the conduct of others just because they share the same spiritual affiliation. I doubt that the YS News would apply such guilt-by-association reasoning against members of other more commonly known religious groups. I think that any free-thinking reader who sees the Shen Yun performance will be glad that they did and will realize how far off the mark this column was. —John Moran Column on Shen Yun reckless Concert uplifting Kudos to Brian Mayer and the Yellow Springs Community Band. Their Christmas concert Friday, Dec. 15, was one of my favorites in years. I especially liked the newer songs, “Reindeer Rhumba” and “Minor Alter- ations.” Very uplifting. Good venue, great band. Thanks to all of the band members for the work they put into these concerts. By the way, “Sleigh Ride” was so polished it sounded as good as any recording I’ve heard. —Holly Knight DOWN TO EARTH: AN ENV I RONMENTA L PO I NT OF V I EW Now that the fall leaves are down, it’s time to look up — at your trees. Is there a vine growing up the bark? If it’s ivy, grape vine, or even winter creeper, it can’t kill a tree, but the tree would be happier without them. But if you spot a vine with red berries inside a yellow hull at each axial and with dull green and bright yellow leaves, you are looking at the invasive Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). The yellow leaves and berries are the best identifiers. This vine must be removed from your tree, and the roots either removed or killed. Yes, there is a rare native bittersweet, but its berries grow only at the end of the vine. You can also identify Celastrus orbiculatus because the vine encircles the trunk as it climbs. A tree expands outward as it grows, meaning the trunk increases in diameter. Oriental bittersweet works the same way — What’s crawling up my tree? it expands as it ages, choking the vascular system of the tree it wraps around. Picture a python with prey. When the bittersweet squeezes the tree enough to cut off the water circulation, the tree will die. To remove the vine, take a two- to three- inch piece out of the stem to kill the vine above the cut. Then you need to remove the vine from the tree all the way up, because the tree will continue to expand, and the dead vine can still choke the flow of water and sugars necessary for tree life. This can be a tough job, but saving a tree is worth the effort. You can spot this vine growing on many trees just south of the Riding Center between the bike path and Hyde Road. I have seen vines with a five-inch diameter in Yellow Springs. So take the time now to look up and check for this vine — for your tree’s sake. —Macy Reynolds By Neil A. Silvert He waits patiently till I rise. Then he waits more while I take care of bathroom business while reading my book. Then I brush his teeth, trying to do that, oh, so respectfully, because he doesn’t love it. Then I meditate for 10 minutes before put- ting his collar on. When we finally leave the bedroom, I get my medication together before putting my hiking boots on, putting the leash over my shoulder and fastening the fanny pack loaded with treats around my waist. He hops into the back of the car so we can drive to a place where he can T H O U G H T S F R O M A D O G G U Y Trust, connection essential explore and experience freedom. All this time he controls his bladder and bowels, waiting to get moving out in the open. All this time he watches every move I make in anticipation of his morning adventure. His big, brown eyes are fixated on me. Ace and I are friends. I try to take him with me wherever I go. He trusts that I do that. Nothing fancy, but the connection between our hearts reminds me of what matters in this life. *The author is a longtime villager and retired teacher who has been a dog trainer since 2010 and has for years, in his words, “written memoirs, poetry and short stories as a means of self-examination.”