New Rockford Transcript - Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

Halloween is upon us, which means you'd better be cautious about the costume you choose. Halloween has long been a staple of childhood, but in the past few decades it has been increasingly celebrated...

When I read a news piece about the passing of longtime California senator Dianne Feinstein a few weeks ago, some of the comments left at the bottom of the online article made me sad. Feinstein suffere...

Houses are getting smaller again – which is going to make many Americans happier. Americans faced with high mortgage rates and a shortage of affordable homes for sale are opting for new, smaller hom...

As a heat wave hits America from coast to coast, it’s hot outside – but cool inside, thanks to the triumph of air conditioning. For most of human history, there was little people could do to...

I dream of the day I will be 100% debt free! I took on debt fairly early in life, when I borrowed money to help cover the cost of my Penn State degree. That turned out to be a terrific investment ...

It’s a positive trend that I hope continues: the resurgence of summer picnics. According to Mental Floss, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a picnic boom beginning in 2020 that is showing no signs of...

There is a loneliness epidemic in the United States, but there are some simple ways we can address it. A few weeks ago, the U.S. Surgeon General released a report titled "Our Epidemic of Loneliness an...

It's an excuse I've been dreaming of: A reason to NOT mow my lawn. A "No Mow May" movement is afoot to nurture our bee population for a good reason: bees are incredibly important to our own survival....

The sun is shining today and Spring is upon us. Such days remind me still of the excitement I knew when I turned 16 in April and was finally able to get my driver's license – a wondrous rite of...

It’s at once amazing and troublesome. I speak of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence application that was launched last November by OpenAI. In a matter of seconds, it can write apparently accurate...

It’s one of the best days of the year and we owe our gratitude to the remarkable man who made it possible. Feb. 1 is National Freedom Day and its origin is as wonderful as is freedom itself. The...

 I’m filled with a renewed sense of hope all of the sudden.  Truthfully, I don’t know why I feel such hopefulness.  Last Friday I went to the hospital to have a hernia surgically repaired. T...

Vinyl records are making a comeback, and it’s not just nostalgic old fogies who are driving the trend. According to Readers Digest UK, millennial and Gen Z consumers are digging the distinct sound...

It's a question worth asking in these nutty times: how old is too old to trick-or-treat? On the question-and-answer website Quora, some people ask if the age of 12 is a good time to hang up the ghost...

Changing communications technology is one of life's never-ending annoyances, and now we have a new agitation: voice messaging. Voice messaging allows smartphone owners to record their voice and send...

I bought my first lottery ticket recently.  It was a $20 scratch-off that paid me a $40 prize.  Winning produced a nice little thrill, so I bought another $20 ticket right away. And lost.  I...

"Half of that goes to the bank for your college fund!" That's what my father told me in the 8th grade, when I got my first paycheck for waking up at 5:30 a.m. to ride my bike a few miles to Cool...

Comedian Carl Reiner was good at living well - and he lived well until the age of 98. I recently watched his 2017 HBO documentary, "If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast." It introduces viewers to...

Here's a trend that may not bode well for the future of our country: According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 40 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds have summer jobs - down from 75 perce...

I sure could use a vacation about now - but I have no plans to take one this summer. That's the breaks for self-employed people like me who do not enjoy paid-­vacation benefits. When I do not work,...

The only worry I had was that Old Man Miller might be hiding out behind the shed trying to catch us running through his garden when we played "Tag" in our back yards. If you grew up in the '70s in...

I started my first business in the fifth grade when I convinced a neighbor to allow me to cut her grass with her electric lawn mower. That project ended in immediate failure. The mower was powered by...

I recommend the seasonal flu — but please allow me to explain. About a week ago, I felt suddenly rundown and weak. I just wanted to lie down. I thought nothing of it at the time. My family is facing...

I’m glad there’s widespread confusion about what a woman is. I’ve been confused my entire life. In the most basic sense, the difference between a male and a female is that a female has two X...

My mother and father keep our old photos in their hall closet in a sturdy old Pabst Blue Ribbon box. Sifting through old photos is a glorious experience — one, we now know, that relieves aches and...