Hope. As a rookie first responder, you hope you protect, assist and insist upon yourself the best values possible with the courage to protect the community and prevent chaos in our society.

The following definitions are mine. Teacher: One whose occupation is to instruct, usually formally, for a certain period of time, such as a school term.

As I was driving my car on an icy morning, I noticed a woman on the street corner holding a sign.

We’ve reached that joyous time of year again when your adult children return home from near and far, in loving desire to re-establish intimacy with their own flesh and blood in the true spirit of the season, and call out to you.

THE HOLIDAYS often come wrapped with a banner slogan: A season of giving. And despite steep unemployment and a teetering economy, there is no greater beacon of hope in our society today than the generosity we exhibit when it’s needed the most.

DR. TIM HOLMES and several other local businesses are coming together to sponsor a 5-kilometer run/half marathon on New Year’s Day to raise funds for the Lakewood Police Independent Guild. All of the proceeds will go toward the families of the four Lakewood police officers who were killed on Nov. 29.

Before I believe in man as the cause for global warming, I must have several things shown:

You may have seen an increase in the number of young faces in downtown Gig Harbor this week as most young adults have returned home from college to spend their winter break here.

’Twas the week before Christmas, when all through my home,

It was an exceptionally cold night on Dec. 9 as I stood outside Fred Meyer in Gig Harbor to be a Salvation Army volunteer bellringer. As I stood quietly next to the plastic kettle, I rang the little bell.

At this season I seldom had a visitor. When the snow lay deepest, no wanderer ventured near my house for a week or a fortnight at a time, but there I lived as snug as a meadow mouse. … Thoreau in Walden

AS CITIZENS, we go about our lives every day without much thought of what the men and women who protect us are doing to keep us safe. We don’t think about them or their family members. Most of us just hope we aren’t pulled over for a traffic violation that could lead to a ticket.

THE Chabad Jewish Center of Pierce County will host Gig Harbor’s first public menorah lighting at the Uptown shopping center Wednesday night, ushering in a new era of enlightenment that we welcome with open arms.

In the Nov. 25 edition of The Peninsula Gateway, a letter to the editor by Carol Olsen-Dick has left me bewildered and more than a bit angry.

Every fall, you can hear the sounds of many pianos being practiced late into the night as the annual event called Music Olympics approaches.

Last week, Gov. Chris Gregoire proposed a plan to balance the state’s budget that was met with disapproval from just about every corner, most notably her own. Her no-new-taxes plan relies on slashing $1.7 billion in programs and shifting $900 million out of reserve accounts and other funds that support education, the environment, local government and other priorities.

Well, here it is again: My birthday, coming around the calendar a little quicker every year and reminding me that my body has officially entered the stage of life that many experts call “the aging process.”

We know cash payers at the toll booth won’t be happy to pay an extra dollar to cross the new Narrows bridge starting July 1, but the Citizen Advisory Commission did the right thing by looking out for those who cross on a daily basis when it made its recommendation last week to the state Transportation Commission.

Business owners across town need a boost this holiday season, but the ones who may need the most help are in downtown Gig Harbor. A few shops already have been forced to close their doors during an especially difficult 2009, and many more may be on the brink of survival.

Preparations for a special holiday tradition are getting under way: The Salatino Christmas Day dinner for seniors is taking shape.

Disputes familial and political whirl about me like flakes in a well-shaken snow globe. When my friends or fellow citizens choose not to agree with my excellent, well-supported, reasonable and benevolent solutions, I am surprised and maybe a touch bitter.

Like many of you, I was completely devastated when I heard the news that four Lakewood police officers were slain while they were at a coffee break early last Sunday.

It landed on our doorstep with a resounding thud. It measured about the size of a thick hardcover novel. It weighed more than 100 copies of “War and Peace” bound together. But all there was to read was a simple card, which said, predictably: “To my brother. Love, your sister, Lynne.”

THE PUGET SOUND is still recovering from a weekend tragedy that shook not only the Lakewood Police Department, but other law enforcement agencies statewide. Questions are being asked. Few satisfiable answers have been received. What matters most is that we lost four trained public servants who were career professionals with families. The only differences between any of us were their badges and uniforms.

WE’RE PROUD of U.S. Army Cadet Elizabeth Betterbed, the Gig Harbor High School graduate from Fox Island who was named one of 32 American recipients of the Rhodes Scholarship last month. Her academic prowess and her skills on the soccer field earned her the prestigious award to study at Oxford University in England next fall.

Michael Fisher of Gig Harbor wrote a letter to the editor recently trying to convince us that single-payer systems won’t work in Washington. He quoted the right-wing Wall Street Journal and used lots of the buzzwords and talking points you’d hear on Fox News Channel like bureaucrats and rationing. But he didn’t bother to point out some painfully obvious facts.