You CAN go home again
By Ben Olson Reader Staff I made a mistake a couple weeks ago; I went home again. While out snapping photos for a story in the Reader, I drove by the log home my...
Tagged: Ben Olson
Work, work, work
Breakfast lessons By Lyndsie Kiebert My first day of work was Mother’s Day 2011. In my navy blue polo and sensible, non-slip shoes, I arrived at Holiday Shores Marina at 6 a.m. and marched...
Punching the keys
By Ben Olson Reader Staff My dad kept a small office upstairs in an alcove outside my childhood room in Westmond. From his ornate roll-top desk, dad would type correspondence on his typewriter, filling...
Weird instruments
By Ben Olson Reader Staff Musicians are weird. I know because I am one, or at least I used to be before the coronavirus pandemic caused all of my band’s live gigs to be...
Campfire cooking for the gourmand
By Ben Olson Reader Staff For many of us, camping means spending time with friends and family, howling at the moon and eating delicious campfire-cooked meals. After all, food always tastes better roasted over...
When the world loses its marbles
By Ben Olson Reader Staff If you’re like me, sometimes you need a break from the troubling world for an hour or two. Between the coronavirus and ongoing protests around the country about racial...
Mixing beer
By Ben Olson Reader Staff In the salad days before the coronavirus, I recall a pivotal moment in my beer-drinking existence. I was having lunch with Reader Editor Zach Hagadone at Utara Brewing Co....
Musical nostalgia for the masses
By Ben Olson Reader Staff Nostalgia, like junk food, is excellent when done right, but can be a disaster when slopped together. Whether you are a nostalgia junkie or a cold-hearted snake who never...
It’s a booze, booze world
By Ben Olson Reader Staff Before I entered the exciting and glamorous world of small town newspaper publishing, I worked as a bar manager and bartender in Sandpoint (R.I.P., Downtown Crossing). During those wild...
Happy camper
By Ben Olson Reader Staff Imagine a place where the coronavirus doesn’t really exist. Where the petty squabbling on social media is just a silly memory. Where there are no armed protesters or conspiracy...
