David Zapatka Wind is the great equalizer on the pickleball court. It doesn’t matter how polished your dink game is or how powerful your drive is; a stiff breeze can turn your best shots into unforced errors in a hurry. The good news is that with a few smart adjustments, you can use the wind…
April 2026, Clubs & Classes
Virtues in Action: Compassion and Joy

Betsy Lydle Smith Many of us are on a journey of caregiving—if not for others, caregiving for ourselves! Today we’ll focus on two virtues that are helpful: Compassion and Joy. As caregivers, we also discover more about ourselves. Caregiving for my aging mother forced me to look at myself, how I was acting, and how…
April 2026, Clubs & Classes
Fine Arts Guild Recognized
April 2026, Clubs & Classes
Step Aerobics Spring Dinner and Dance

Carol Simmons On March 4, Judi Lewinski and Phil Olguin generously hosted an Italian dinner and dance in the Hermosa Ballroom for their step aerobics class. DJ Warren spun the records for dinner music and dancing. Step Aerobics is led by volunteers at 6:30 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in Studio I at the…
April 2026, Clubs & Classes
Fracking Gourds for Fun

Doris Betuel Fracking is not a dirty word. It means frying your gourd with electricity to make amazing lightning bolts or delicate tree branches! On March 7, several members of the Robson Ranch (RR) Gourd Club experienced the dangerous and fascinating results of fracking their gourds! Each gourd was lovingly fracked by our host and…
April 2026, Clubs & Classes
Cigars, Poetry, and Unearned Confidence
Robson Ranch Cigar Meetup—April 29 at 6:30 p.m. April is National Poetry Month, which means the Robson Ranch Cigar Meetup will be doing what comes naturally: taking a perfectly respectable evening of cigars and somehow making it more complicated. On April 29 at 6:30 p.m., we will gather to smoke cigars, enjoy good company, and…
April 2026, Clubs & Classes
Vagabonds Travel to West Texas and New Mexico

Brenda Wills The Robson Ranch Vagabond group of seven rigs (14 people) departed Robson Ranch on Feb. 16 for a two–week adventure to West Texas and New Mexico. Our adventure started with a night in Deming, N.M., with a hosted taco bar. The next stop was Van Horn, Texas, where we enjoyed each other’s company…
Religion, April 2026
Sin Ruins Everything
Pastor Larry Sundin, Rock Springs Church When we look at all the problems in the world today, no one suggests that most of our conflict and pain are simply the result of rampant sin in our culture. One reason no one acknowledges this, is that people just don’t like to be called sinners. Rather, when…
Religion, April 2026
The One Thing We Know for Sure
Pastor Ash Dotson, Oasis UMC The author(s) of John’s Gospel records Jesus speaking some pretty strong words against his antagonizers in John’s Gospel. Look to John 54b-55 where Jesus calls out many who claim to follow God, liars. I have to wonder if they actually came out of the frustrations of Jesus or out of…
Features, April 2026
Word of the Month: Portmanteau
David Zapatka Coming from a tech and marketing background, sister and reader, Debbie, recognized a trend in her field that is prevalent today and suggested researching the word, portmanteau. Portmanteau port·man·teau, port-ˈman- tō noun: a word blending the sounds and meanings of two other words Origin and Etymology: From French portemanteau, literally “carry cloak,” a…

