Tad Bartimus' column Among Friends is syndicated and distributed by United Media every Wednesday. Scroll down to see the titles for 2007, and click on any of these to read the entire column. You can also receive a printer-friendly version or email the column to a friend by using the links at the bottom of each column. Enjoy!

No. 509 – Old and New Collide on New Year's Eve
Last column of 2007
It's a mere ticktock of the clock, a page torn from a calendar, a dark night lightening into dawn. Yet billions of us put great stock in the moment when we can seize an artificially induced excuse to reinvent ourselves.

No. 508 – Fallen Tree Gets New Life
December 26, 2007
With every slash of the chainsaw, I winced at the desecration of the old-growth trees on the vacant lot next door. An absentee speculator building a house to sell for quick profit had ordered the lush landscape leveled.

No. 507 – Seize Opportunities to be an Angel
December 19, 2007
On Thanksgiving, a grieving widow lost control of her van on a camping trip with her 9-year-old son. The vehicle plunged 300 feet down a cliff into a remote Arizona canyon. The woman died, the son lived, and an angel appeared.

No. 506 – Life is the Greatest Surprise of All
December 12, 2007
After 28 years and 357 days of marriage, I thought there weren't any surprises left.

Then, with a Styrofoam cup of stale coffee in one hand and a months-old TIME magazine in the other, I looked up to see my husband's surgeon purposefully striding toward me one hour into what was to have been a three-hour operation.

No. 505 – Warriors Show True Colors
December 5, 2007
With a defensive line consistently smaller than the opposition's offensive line, the University of Hawaii's Warriors are more Spanky and Our Gang than the Incredible Hulks.

No. 504 – Be Thrifty This Holiday Season
November 28, 2007
Every year, I vow to halt catalogue deliveries to my small postal box, but I never do. This holiday season, I finally admitted to myself that I like all the pretty pictures, the fantasy shopping and tallying up gluttonous excesses for sale to the gullible.

No. 503 – This Holiday, Show Thanks for Giving
November 21, 2007
Last year at holiday time, I learned that a family friend had run out of food to feed herself and her three school-age children. It was a smack-my-forehead moment that has permanently altered my view of sharing, friendship and gratitude.

No. 502 – Season of Hope & Gratitude
November 14, 2007
This is the season of hope for high school seniors whose childhoods will end with "Pomp and Circumstance" in a few short months.

"I'm soooo stressssed," moaned the shoo-in valedictorian of this year's graduating class. Yeah, and so are your mother, father, teachers, mentors and peers. Welcome to adulthood, son. It just gets harder.

No. 501 – Walk the Walk
November 7, 2007
Of all the influences in my life, the most profound is the code of honor my father lived by as an officer and a gentleman in the U.S. Air Force. His belief that a person's word is her bond; that we're measured by our deeds, not our words; and that courage and faith are as necessary in life as air and water have shaped my world for 60 years.

No. 500 – She Doesn't Look a Day Over 400
October 31, 2007
A decade ago, I sat in my basement and wrote my first "Among Friends" column. It was about my memories of hanging up clothes with my mother, about how repeating that simple daily act has become my sacred time, a chance to give thanks for my blessings and be grateful for my full life.

Today I'm writing my 500th. It is a personal milestone that is also a blessing, made possible by supportive editors and loyal readers who keep making me feel welcome by putting me on the refrigerator door.

No. 499 – Personal Responsibility 101
October 24, 2007
The motorcycle maniac two doors down woke me at 5 a.m. with VRRROOOOM VRRROOOOM, setting off the dog, whose barking frenzy scared the cat, who clawed my husband as she leapt off the bed, sending his elbow into my jaw. Must be a Monday. I'd recognize it anywhere.

No. 498 – All About the Benjamins (or Maybe Lincolns)
October 17, 2007
Standing in Macy's, I noticed a rice cooker on sale. Calculating whether I could afford the impulse buy, I mentally recapped my checkbook balance, then factored in the previous day's Dow Jones Industrial Average.

No. 497 – The Fame Curves
October 10, 2007
We know there must be normal, well-balanced, happy actors, but we don't hear much about them because what media consumers devour are serial stories of dysfunctional lives in disarray -- especially Britney Spears' ongoing soap opera.

No. 496 – Keep the Education Debate Alive
October 3, 2007
Everybody agrees that teaching our millions of illiterate American children to read is vital, but the consensus ends there. When the conversation shifts to how we should improve literacy rates and critical-thinking skills, there's only a loud cacophony.

No. 495 – Trading Asphalt for Stars
September 26, 2007
My friend's sister-in-law did me a favor, so, when I visited her hometown, I invited her to dinner. I thought it would be a quick "thank you," and then I could rush back to my hotel room to watch a favorite TV program.

No. 494 – Iraq Becomes Personal
September 19, 2007
As a journalist trained to analyze all sides of an issue, I have tried to take an intellectual rather than emotional approach to the war in Iraq.

No. 493 – Three Cheers for Plastic
September 12, 2007
This birthday was shaping up to be one I wished I could skip. Because it was a milestone with a zero in the number, I'd spent half a decade building up extravagant expectations of how to celebrate; now reality was setting in.

No. 492 – Diana: 10 Years Gone
September 5, 2007
Buried in my cedar chest under a pile of yellowing family photos, a way-too-small wedding dress and a box of seashells collected one by one, there's a pile of carefully saved news stories: the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the end of the Vietnam War, the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.

This week I foraged among them for history's first draft of the death of Princess Diana.

No. 491 – Nature Lives in the Now
August 29, 2007
Three times a year, a pesky cactus with sharp spines protruding from long, trailing tendrils explodes into such extraordinary beauty that I set my alarm clock so I don't miss it.

No. 490 – Being a Millionaire is Fun
August 22, 2007
For her tombstone, philanthropist Brooke Astor chose the inscription, "I had a wonderful life." By any measure, the New York socialite who gave away nearly $200 million during the latter half of her 105 years deserves her epitaph.

No. 489 – Sarkozy Loses His Cool in August
August 15, 2007
With angry finger-pointing and vigorous arm-waving, French President Nicolas Sarkozy morphed into a paparazzi's dream when he leaped into a photographer's boat Aug. 5 and gave him hell for taking pictures during a private New Hampshire vacation.

No. 488 – The Zucchini are Coming! The Zucchini are Coming!
August 8, 2007
It's time to lock your car. Otherwise, you could be buried alive by zucchini. Or eggplants or string beans, or -- heaven forbid! -- okra. Whatever your neighbors are growing, they'll want to share it just as much as you want to share your homegrown largesse.

No. 487 – All News is Local
August 1, 2007
Journalism's truism that "all news is local" is reaffirmed by scandals swirling around professional baseball, football and cycling stars, and staining the reputation of a National Basketball Association referee.

No. 486 – In the Running for First Spouse
July 25, 2007
The death of Lady Bird Johnson reminds me of prefeminist days, when a first lady's most pressing public duty was to be charming at the latest White House soiree.

No. 485 – Global Warming, Falling Meteor, Runaway Child
July 18, 2007
A widowed neighbor stopped me a few years ago as I started to tell her about a mutual friend's minor catastrophe: "I don't want to know," she said. "My head is too full already, I can't do anything about it, and I need my sleep."

No. 484 – ‘Drive carefully,’ so sayeth the Lord
July 11, 2007
My husband is training to be our local driver-education teacher, but because school's out for the summer, I've become his hapless student by default.

No. 483 – Still Proud to be an American
July 4, 2007
When I mentioned to my friend that I wanted to get dressed up to look good for my new passport photo, he raised a quizzical eyebrow and asked: "Why? Are you proud of your passport?"

No. 482 – Americans Still Not Ready for a Woman Anchor
June 27, 2007
It's time we got over the notion that we need Uncle Walter's male heirs to tell us the sky is falling.
Female news anchor Katie Couric is getting a bad rap, from women as well as men, mostly because of her gender. She is as qualified to be anchor of the CBS Evening News as Brian Williams is to preside over at NBC or Charles Gibson at ABC. It's just that she doesn't look like what we've been conditioned to believe an anchor should look like -- male, and wearing a tie.

No. 481 – Age of Entitlement Meets the Law
June 20, 2007
We all like to think we're special. From the moment we're born, our parents tell us we are. As we grow older, teachers, employers, mates and friends reinforce our belief that our personalities and gifts are as unique as our DNA.

No. 480 – My Two Mr. Fix-its
June 13, 2007
My father died 17 years ago. We have settled into a comfortable post-mortem relationship in which I talk to him, both out-loud and in my head, and he answers in unusual ways. Maybe it's all in my mind, but it helps me feel connected to him in an immediate, daily way.

No. 479 – Barry Bonds: No. 746 and Counting
June 6, 2007
Family legend has it that Grandpa Sam Swearingen played minor league baseball with Hall of Fame pitching legend Pete Grover Cleveland Alexander, who won 373 major league games between 1911 and 1930, the third highest total in Major League history.

No. 478 – When 'Nice Guys' are Accused of Murder
May 30, 2007
I used to watch the nightly news and scoff at the naivete of shocked friends and neighbors as they described a murder suspect as "a really nice guy" they couldn't imagine committing a violent act.

No. 477 – Remembering the Unknown Dead
May 23, 2007
The tombstone is sinking. I worry about this as I put Memorial Day flowers on the grave of a man I never met. Should I tell someone? Who would care? All around me markers tilt and lean; several are simply propped up.

No. 476 – Survival Instincts Never Say Die
May 16, 2007
My husband likes to tell the story of when we were newlyweds spending our first spring together in Kansas. One humid afternoon, we stood on our porch watching an approaching thunderstorm when, as he tells it, he turned to say, "That sky looks pretty scary" and discovered I'd vanished.

No. 475 – It’s Too Much Trouble
May 9, 2007
We don't need made-for-TV dramas to get our fill of devious plots, outrageous scenarios and nefarious deeds. Just tune in to PBS's "Washington Week in Review."

No. 474 – Losing the Best and Brightest
May 2, 2007
Writer David Halberstam was doing what he liked best -- encouraging an aspiring young journalist -- when he was killed in a two-car collision near Menlo Park, Calif., April 23. The student survived the crash.

No. 473 – Just Say No to Ignorance
April 25, 2007
The day after Don Imus was fired for his sexist and racist remarks about members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team, I caught a ride home with a friend. Passing a stranger's house, he pointed to it and said, "I hope this doesn't offend you, but the woman who lives there has the biggest tits I've ever seen."

No. 472-B – Tit for Tat
April 18, 2007
I admit it: I read my spam. Not the obscene stuff with the "adults only" subject lines, or the "lose 100 pounds in a week" fantasies. Perhaps, like me, you also ignore blanket solicitations for mortgages at "unbelievably low interest rates" and prescription drug offers "at prices cheaper than Tijuana."

No. 472-A – Ever Vigilant Against Violence
April 18, 2007
Feminists owe Don Imus thanks for proving once again that every woman in America must stay on guard against ignorance.

No. 471 – Sweet Triumphs for Kids and Mentors
April 11, 2007
Sometimes, a ringing phone can bring such good news we can't catch our breath

No. 470 – Edwards Seizes the Day
April 4, 2007
Enough with the death knells for Elizabeth Edwards.

No. 469 – Eating in a Near-miss World
March 28, 2007
The origins of the globally produced food I consume are as mysterious to me as the inner workings of this made-in-China computer. Who plants, fertilizes, harvests, packages and ships my dinner?

No. 468 – A Vacation from Vacations
March 21, 2007
Miscommunication and absentmindedness conspired to evict us from our home for two weeks to make way for friends who'd bought nonrefundable plane tickets in order to housesit while we went away on vacation.

No. 467 – Playing the Blame Game
March 14, 2007
Watching televised Congressional hearings on the disgraceful treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, I know the script by heart: Journalistic expose triggers government denials; proof emerges in emotional public testimony; grandstanding politicians call for an investigation, declare "never again" and vow lasting reform.

No. 466 – Kids Bring a Lot to College: Themselves
March 7, 2007
I know it's academic feeding-frenzy season for high school seniors because I have five "gotta have it now" requests for letters of recommendation.

No. 465 - The Play’s the Thing
February 28, 2007
A thousand years ago, a clever fellow of uncertain profession entered a competition to honor the Greek god Dionysus.

No. 464 – An Astronaut’s Fall
February 21, 2007
There is great media head-scratching about how and why astronaut Lisa Nowak wound up charged with attempted murder and attempted kidnapping.

No. 463 – Whales Songs Mark Their Return
February 14, 2007
They wake me in the night, off-key bassos singing random songs that clash and crescendo like a Philip Glass symphony. I smile as I drift back to sleep; the whales are back.

No. 462 – The Perfect Storm
February 7, 2007
It's another morning: alarm goes off at 6:30, coffee perks 10 minutes later, dog barks, cat runs, husband trips over cat, phone rings.

No. 461 – America has a Good Streak
January 31, 2007
It's been a great couple of weeks for a ho-hum America. A woman, a Hispanic and an African-American are running flat out for president. Ho-hum. A woman is speaker of the House of Representatives. Ho-hum. A great movie with dialogue almost entirely in Japanese is nominated for best picture of the year. Ho-hum. Two of the five men up for the top male acting Oscar are African Americans. And so on.

No. 460 – Bush's Definition of Insanity
January 24, 2007
My 84-year-old godmother is a woman of sharp intellect, long memory and common sense. She grew up during the Depression, married during World War II and was widowed in the Vietnam era.

No. 459 – Look Homeward Angels
January 17, 2007
The first spaghetti-strap dress of spring appeared in a newspaper ad today, a relentless reminder that seasons change and life races on. But even as Valentines go into the sales racks, I savor lingering echoes from the holidays just past.

No. 458 – “Resolved: I Will Be Happy”
January 10, 2007
Unlike all other years, when my New Year’s good intentions faltered in the first week, I am on track for 2007 because this time I’ve made a single promise to me: be happy.

No. 457 – What Next?
January 3, 2006
Geritol commercials make it look blissful, investment firms warn the ill-prepared of dire consequences, and cruise lines predict smooth sailing, but most of us are so busy living our lives that we don't give retirement much thought until it happens.

© Copyright 2007 The Women Syndicate. The content on these pages is the property of The Women Syndicate and may not be used without express permission. Contact friends@tadbartimus.com