Mill Creek Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

As we began to shut down a year ago, some of us were talking about our upcoming dystopian hellscape. It was all in good fun, as these things are, and we were mostly chatting about... — Updated 4/9/2021

What have you learned? This is always the question, direct or implicit. It's the theme of every commencement address and more than a few conversations in the principal's office.... — Updated 4/2/2021 Full story

What have you learned? This is always the question, direct or implicit. It’s the theme of every commencement address and more than a few conversations in the principal’s... — Updated 4/1/2021

About 10 years ago, an Irish film buff slipped down a rabbit hole of randomness, discovering a mystery in a DVD extra from a century-old film. It was a Charlie Chaplin movie, and... — Updated 3/25/2021

HED The blessing of having the right one in your corner Chuck’s World Chuck Sigars I first spotted my wife teaching nearly 40 years ago, sneaking a peek through a classroom door.... — Updated 3/19/2021

I have a friend who shares a particular passion of mine, although now it turns out he's just horribly wrong about it. It's funny. I even smiled a little the other day as he offered... — Updated 3/12/2021 Full story

When is the last time you remember giving yourself a full body kneading laughing massage? With my blue shiny eyes wide opened, a bright smile lit up my face as I read Friday, March... — Updated 3/5/2021

J. Kenji López-Alt is a chef and food writer, the author of the best-selling “The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science,” which was a New York Times bestseller and... — Updated 2/25/2021

Edward Murphy was an aeronautical engineer and an Air Force captain in 1949, stationed at Muroc Air Field in the high desert of Southern California. Two years before, the late... — Updated 2/19/2021

I’ve been getting reminders for a week now, digital nudges from different apps and websites, letting me know that I took a lot of pictures seven years ago. This is in contrast to... — Updated 2/12/2021

I was teasing my wife about getting packages every day, just because she's been on a bit of a roll. It felt like I was constantly bringing her a box or two from the mailbox, or off... — Updated 2/5/2021 Full story

Apparently, I want comfort so badly I’m willing to crawl inside a cliché and pull the covers up, which is to say I started watching “The West Wing” the other night. “TWW... — Updated 1/22/2021

My grandson has been calling me spontaneously lately, something new. We talk once a day regularly, but he doesn't just call me out of the blue. Although a grandpa can wish. But he c... — Updated 1/15/2021

The crazy is so strong right now – I don't really want to add to it. I become frustrated, annoyed, irritated, and angry just like any other person, but I'd like to avoid tossing... — Updated 1/15/2021

I was standing in a parking lot last week, a dreary December afternoon, cold and wet, when I got the text message from my wife. I felt the phone buzz in my coat pocket as I chatted... — Updated 1/15/2021

I’ve been doing a few minor home repairs lately, which is an obvious sign of the apocalypse. I’m surprised the roads aren’t jammed with people leaving the city. There will be... — Updated 12/20/2020

I’ve determined that I’m not good at this, whatever this is. That’s part of the problem – being aware that I’m not great at navigating this particular situation isn’t... — Updated 12/11/2020

My father-in-law was visiting one summer when my kids were little, and he came across one of those parenting magazines that were always hanging around the coffee table. He laughed,... — Updated 10/16/2020

Toward the beginning of COVID time, I made a half-serious joke. A half-joke. It was along the lines of, “I’m eating plain flour tortillas, watching cat videos, and shopping... — Updated 10/3/2020

All of us will occasionally find ourselves standing in the kitchen, wondering why we went in there. In the age of COVID, I'm pretty sure this happens a lot. This has led me to... — Updated 10/2/2020

My grandson is nearly 7 years old, a remarkable child in many ways, bright and curious, but also very much a normal kid. By which I mean he’s discovered puns, right on time. I’m... — Updated 9/11/2020

Whatever this is, I’ve been doing it for five months now. And so have you, obviously. While the “same storm, different boats” concept is also obvious, five months is enough ti... — Updated 9/11/2020