FROM RODGER’S DESK
From Rodger’s Desk is the regular column and open door of the Beaver County Almanac, written by Editor & Publisher Rodger Morrow.
A psychiatrist critiques the modern mental-health system’s rush to diagnose and medicate, urging a return to root causes, careful listening, and treating people as human—not broken brains.
Neuroscience suggests the self is more malleable than we think—revaealing how attention, environment, and identity can literally rewire the brain, much like Beaver County’s long habit of reinvention.
Why New Year’s resolutions fail—and how behavior change actually works—using neuroscience, identity, and environment to reprogram habits without relying on willpower or motivation.
An argument for deep reading as essential civic infrastructure—explaining how literacy builds brains, empathy, and judgment, and why Beaver County’s future depends on it.
A humorous take on rising vet costs and how pet telemedicine offers a practical, lower-cost alternative—protecting both pets and hoomans from unnecessary bills and guilt-driven care.
A portrait of Henry Mancini’s Beaver County roots and legendary career, showing how a steel-town upbringing helped shape one of America’s coolest and most enduring musical voices.
A thoughtful reflection on Christmas—its history, traditions, and contradictions—and why this demanding season still insists on pause, generosity, and gratitude in modern life.
The Blessing of Christmas” explores how the chaos, exhaustion, and sheer muchness of the holiday are actually part of its hidden gift,
How Charles Dickens’s 1842 visit to smoky Pittsburgh helped shape *A Christmas Carol*, linking industrial life, compassion, and the enduring moral meaning of Christmas.
A reflection on Washington Irving’s “Old Christmas,” exploring the enduring value of tradition, lingering, and shared rituals in a world increasingly shaped by efficiency and haste.
A psychiatrist critiques the modern mental-health system’s rush to diagnose and medicate, urging a return to root causes, careful listening, and treating people as human—not broken brains.
Neuroscience suggests the self is more malleable than we think—revaealing how attention, environment, and identity can literally rewire the brain, much like Beaver County’s long habit of reinvention.
Why New Year’s resolutions fail—and how behavior change actually works—using neuroscience, identity, and environment to reprogram habits without relying on willpower or motivation.
An argument for deep reading as essential civic infrastructure—explaining how literacy builds brains, empathy, and judgment, and why Beaver County’s future depends on it.
A humorous take on rising vet costs and how pet telemedicine offers a practical, lower-cost alternative—protecting both pets and hoomans from unnecessary bills and guilt-driven care.
A portrait of Henry Mancini’s Beaver County roots and legendary career, showing how a steel-town upbringing helped shape one of America’s coolest and most enduring musical voices.
A thoughtful reflection on Christmas—its history, traditions, and contradictions—and why this demanding season still insists on pause, generosity, and gratitude in modern life.
The Blessing of Christmas” explores how the chaos, exhaustion, and sheer muchness of the holiday are actually part of its hidden gift,
How Charles Dickens’s 1842 visit to smoky Pittsburgh helped shape *A Christmas Carol*, linking industrial life, compassion, and the enduring moral meaning of Christmas.
A reflection on Washington Irving’s “Old Christmas,” exploring the enduring value of tradition, lingering, and shared rituals in a world increasingly shaped by efficiency and haste.