News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Friday December 19th 2025
A Penguin Walks Through the Door …
Peace House Community journal
by Marti Maltby
A few years ago I came across a list of questions employers could ask potential employees to test their creativity and their ability to adjust quickly to unexpected circumstances. My favorite question was “A penguin walks through the door wearing a sombrero. What’s the first thing it says?” I actually used this during a few interviews, and I got to see a wonderful array of responses.
One man broke into laughter at the ridiculous nature of the question. That turned out to be a benefit to him, as he had been nervous up to that point in the interview. The question helped him relax, and he showed a friendly demeanor from that point on.
Another applicant responded immediately, “I don’t know. I don’t speak penguin”, and then waited for the next question. I learned that he wasn’t easily thrown off by unexpected developments and could think quickly when needed.
Someone else told me the penguin would say “I’ve got the chips. Who’s got the salsa and guacamole?” Another job applicant answered, “I think I’m lost. Which was is Tijuana?” In each case, I learned something about the applicant that I could never get by asking about their job history, or how they would handle a conflict with a co-worker.… Read the rest “A Penguin Walks Through the Door …”
Procrastination Saves Lives!
By MARY ELLEN KALUZA
Early in my gardening career (some 4+ decades ago) I cleaned up the garden each fall, pulling everything out, cutting down plants and stems so that everything was ready to go in the spring. That didn’t last many years. By first frost I was soon ready to be done with gardening and looked forward to just shoveling snow for a few months. Clean out was left till spring. I soon noticed birds feeding on the dried seed heads left standing during the winter. So, I now had an excellent reason to not clean away the dead plants: feeding the birds. Also, in spring I found last year’s vegetable plants munched down to nubs with abundant rabbit turds left behind, presumably in thanks for getting the bunnies through the winter.
Rabbit poop is an excellent fertilizer with four times more nutrients than cow or horse manure, and is twice as nutritious as chicken manure. It is not a “hot” manure like horse, cow, or chicken poop – it doesn’t have to be composted first. And the rabbits handle application for free. All I have to do is put off cleaning the garden!
Recently I’ve learned that delaying garden clean up longer into the spring pays off, too.… Read the rest “Procrastination Saves Lives!”
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Warner Bros.
(1976)
★★★★★
By HOWARD MCQUITTER II
The Outlaw Josey Wales is a superb western by Clint Eastwood with a great cast. Josey (Clint Eastwood) is a farmer in Missouri during the Civil War when Union soldiers, led by Terrill (Bill McKinney), murder his wife and child. Josey joins the Confederate Army in revenge for the murder of his family. After the war he refuses to surrender. And when most of his fellow soldiers give up their guns, they are massacred by the Union soldiers. He’s able to escape from the Union soldiers (led by Terrill) and the bounty hunters on his trail. Fellow Confederate soldier, Fletcher (John Vernon), does his best to convince some lawmen that Josey has been killed in a shootout. Though, the gung-ho bounty hunters are not so easily convinced.
Josey flees to Texas and along the way he picks up a wounded rebel soldier, Jamie (Sam Bottoms) and two adult Native Americans – Lone Watie (Chief Dan George) and Little Moonlight (Geraldine Keams). Soon an old woman named Grandma Sarah (Paula Trueman) and her granddaughter Laura Lee (Sondra Locke) join up.… Read the rest “The Outlaw Josey Wales”
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