Many of the toys kids play with nowadays had not been invented when I was a kid. In fact, today’s kids probably would not recognize many of the ways we entertained ourselves in the 1950s. As the days heat up I think back to the summers of my childhood. These memories often include the toys ...

This is for you, Doug. I will never forget the moment I told you I was going to take over the DFJ for two months. You rolled your eyes. That was back in the spring of 2022. This is for you, Loween, whose expressions I remember clearly when I presented at a Rotary meeting in the basement ...

My father and I didn’t have a lot in common and that fact began to show up in our relationship when I was about 12 years old. The age labeled “pre-teen” is difficult for the pre-teen and his/her parent. In my case, it began a time of being many things my father wasn’t. Please ...

Several years ago the Des Moines Register published a photo of a young guy skating at a skateboard park in the metro. The cutline identified the young man as a 25-year-old. My first thought was, “When I was 25 I was so busy working I couldn’t have gone skateboarding even if I could ...

Do you remember the first time you told a joke and no one laughed? I don’t. It’s happened to me so many times I can’t remember the first. I grew up in a home with lots of jokes, teasing and laughter. Our mother’s family was full of jokesters and Mom kept us laughing, too. Our ...

I have always liked older people. My parents were close to many of their aunts and uncles so I got to know and appreciate that generation when I was a kid. I especially appreciate how many of those folks treated me as a kid. One afternoon when I was 13 years old, my Great Uncle Bill and ...