Traveling to see Iowa’s history

February 25, 2019

When I was in sixth grade, we took a class on Iowa history. I don’t remember how often we had the class, but I do remember that at least once a week my whole class trooped down to the lunchroom in the lower level of the old Stanhope school building to watch a program on public television about Iowa history. Maybe on other days we listened to the teacher in our classroom. I liked learning about my home state, even if some of that information came from public television on a basic black-and-white TV as I sat with my classmates on benches at long lunchroom tables. Maybe because I ...

Good Samaritans all around us

February 22, 2019

The last two weeks have been harsh — weather-wise, that is. Mother Nature gave Hamilton County and Iowa in general much more than our share of snow and cold. It’s often during these difficult times that we realize the goodness and generosity of people in our community. You know, people who step and go beyond the call of duty to help others. My husband discovered this first hand the other night. He was traveling home from Des Moines when his car slipped off the road and slid into a ditch. He took out his phone, ready to call AAA for assistance, when he saw some headlights pull ...

The changing world of fishing

February 21, 2019

On a recent or past episode of Fishing the Midwest television depending on where you live, we talked about some of the changes that have taken place in the world of fishing. I’ve been fishing for a little more than 5 decades and have seen many changes. Most of those changes have been for ...

Gone fishing

February 13, 2019

There are lots of fishing seasons and ways to go fishing. In some parts of the world right now it’s ice-fishing season, but in others it’s open water season. In some places it crappie season, in others it’s perch season. In some places we go spinnerbaiting for bass or jigging for ...

A simple act of kindness

February 11, 2019

So there I was, standing in a short line at a busy convenience store waiting to pay for the cup of coffee I was holding. The customer in front of me was purchasing an energy drink and a tin of chewing tobacco, so you know he is decades younger than me. For some reason, his was a lengthy transaction as the clerk (even younger than the customer) located the brand and flavor of chew he wanted, rang up the sale, and then waited while the young man fumbled through his pockets to find the correct change—or probably his debit card. I thought I was waiting quite patiently for all ...

Outgrowing your dream

February 11, 2019

At a monthly luncheon with a group of other aging baby boomers, a conversation with a few old friends turned to the matter of unachieved goals. Now in retirement, what life goals did we not achieve during our younger years? I quickly identified my unachieved goal: learning to fly. As a youngster I watched airplanes scoot across the sky and dreamed that someday I would be an airplane pilot. Back in my youth I had a Walter Mitty complex. I was a day dreamer and had big dreams. In the classroom I often stared out the window and dreamed about the future. These were big dreams (yet ...