Have you ever had a time in your life when you ran into the perfect person to lift you out of a slight funk? A time when you may be having, dare I say, a bit of a “pity party?” It seems that an accident I had some years ago — as in 1977 — has, after all this time, reared up and I’ll ...

We had some special guests in our home recently. All five grandkids (and their parents, of course) spent a weekend with us. They all live at least four hours away so we don’t see them frequently. These are Julie’s grandchildren but she lets me play with them. The grandkids range in age ...

Ever since I can remember I’ve been very interested in American military history, particularly the Civil War. (Very interested being a way of saying I was infatuated.) One character I portrayed while writing and speaking around Minnesota was Colonel John B. Sanborn, commander of the ...

When I watch or listen to any form of broadcast media these days, I feel inundated with political ads. There are times when I simply want to tune it all out; hence my enjoyment of streaming music while mowing the lawn (now that we’ve gotten some rain). Surely it hasn’t always been this ...

Fifty years is a long time. Fifty years before I was born the world was still in the 19th century! Fifty years before I graduated high school the U.S. was embroiled in World War I. Fifty years has always seemed like a long time ago. The other day I was ruminating on this matter and ...

This week I visited the Kendall Young Library here in Webster City. In the past I would browse the books and look for a few DVDs to borrow for long winter evenings. This time was a bit more focused; I’ve decided to expand the resources I utilize to write this column. I settled down in ...