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The big plate glass window where it all started

Did you have a childhood experience that precipitated your eventual adult career? I did. I remember the experience vividly. My family had moved from the farm into a two-bedroom apartment on the main street of Ellsworth in early February 1953. I had just turned five and enjoyed playing with the other children who lived in the downtown area. There was Jackie whose parents ran the drug store, Larry whose father worked at the produce and several other kids, including Marla, whose parents ran the weekly newspaper. One day that spring I found myself standing in front of the Ellsworth ...

I used to be more exciting

On a recent Saturday night my wife went to bed around 8 p.m. and I planned on retiring for the evening around 10 p.m. We kissed each other goodnight and I was about to head for my recliner to watch a few more YouTube videos when I was struck by a sobering thought. “I was a lot more exciting on Saturday nights 60 years ago,” I told Julie. “What are you talking about?” she asked. So I began to explain. It was a busier than normal Saturday for us. In the morning I tagged along to a craft sale at a little country Methodist church not too far from our home. I went along ...

With a little help from AI

It is no secret that AI has captured the imagination of most of us. It has, in particular, captured the imagination of the media. The gist of the media’s wonder is: How can we use AI? Well, in the interest of answering that question, I launched an experiment. I asked AI what we can do about draconian politics. Here’s how AI would replace me as a commentator. You might want to note that even the subhead above was generated by AI. Below, AI’s words are in quotes. “In recent years, the term ‘draconian’ has been used frequently to describe policies and political ...

A little bit of childhood

Sixty-five years ago one of the favorite things our mother would say to us was, “We’re going to Titonka (or to Wellsburg) Sunday.” Those were the Iowa communities where our grandparents lived. A trip to Wellsburg meant spending a Sunday with our maternal cousins and a trip to Titonka meant a day with our paternal cousins. Cousins played a big role in the lives of my siblings and me and we had a lot of them. Our mother was one of 12 children and our father one of six. In total we had 55 first cousins and dozens of second cousins, some of whom were nearly as close to us as first ...

TURNING BACK THE PAGES OF TIME 1960: 25,000 Greet Kennedy at Fort Dodge

Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy received a tumultuous welcome this morning at Fort Dodge. Kennedy, who flew to Fort Dodge from Sioux City, on his way to the national plowing matches at Sioux Falls, S. D., was greeted by 25,000 people at the airport and in the business ...

Different strokes for different folks

Recently I ran into a childhood friend who is a lifelong (and successful) farmer. “How’s life in the big city?” he asked, referring to my home in the Des Moines suburbs. I get this query occasionally from rural friends, some of whom cannot imagine living in the city or suburbs. Over the past nearly eight decades I have had the privilege of living in communities ranging from some of Iowa’s smaller towns to Iowa’s largest community and several years on farms. Folks who have never lived on a farm or in a tiny town may have difficulty understanding how someone can do that. ...