As I stroll through our neighborhood after a refreshing rain, the colors are amazing; blue sky, white clouds and the beautiful green grass. It seems so different from a couple of months ago, when our granddaughter came up for a day of sledding on “Hospital Hill.” That, too, was a day of ...

In the nearly 10 years since I retired, I have worked to peel away the shell that built up around my heart during nearly 50 years of dealing with the public. Many jobs require an element of treating nasty people with a smile and that can lead to a calloused heart. Thanks to a wife, who is a ...

I was a weird kid growing up. In small town Iowa, I was “the” weird kid. I was a walking paradox of sorts. I hung on to my fandom of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, even when the craze had long died down, as appeal shifted to the likes of the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. Over ...

Mother’s Day is here, almost. Nests are springing up in the trees across the street and half the squirrels are looking a bit plump around the midsection. It feels so good to be back in our neighborhood. I spent the past week in a car, traveling from Naples, Florida to Webster City. My ...

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 time. 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. ...

This week has been a blur. It’s been an out of body experience where I’ve felt like being on autopilot, but not quite the near death experience with a bright light at the end of the tunnel. It’s kind of like, it’s been “once I get home, I’m faceplanting a pillow.” I ...