This is the story of a man of humble origins who moved to a new country and worked hard but never acquired wealth or fame. This man was my maternal grandfather and this year will mark the 60th anniversary of his passing. My grandfather was born in an East Frisian village near Weener, Germany, ...

While reviewing bills recently I noticed my monthly cell phone bill had increased by $18. I searched the statement looking for a reason for the increase but found none. I’m not a parsimonious old coot, but I am frugal and I was upset by an unannounced increase in the bill with no ...

I was reminded not too long ago that good people voted for our current president and his standards. The message came from a social media acquaintance who called me out for my morality. The irony of this is that anyone who has known me long enough knows very well that I am far from perfect. My ...

The social media phenomenon known as Facebook turns 20 years old this year! It was a year or so after Facebook became a reality that I began hearing talk promoting the application and younger friends and acquaintances began urging me to get involved. Early on, I was reluctant to sign up for ...

Forty years ago my job at the Sioux City Journal involved, among a host of other duties, regular travel to call on major advertisers headquartered in other Midwestern cities. Some of those sales calls necessitated air travel. The Sioux City Airport was only a 10 to 15 minute-drive from our ...

Breakfast has always been my favorite meal. It has several origins: My Scottish and English forebears, for whom a substantial first-meal-of-the-day was an article of faith; my maternal grandmother preparing a bounteous spread for farm hands at 5.30 a.m. in her farm kitchen; and a lifetime of ...