Beauty is as beauty does

June 2, 2024

Many years ago I arrived home from work to find my son and a friend busy at the kitchen table. The boys were about 10 or 11 years old at the time and I assumed they were working on a school assignment. “What are you guys up to?” I asked, looking over their shoulders. They seemed a bit sheepish and did not respond. I could see they had written on a piece of notebook paper a list of girls’ names with a number adjacent to each name. “What’s this?” I asked. The boys awkwardly explained they had made a list of all the girls in their class and had rated each one on a scale of ...

The Bible tells me so

May 28, 2024

For my ninth birthday my parents gave me a Bible. It was a black leatherette-bound King James Version with my name stamped in gold on the cover. I was pleased to receive this gift but was horrified by what my mother wrote on the presentation page: “To Arvid from Mommy and Daddy.” From Mommy and Daddy? For heaven’s sake I was nine years old. What if my friends thought I still called my parents “Mommy and Daddy.” Well-schooled in the art of accepting a gift without complaint, I said nothing to my mother about that embarrassing message. But you can bet I kept that ...

Remembering Smallpage

May 23, 2024

There are too many veterans. I say that with the utmost respect. I say it because, to my way of thinking, there are too many wars. And too many deaths. I believe you understand. You probably understand because, like the rest of us, someone you know is a veteran, loves a veteran, or has lost a veteran. Their stories are all too common, especially this time of year. Take, for instance, the well-told story of the five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, whose deaths sparked change in the way our country asked families to go to war. History tells us that they were the sons of Thomas ...

Forget-me-not

May 19, 2024

Another Memorial Day had come and gone. John had attended the community Memorial Day service at the local cemetery Monday morning but melancholy gnawed at his soul in the days which followed. On his way into town for a tractor part on Thursday morning, John felt an inexplicable urge to stop by the well-groomed cemetery again and visit the grave of an old high school buddy. Parking his pick-up truck a few yards uphill from the grave, John unfolded his lanky frame from the cab and walked slowly to the granite stone. At the grave he lowered himself to his knees and set upright a plant ...

An open letter to Class of 2024

May 12, 2024

Dear high school senior: It’s been a busy year, hasn’t it? Senior photos, mailing out invitations, prom, trying to think of something witty to say when someone asks about your plans for the future. About all that’s left is a long, hot ceremony in a robe your grandmother wouldn’t be caught dead in and a reception with those fancy little sandwiches your anxious mother is so crazy about. Hang in there. Even if you want to shout “free at last!” as you are handed your diploma, exercise self-control and smile proudly as you try to exit the stage without falling down the ...

The blessings of a good mother

May 5, 2024

Mother’s Day 2024 is my siblings and my sixth observance of the special day without a mother. Our mother passed away in November 2018. The six Huisman kids were blessed with a wonderful mother. On a recent Friday my three brothers and I got together for lunch and spent three hours reminiscing and telling stories. Our parents came up frequently during that conversation. When discussing our teen years, for instance, all four of us recalled coming home in the wee hours. In the layout of our parental home, the bathroom was on the first floor, adjacent to our parents’ bedroom. So ...