It’s good to be back in ‘Our Neighborhood’

January 2, 2024

In early November I had to have a knee replaced. During the recovery period following surgery, my mind was a complete fog (even more than usual); between drugs for the pain and the focus I put toward rehabilitation, it just didn’t feel normal trying to write. I was able to continue research, though walks through Graceland had to be put on hold for a time. What I began to study led me to a new adventure; I’m beginning work on a new novel about the Dragoons and their trek through Iowa in the 1830s. At first, I convinced myself that this would be of more value than continuing “Our ...

Random thoughts about the new year

January 1, 2024

Here it is — a brand new year. Yippee! Every January 1 brings back memories of New Years 2000 and the Y2K scare. Readers of sufficient age should remember all the anxiety that was wasted in 1999 as some folks thought the world was coming to an end (or something similarly calamitous) on January 1, 2000. Of course, radio talk show Chicken Littles added to the apprehension with fear-laden predications of what would happen when our computers failed at 12 a.m. on January 1. There were predictions we wouldn’t be able to withdraw funds from ATMs, buy groceries or gasoline and other ...

New Year’s Eve traditions around the world

December 25, 2023

Years ago I thought it was necessary to welcome the new year with a celebration of some sort. At the very least, I thought one should stay up until midnight to usher in the new year. During my high school years a classmate hosted a New Years’ Eve party at her home. We were country kids — no booze, no hanky panky — but we had a good time and stayed up late enough to wish each other a Happy New Year. Fifty years ago this month a New Year’s Eve party tradition began that lives on today. Nowadays, however, the remnants of the original party group plan to get together at noon on a ...

Blessings

December 21, 2023

“When I'm worried and I can't sleep I count my blessings instead of sheep, and I fall asleep counting my blessings.” I love that song. You probably know it. Written by Irving Berlin and sung by Bing Crosby in the movie “White Christmas,” it’s a mellow reminder that things could be worse. The movie, out right about the time I was born, was more famously timed to recall the recently-ended Second World War, during which so much was lost. Every year at this time, this song starts up in my head. “When my bankroll is getting small I think of when I had none at all, ...

Why should kids have all the fun?

December 17, 2023

Teenagers have a lot of fun. Several photos of our church’s middle school and high school youth groups having a good time at their respective Christmas parties were posted on the church’s Facebook page recently. I felt a twinge of envy. It’s been a long, long time since I was involved in a church youth group. When I was, we didn’t have as much fun as these kids were having. Now, I’m not whining here. My family’s church was small and there weren’t many of us teenagers. The age range was stretched a bit to create a group large enough to meet regularly and when we did it ...

Safety Patrol duty and a traffic violator

December 10, 2023

While far short of qualifying for Mensa, I was gifted with a good memory. So it is that I can distinctly remember something that happened nearly 64 years ago. My father took a job with the grain elevator in Sibley, Iowa, and we moved there in February 1960. As it turned out, Dad’s job didn’t work out and six weeks later we moved back to Hamilton County in north central Iowa. Sibley is a nice county seat town of nearly 3,000 in far northwest Iowa. The community is located just seven miles south of the Minnesota state line. I remember Sibley positively for several reasons: I had ...