A few weeks past I read of the upcoming construction of a new Kwik Star on the west side of town. I am a student of “rabbit trails” (as you’d know if you’ve heard me present a talk on a subject). The article was about the demolition of the former Naden Industries building. I’ve sat ...
One thing aging does for a man is help him understand life’s deeper issues a little better. Take funerals, for instance. As a younger man I thought funerals were just an expensive tradition — overdone sentimentalism. Now a septuagenarian, I more deeply appreciate our society’s funeral customs and what they do for the survivors. My views on funerals have been shaped over many years, going way back to childhood. I consider myself fortunate that my parents believed children had a place at some funerals. I was 6 years old when a 3-year-old cousin drowned in a stock tank on his ...
Republicans in the Iowa House hate government freebies. Unless it’s their corporate friends who get them. The latest evidence of this hypocrisy is the effort to kill a central Iowa program and prevent others like it that are aimed at helping poor people. UpLift is a test program in central Iowa that gives $500 per month to 110 individuals who live with at least one dependent up to the age of 25 and who have a median household income of only $24,000 a year. The program is partially funded by using federal funds awarded to the cities of Des Moines and Urbandale, and it is part of ...
I’ll be the first to admit I sometimes have issues with too many choices. I love living in this country, though it can be tough selecting the “right” toothpaste or deodorant. When my wife and I moved to Webster City, I thought everything would just naturally fall into place. Smaller ...
As I was growing up I often heard my mother say, “Soap is cheap.” Cleanliness truly was next to godliness in our home so it’s no wonder Mom’s old Maytag wringer-type washing machine remains a vivid part of my memories. My earliest recollections of laundry day include a vision of a gray Maytag washer, complete with a drain hose attached to the side and a big black and white wringer on top. A rinse tub sat nearby. Early on Mom had to heat water on the cookstove to do laundry but in 1953 we moved to town and enjoyed hot and cold running water. Steam rose from the washing ...
Ask any of my kids what they remember most of their Gramma when they were growing up and they’ll tell you that she ALWAYS had a stick of gum or piece of candy for them. It’s one of those memories that you’ll have with you forever. When I heard of “the gum man,” I knew it was a ...
