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Eb Griper’s prepares for a procedure

Eb Griper was a vision of melancholy. There he sat in the coffee shop booth ­— three-day beard, striped bib overalls and head in hands. I had never seen my cantankerous old buddy look so gloomy. “You look like you lost your last friend,” I remarked as I slipped into the opposite seat. Eb scowled and made an unintelligible grunt. “What’s wrong, old fella?” I asked. “I’ve never seen you so forlorn.” “Just came from the doctor’s office,” Eb finally volunteered. “Oh!” I was reluctant to ask but I did: “Bad news?” “Yep.” “I’m sorry, Eb. If you ...

Simply speaking and speaking simply

A lifelong Midwesterner, I enjoy the simple and earthy language of rural America. We generally get right to the point and use unpretentious, expressive ways to get there. Linguists ascribe titles to the various methods we employ in our communication: aphorisms, axioms, proverbs, epigrams, maxims, etc. I’m not much concerned with what they are called; I simply like the way they communicate. Many of the humble and colorful phrases we hear in rural America came across the ocean with our immigrant ancestors. Growing up in an East Frisian family, I heard a number of Low German aphorisms ...

Time for a new ice fishing rod

The ice fishing season gets closer every day. Many of us are going through our ice fishing equipment to see what we need or want to go fishing through the ice when the ice returns. I was looking at my ice rods and realized there were a couple of actions that needed to be added to my arsenal. ...

Has the truth finally been told?

It was between doctor appointments (the only kind of appointments I have anymore.) I had ducked into a coffee shop for a few minutes of mental and physical relaxation. A small, elderly woman ̶ stooped, gaunt and shabbily dressed ̶ approached my table and asked if I would buy her a cup of coffee. An easy mark when it comes to food, I bought her a cup of coffee and a bagel. Without invitation, she pulled out a chair and joined me. I sat silently while she attacked the bagel. She obviously hadn’t eaten for some time. Picking up the last crumbs from the table, she said, “In ...

I need all the help I can get

Sixty years ago I would have given up ice cream if I could have stayed home from church. My parents took their six ornery kids to church most any time the lights were on and their six ornery kids were not always excited about that. Six decades later my thoughts about church have been rehabilitated. A recent poll by the Pew Research Center indicates that only 36 percent of Americans attend church weekly. My wife and I are in that minority. Though I came to faith as a youngster, my teen years were messy. While I went through the motions my heart wasn’t always in it. Fortunately (and ...

Walleye in rivers right now

The autumn season offers many outdoor activities. Some folks like to go hunting and others know that ice-fishing is not far away. But there are some, probably more than you would think, that look forward to this time of year for open water fishing. They know that right now, in rivers ...