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Life goes by much faster than we expect

When I was in junior high school I enjoyed looking at the composite photos of past high school graduates from our school. The large, framed photos lined the walls of the hallway just outside our study hall; each in the order of their graduating year. I would graduate in 1966 (I hoped) and those who had graduated in the 1930s and 1940s seemed so old. Here it is 2021 and high school graduation is 55 years behind me. I must seem ancient to today’s junior high/middle school kids. What seemed like such an important event 60 years ago is now but a blip on my memory timeline. In reality, I ...

Taking a two-lane vacation

For some, the joy of travel is the destination. For me, the joy of travel is the journey. So it was that Julie and I recently took off for Colorado Springs. Now, unless you don’t plan to return home you need a destination from which you can return home and our destination was a city we have both visited before. While Colorado Springs did not disappoint, the trip itself was pleasurable, too. We have traveled to Colorado a number of times, always on Interstate 80 and Interstate 76. This time we traveled on two-lane highways most of the way to Colorado Springs. We left West Des Moines ...

Fall for trophy walleyes

I’ve had the opportunity to fish in many areas across North America, from Ontario and Manitoba in the north to Florida in the south. I’ve been able to participate in lots of memorable bites, for big fish and for numbers of fish. But when I think about it, and I think about it a lot, if the ...

Fishing in the fall

The leaves on the trees are changing colors and the kids are back in school. The first few flocks of early migrating ducks are starting to show up. The people who hunt ducks are practicing calling and are checking their ammunition supply. And the people who like to catch lots of fish and big ...

The challenges and joys of a new school

My wife and I reside in the Waukee Community School District in Des Moines’ western suburbs. The big news here is that our second high school, Northwest High, opened recently. As one of the fastest growing school districts in the state, Waukee Community Schools needed another high school. For some 1,300 young people, back-to-school this year meant a brand-new school. We now have the Waukee High Warriors and the Northwest High Wolves. All of this brings back memories as 59 years ago this fall I was a freshman at a brand-new high school. The buildings were old but the school district ...

Late summer and fall fishing ideas

The nights are getting cooler and the early migrating birds are starting to group up as they prepare for the journey to their wintering grounds. These are reminders to me that autumn is on the way, and that’s a reminder of a couple of late summer and fall fishing memories of mine. There’s ...