Breaking News

Opinion

It’s time to get re-wired

Local Columns

I have a confession to make. I don’t trust computers any more. Don’t get me wrong: I’m typing on one right now and I really appreciate many of the functions for writing and storing information. But I think we’ve gone too far. When I first started writing, I used a typewriter. An old fashioned, black, typewriter, probably an Underwood. It was the one my dad used for typing competitions in high school, back in the 1930s. You had to push hard, and change the ribbon. If you made a mistake you started over, or used a special eraser, but there was nothing more comforting than ...

Sit right down and write a letter

Local Columns

Back in 1935 when Fats Waller recorded “I’m Going to Sit Right Down and Right Myself a Letter” he had no idea that the written letter, a common means of communication for centuries, would be an endangered art form 90 years later. You don’t think so? How many handwritten personal letters have you received in the past week compared to, say, 40 years ago? Do you have an up-to-date postal mailing address book? I don’t. E-mail, text messaging and cheap long-distance calls have nearly eliminated handwritten letters. In my case, the exception to e-mail was an occasional letter to ...

The gift of music

Local Columns

It was a pleasure to sit in the school board meeting this past week and listen to the members applauding the efforts of the high school music instructors, Kaitlyn Abens, the high school band instructor and Aaron McCullough who is in charge of the vocal music department. This week, there was a post on social media with this message: You don't have to choose. You can do sports. You can do extracurriculars. You can participate in community activities. You can have a job. And you can do band while you do it. If you've ever had the desire to learn an instrument, join band. If your ...

Oom-pah-pah

Local Columns

Though I regret the embarrassment this may cause my loved ones, I must make a confession: I love polkas. In my youth, polkas were considered “square.” Today’s young folks might call them “dorky” or “pathetic” or another term of derision. After years of trying to hide my attraction to the happy tunes from Europe, however, I must come clean, square, dorky, pathetic or otherwise. My affinity for polkas apparently took root 75 years ago on a farm in northern Iowa’s Kossuth County. My earliest memories of my grandfather’s dairy barn include an old wood cabinet radio ...

Old bones, old homes all have value

Local Columns

Last week, a historic home had to be torn down in Webster City. It was a sad day. I had spent time socially in that house nearly 30 years ago, and loved the people who lived there. It’s not that people didn’t try to save it. But once a house is abandoned or neglected, it’s hard to make up for the years of neglect. Sounds almost like relationships. House ownership has a cost that doesn't stop when you pay the mortgage. Whether your home was built last year or 150 years ago, daily, monthly, yearly maintenance is essential. It can be a losing battle when the repairs outpace the ...

Readin’, writin’, ’rithmetic ...

Local Columns

Some time back I saw a bumper sticker that read, “If you can read this, thank a teacher.” I quietly mumbled, “Amen.” The bumper sticker brought back memories of a host of teachers and the influence they had on my life. I used to tease my kids that I was so smart I needed only nine weeks of kindergarten. The fact is, I’m so old that kindergarten was still a relatively new-fangled concept when I was a youngster. My school experience began in March (many years ago) with a nine-week (all-day) kindergarten class. Our kindergarten teacher worked hard to prepare us for first ...