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Congratulations to Arts R Alive, Bowden and Harrenstein for promoting public art

Letters to Editor

To the editor: Arts R Alive sponsored a wonderful event at West Twin Park last Thursday evening. The citizens who work hard to promote and realize that organization’s agenda are to be commended. They managed to provide for the public a friendly gathering of adults and children, light refreshments, live music by Jive for Five, and an ongoing commitment to the enrichment of public life and community-building. The importance of public art was clearly and leisurely demonstrated by the most recent installation of beautiful sculptures, comments by local philanthropist Dean Bowden, and ...

Experiencing the Party Line

Local Columns

My first non-farm job was at our county seat radio station. In the spring of 1966 Mr. Orton, our school newspaper advisor, introduced me to the radio station owner who offered me a part-time job. While attending junior college I worked part time at the station and that led to a full-time job. It was a dream job: 70 hours a week, six days a week beginning at 5 a.m. and every other Sunday, two holidays each year and less than $100 a week. But, hey, it was show business! Within the first year the boss promoted me to writing the local news which was right up my alley, but I still had ...

Feed in the time of Floyd Woodard

Local Columns

Diane and I recently had our second grandchild arrive: our first grandson. The little guy is settling in with his parents in Minneapolis and soon will be meeting his cousin, our granddaughter who lives in Ellsworth. In the meantime, we’re watching our son’s two “fur babies” to lessen ...

Helping angels unaware

Local Columns

My mother was the queen of hospitality and regularly had guests for a meal or a cup of coffee. Of course, she always had homemade baked goods ready to share, too. Mom often quoted an adage about helping angels unaware. She was referring to Hebrews 13:2 in the Bible: “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” (NIV) I don’t know if Mom ever showed hospitality to an angel, but I sometimes wonder if I did. It was a cold November day in the mid-1990s. A stranger walked into my office one ...

More than 'a little off the top'

Local Columns

I needed a haircut. Badly. It’s one of “those things” that I keep putting off; honestly, I have no idea why. Suffice it to say that I finally asked some of the guys at a veteran’s coffee morning and every one sitting at the table said, “Go see Russ.” I did and had a memorable ...

Wrestling with an internet diagnosis

Local Columns

Most doctors advise against looking to the internet for medical advice, particularly to diagnose a health problem. A bit of a rebel, I did so anyway and as far as I can tell I suffer from akathisia. Google tells me this is a “a neuropsychiatric syndrome and movement disorder that makes it difficult to sit or remain still due to an inner restlessness.” Or, I’m guessing, it could be a symptom of a loquacious old geezer with juvenile impatience. One of the old Greek philosophers said, “Know thyself.” Ironically, we don’t know who actually said it, but Socrates, Plato and ...