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Grief expressed is grief relieved

Local Columns

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 ...

Hardened hearts and short-sightedness at the Iowa Capitol

Local Columns

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 ...

Dr. Holt's dental plan

Local Columns

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 ...

Don't get your elbow in a wringer

Local Columns

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 ...

The Gum Man

Local Columns

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 ...

I can see clearly now

Local Columns

When I was much younger I noticed that old guys liked to talk about their medical procedures. So let me tell you about my recent surgeries. In recent years my vision wasn’t as sharp as it was when I was younger. Driving at night became more difficult, particularly when it was raining. For several years optometrists have told me cataracts were “ripening” in my eyes and that someday I would need surgery to fix the problem. At my annual eye exam in December, the optometrist indicated it was time and set up an appointment with an eye surgeon. That meeting went well and surgery ...