Part of the fun of fishing are the ideas that are facts to some anglers and absolutely not facts to other anglers. For instance, it’s believed by a good number of anglers that lure-makers make baits to catch fishermen, not fish. While it’s true that a bait has to be purchased by an angler ...
Though it took place nearly 45 years ago, I remember it like yesterday. We were on our way home from church and our son, then about five years old, was standing up right behind our front seat (yes, this was unsafe but we didn’t know that yet) telling us about his Sunday school experience. At one point Dirk asks, “Dad, how do we say our name?” “What?” I asked. “Well, I thought we said it ‘HYOOS-muhn’ but my Sunday school teacher calls me Dirk ‘HIGHS-muhn.” It was time for my boy to learn the facts of life about his surname. We worshipped at a Reformed Church in ...
Before the Internet and search engines like Google, I spent a lot of time with reference books. I’m one of those nerds who enjoys reading encyclopedias and almanacs and love learning new (and sometimes weird) things. Here are a few of the things I have learned lately while looking for something else on the Internet ̶ You should take good care of your feet. Did you know that you have 26 bones in each of your feet ̶ 52 bones in both feet? Your entire body has 206 bones so more than a quarter of your bones are in your feet. Like I said, take good care of your tootsies. Back in ...
There has been a lot of talk lately about why Iowa’s K-12 school districts need to be more transparent, and more accessible and more accountable, to parents and the rest of the tax-paying people of Iowa. That is the justification offered for a bulging backpack full of bills introduced in the Legislature this year. But lawmakers should not stop with their push for improved transparency in schools. There are bills before the Legislature this year that would require a monitoring camera be installed in every classroom, online lists of every book in every school library and every book ...
Are you ready for Daylight Savings Time again? We “spring ahead” at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 13. Daylight Savings Time is okay; I just hate losing that hour of sleep on March 13. I know, we’ll get the hour back on November 6 but it still messes me up for a few weeks. I’m not ready for bed at bedtime. I’m not ready to get up at my normal “getting’ up” time. I’m not ready to eat… wait, that’s never a problem. This wasn’t such a big deal when I was younger. Maybe age is making me less tolerant of change. I have noticed that in other areas of life. When I was a ...
The ice fishing season is winding down. In some parts of ice fishing territory, the season has closed for a couple species of fish. However, there are still lots of fish to chase in the remaining weeks of ice fishing. Perch, crappies, and other panfish are fair game in most places, and so are ...
