I’m headed on a getaway in memory of Mom. We used to rent a home in the Smoky Mountains every couple of years just to re-engage with each other. Usually a four-night, five-day affair where the …
You know how some memories stick with you for no logical reason? One such memory involves my dad in the 1960s when I was a teenager. After World War II, my father worked for the City of Bloomfield, …
On our cruise ship, the rugs in the elevators have the day of the week imprinted on them. What a hoot! Is it because there are so many seniors on board that the ship is like a floating …
This week I’m gonna talk to you a little about food. Yeah, I’m a foodie. I love to explore places away from the comfort of extreme southeast Iowa and sample food. I think I made up the …
I can prove that golf is a social game. I never get any better, but I keep meeting more and more people to play the game with. A friend of mine and I found our way to Riverside on Saturday to play …
It has been six months since a 17-year-old Perry High School student walked out of a school bathroom and began shooting toward students who were having breakfast before heading to their classes on …
In 1978 Mike and Marilyn Vincent of Mt. Pleasant welcomed their second-of-five Youth For Understanding students (Foreign Exchange Students). This one from Finland. Her name is Outi …
Ok. So here I go into an arena that I’m not really primed for. I haven’t been a fan of women’s basketball. Not until now. My brother was a girls' head coach for more than 20 years …
Most people go through life never stepping foot inside a courtroom. Most people, that is, except for attorneys, judges, journalists, the few of us chosen to be jurors, and an even more select group, …
I know I've said this before, and one of my readers was quick to point it out, but “The Covenant of Water” is the best book I have ever read. How do I know? Well, I'll take …
I’ve sat through about 50 graduations in my lifetime. They always seem to have me thinking about paths and choices. I’m a people watcher. It’s one of my favorite things to do when …
This business cracks me up. I saw something the other day that made me so proud to feel like a Fort Madisonian or Fort Madisonite or Fort Madisonator whatever you naturalized Fort Madison people call …