Yes, I realize I am the author of eight books but that doesn’t mean at times writing can’t become a big chore for me. The month of December over the past few years has turned into the month of writer’s cramp. Technically typing on my computer probably doesn’t produce writer’s cramp like it would if I were writing with paper and pencil. Writer’s fatigue might be a more accurate description. In December three members of our family celebrate birthdays. Instead…..
Last weekend around 6:45 am I was awakened to someone or something licking me in the face. Was Kathie dreaming about licking a giant Sugar Daddy sucker? (Remember those big brown hunks of delicious taffy- like suckers? You didn’t dare chew them or the sticky candy would remove every crown in your mouth or any loosely fitting teeth as well.) As my brain began to shake off the cobwebs of sleep I realized our daughter’s dog Millie was perched on…..
I know what you are thinking. Census? Doesn’t this guy realize that the census collecting process took place months ago? Let me explain. This is a very unusual type of census. You see I am a member of the Traverse County Sportsman’s Club which is a local club that has been around for many years and contains several hundred members. Our county is one of the least populated counties in the State of Minnesota. So to have that large of…..
I’m not sure it’s called a picture tube anymore but whatever that apparatus is on our television that produces the video it just up and died a couple weeks ago. There was no warning. No smoke arose from the back of the T.V. nor was there a smell of melting plastic. The picture just disappeared and we were left with a huge black screen. It turned into a giant radio as the sound was functioning perfectly. But that became really…..
In the early years there were four of us siblings. Tom arrived first followed by me one year later. Then Jerry arrived the following year. Our poor mother must have been exhausted. But there was that desire to complete the family with a daughter so two years later little Patsy arrived. I have a memory of that blessed event even though my siblings question my ability to remember that far back. It is very vivid in my memory however. Jerry…..
For many years Kathie and I have been members of the Chautauqua Concert Association. It consists of people from our area that love musical entertainment. Throughout the year five groups come to share their musical talents with us. They come from near and far so not only do they share their music with us but often their cultures as well. The music varies from vocal soloist, honkytonk piano music, brass groups, woodwinds, stringed instruments or a combination of all of…..
I’ve enjoyed a sweaty week as I tackled the grass strip running down the middle of our driveway. After several years of driving in the same track the middle of the driveway is never disturbed and a variety of weeds assume that they have the right to grow there. There’s something unbecoming when a driveway has a six inch tall strip of grass marring its appearance. I would classify it a “bush league” appearing driveway and passerby’s probably smile and…..
I have always loved animals. Even my own children have made fun of me for the extremes I go to protect animals. They laugh as I shoo boxelder bugs out the front door or transport a giant spider to a safer place. When I was a coordinator at the Bonanza Education Center I experienced animal cruelty that haunts me to this day. A third grade student screamed, “Mr. Mike!” and pointed to a huge, and I mean huge, spider resting…..
It was a Sunday and we had decided to take a road trip. My wife Kathie and I both love small towns so we decided to explore some towns we had never visited before. But as we began our journey I just wasn’t feeling it. Exploring small towns just didn’t seem to be the thing to do on this particular Sunday. Looking back I realize that feeling was a premonition of what was about to take place. We were traveling…..
It was fifty-seven years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. We were gathered around our family’s kitchen table visiting with Mr. Findlay. He was in the process of negotiating with my Dad for the purchase of our family home. Dad had been forced to sell the farm and it had become the property of the Federal Wetlands. That required that all the farm buildings had to be removed and the farm relinquished back to nature. I was…..
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