Columnists

Bacon doesn’t motivate students either

I’ve heard it said that it is important to do something that doesn’t involve dogs every once in a while so one can be reminded why one never does things that don’t involve dogs. For myself and, I’m guessing, a majority of folks in the US, this “occasional something" would be going to work. The...

A different kind of Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday was more than a little different this year. We faced blizzard conditions, school was cancelled, and our normal patterns for life were disrupted. We wanted last week to be different than what it was, but we were left in our homes to deal with our humanity. What is the purpose of...

Times are not so different

In 2008, film director Danny Boyle showed the world a fantastic movie (Slumdog Millionaire) about a teenager in the Indian city of Bombay who goes on his country's famous TV show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The movie goes back and forth between every question the main character (Dev Patel) is...

No matter what this life brings

Anticipation can either be good or bad. This week we have been anticipating the weather, how bad will it be? Or that something bad will happen and we won’t be prepared. So we prepare for what might happen or what could be the worst-case, but then we forget about the best-case scenario. What...

Beware of runaway shopping carts

TP’ing with toilet paper is a tradition that’s been around for generations. High school students celebrate special school events by TP’ing the homes of royalty contestants, team players, or even coaches. I know our house has been papered on several occasions. The student living in the house can...

Nature has character

Sammy is our six-year-old Cavapoo; she is our best friend. She doesn't shed and doesn't chew shoes, socks, or furniture. Samantha barks a bit too much at times, and hides under the bed during fireworks, claps of thunder, or a running vacuum cleaner. Any time I run an errand she waits for my...

Always learning

A few hours in Denny Hoehn's ice fishing house along with Scott Beckman was a great learning experience. Using an underwater camera hooked up to a mounted television screen to watch the way the bluegills approach the hook revolutionized my technique. Bluegill fishing requires you to be totally...

Longing to be a part of something

We want to be a part of a team. We want to belong, to know that people value and rely upon us. We want to be needed and know that our actions add to a solution. Our human condition longs to be a part of something that matters. From the beginning of our time on this earth, we have longed to be...

Time is something of a fickle friend

Wallace reached a milestone recently. He has graced the world with his presence for one year as of the third week in January. Not a lot is different at the manor with the change from puppyhood to “teenager”; Wallace still doesn’t know anything. The usual shenanigans still take place and the...

My depth finder lit up with fish

Annual physicals for senior citizens are a great, good health practice. I recently completed mine and left the clinic feeling good. Weight was just fine and blood pressure was great; still waiting for my blood test. When the nurse took my height, I became amazed at how fast I'm shrinking. I...