It would be great if life were all sunshine and rainbows, but it is not. While I enjoy being around upbeat people, I also need to be around some folks who are real and admit they struggle with things like I do. Their honesty lets me know I am not… Continue reading
The county fair is a rite of passage for the summer, and I can’t think of anything that is more Americana. It harkens back to a day when counties were predominantly rural. Local farmers brought their very best calves, pigs, and chickens to be judged. Others showcased their produce or… Continue reading
These words sound like an oxymoron. How can you give what you did not receive? To understand, we need to look back into our formative years. Our parents got some things right, but they also got some things wrong. There were gaps in our parenting, maybe some gaping holes. Maybe… Continue reading
I am a southerner at heart. Maybe, even a beach bum. Though we have spent most of our lives in northwestern Missouri, central Illinois, and especially northeastern Illinois, near Lake Michigan on the Wisconsin state line, we love the south and have visited many times. Now we live here. Don’t… Continue reading
Keeping our lives balanced is a bit like standing on one foot (which requires balance of a different kind). It’s hard to do for very long. Life throws things at us that draw our attention away from the safeguards and healthy habits that we build into our lives. When things… Continue reading
Two very strange things happened in the last few days. A Democratic Socialist was sworn in as mayor of New York City and the United States invaded another sovereign nation capturing its leader to face justice in the U.S. These are unusual events to say the least and they are… Continue reading
Here it is: the big flip of the page to 2026. It’s that golden opportunity to reflect on 2025 and to aspire for a better 2026. The trick is combining those noble aspirations with the crush of reality for a hopeful way forward. But let’s be honest, somewhere about mid-January… Continue reading
Since this post seemed to several people last year, I am reposting it here. Christmas 1981 The news hit us hard. Everything in our busy lives faded from our minds as our thoughts were consumed with one new haunting fact. Patty had a large tumor that required a hysterectomy. She was… Continue reading
We just returned home from spending a weekend in Nashville, our third trip, but our first concert. I am not a big city guy, but I like to go and see the things the city offers and then head back to my cozy home in the Cumberlands of East Tennessee…. Continue reading
It was a pretty fall day, and I had made a vow to myself and my wife to get out and explore our new home, i.e., the Cumberland Mountains. Somewhere in my internet searches for interesting attractions, I ran across Elrod Falls. It was forty-two miles away. Was it worth… Continue reading
By the time you read this I suspect that a short-term compromise has finally been reached to fund the government. But as I write, the federal government has been shut down for Forty-four days. It is the longest shutdown in history. Unfortunately, it is not an isolated event, but it is… Continue reading
I am not from here. About a quarter of my life was spent in northwest Missouri having grown up in St. Joseph. After that we moved to a bedroom town near Kansas City, Missouri (and I can’t help but remain a Chiefs’ fan). Lastly, we wound up in Illinois. First… Continue reading
I got my first Tennessee speeding ticket yesterday. I was doing 73 in a 55 zone on 25E south of town. It’s my wife’s fault for buying a red car. I like my seat back and my steering wheel low. Unfortunately, the wheel position obscured the speedometer. On my car… Continue reading
Sometimes writers change things, like names and details. They do it to keep from offending people and to keep from being sued. Occasionally, it is essentially to protect the guilty. I am going to tell you a story that is true in its intent, but not in its details. A… Continue reading
This post is intended for both local readers and those who live elsewhere. Barn at the end of my street I have lived in Tennessee a little over two months. That’s not very long, especially since so many people I have talked to have lived here all their life. But… Continue reading
I was tired. Really tired! I might even have experienced heat exhaustion. Anyway, it was hot, ninety-five degrees to be exact, and I was exhausted. Moving dirt, laying sod and pushing a lawn roller filled with water is hard work even when it is not scorching. But I feel fulfilled… Continue reading
When you get married, you not only marry your wife or your husband, but you are also grafted into each other’s family, and their traditions. One of Patty’s family’s Memorial Day traditions was to visit the various small town cemeteries where loved ones were buried to place flowers on their… Continue reading
On March 3, 1991, in the wee hours of the morning three friends who had spent the night watching basketball and drinking were speeding on Interstate 210 in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. A California Highway Patrol unit gave chase, but the driver refused to pull over. The… Continue reading
Brian Zahnd is a pastor in my hometown of St. Joseph, Missouri, and he is about the same age as me. In his newest book, Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God, Brian takes on some issues that have been mysterious and troubling for me, and countless others. The… Continue reading
Something beautiful happens in ditches and dining rooms. More specifically, it happens when we dig a ditch with another laborer and share our table with another diner. Chip Gains introduced me to that concept. Chip and his wife Joanna are the stars of the hit HGTV show, Fixer Upper. Chip… Continue reading
My favorite breakfast place in the world is The Coffee Pot. What’s not to love? The food is fabulous, the menu interesting, the location full of character and charm, and the service is dependably friendly and efficient. So, I decided to meet with owners, Julie Zorn and Janis Barnhil to… Continue reading
This was my column in the Kenosha News in February, but is still very relevant. We have a very energetic president who currently lives alone, doesn’t require much sleep, works weekends, and tweets before most people are awake. So, there is no telling what may have happened in the intervening… Continue reading
I have become a bona-fide winter hater. I didn’t used to mind it much, but after weathering sixty-three of them, I have had it with winter. Short days, slippery roads, and snow blowing the driveway give me no joy. My body aches more. I eat more. I sleep more. I… Continue reading
The view from the mayor’s office on the third floor of the municipal building is impressive. Harbor Park is on full display on one side and downtown on the other. It is just high enough to be grand, but not so high that you can’t see a lot of detail… Continue reading
Dan Stika lives a full life doing the things he loves and giving back to the community. He has lived in Kenosha for all of his seventy-six years. After he retired, Dan decided to obtain his undergrad degree. He enjoyed the experience so much that he went on to get… Continue reading
Unfortunately, I believed some myths about downtown Kenosha. Maybe, you have, too. Downtown is not dead. It is a vibrant, entrepreneurial business community. If you haven’t been there for awhile, then revisit your downtown. Catch lunch at Loula’s or the Buzz Café. Plan a night out enjoy dinner at Wine… Continue reading
Free Range Faith is a companion memoir for people who have left the institutional church, but not the faith. Glenn Hager addresses the question, “Is there a more real and meaningful way to try to follow Jesus and express your faith without having to deal with all of the baggage… Continue reading
Interested in Jesus, but not the church? Used to go, but not anymore? Find the whole church scene irrelevant? You may be one of the 38 million individuals who stopped attending church in the last decade in The U.S. With honesty and a wry wit, Glenn Hager tells his story… Continue reading
Honky Tonk Romance is an excerpt from my novel-in-the making about identity theft. It’s a side story that adds a little background information about one our private investigators as he and his mentor fly from Tampa to Nashville. At an unseemly hour I met Jeff at his place and we took his… Continue reading
Here are a couple of short excerpts from a novel I have been working on. The first one sets up the story of a private detective’s first day on the job, fulfilling his state mandated internship working with a seasoned investigator. Together they meet their new client at a classy… Continue reading
Here is my column in the Kenosha News published October 16th. I am writing from my hometown, St. Joseph, Missouri. Yesterday, I was honored to have a small role in the memorial service for my favorite uncle. The day before, my mom and I began hospice care for my ninety-year-old… Continue reading
Wisconsin has something special to offer to the rest of the world, besides the Packers and cheese. It is the supper club capital of the world. While these dimly-lit destinations from decades gone by are an upper Midwest phenomenon, Wisconsin hosts by far the largest concentration. The Badger State is… Continue reading
My column in the Kenosha News, last Monday: Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.— Howard Thurman What makes you feel alive? You may be able to answer quickly, or… Continue reading
This post is part of the July 2015 synchroblog that invited bloggers to write about “What It Means To Be Pro-Life.” My fifty-seven year-old friend has been fighting for her life for over a month and half, after having emergency surgery to repair complications from a previous surgery. She is… Continue reading
Sam My Grandpa made everything better. He was my favorite person in the whole world. Somehow, he merged a stern German demeanor with a tender, yet manly love. As I look back, I think I was special to him, like he was to me. Six-foot-tall. Back straight as a broomstick…. Continue reading
That’s what Elle Luna’s mother used to tell her. Elle is the author of the book, The Crossroads of Should and Must, a book I own, and will soon read. What does it mean when someone says, “You should…?” Let’s take a peek at what is implied by those words…. Continue reading
Have you ever taken a bite out of a perfectly ripened peach that was hanging from a tree jut a short time ago? There is a certain stance you need to assume when eating a good peach, so the juice doesn’t drip all over you, but it may still run… Continue reading
Here is a copy of my column from Monday’s Kenosha News. I never thought about Leonard Nimoy dying, even after he was recently admitted to the hospital suffering from COPD at eighty-three years of age. He was Mr. Spock for Pete sake! As Mr. Spock, he just got cooler as… Continue reading
All of the photos of are of the vintage garden apartment where I wrote this post. For the last couple of days, I have done pretty much nothing. It’s called a vacation, really, a three-day mini get-a-way. We came to place where there is nothing to do, and are staying in a… Continue reading
Here is the possible beginning of a novel i have been working on, though this part is very rooted in my reality. I’m flying! A ten-year old cruising down the hill of State Route O in Cosby, Missouri with no hands on the handlebars is flying. I was free. I didn’t… Continue reading
Here is my column from Monday’s Kenosha News. Being Wisconsin, I could have entitled this column “Make Your Own Beer,” but there is a fair chance you are already doing that. Or, I might have used the title “Make Your Own Sausage,” but nobody really wants to see sausage being made. So,… Continue reading
A reprint of my column in the Kenosha (Wisconsin) News: I have a confession. Brace yourself. I live in Illinois. There, I said it. Please, don’t stop reading. Even though I’m from “south of the border,” it’s only by a block and a half. And that’s how I explain to… Continue reading
.Penelope loved life and lived it at full throttle. She admired her daddy, emulating his mischievous little grin and his love of ornery escapades. There was an effervescence about her that, at times, just had to bubble over like a well-shaken bottle of Coke. After 9th grade gym class, her… Continue reading
This post is part of a synchrobog in which we recount our favorite prank. The links to the other writer’s contributions are listed at the end of this post. After work, the kids and I met Patty at Giordano’s, a deep dish, Chicago-style pizza place in a neighboring suburb. Upon… Continue reading
This month’s synchroblog focuses on helping Christians know what to do (or not do) and what to say (or not say) when others are going through times of personal tragedy. Links to the other writer’s contributions are listed at the end of the post. You will want to check them… Continue reading
This is a book that hardly anybody wants to talk about. That alone makes it important. We don’t like talking about death or “having our affairs in order,” and we really don’t like delving into financial and personal business matters that involve the likes of the IRS. When Someone Dies… Continue reading
“Dad” Lewis, the owner of the hardware store in town, does not have many weeks left. He is dying of lung cancer. He has always been a man of few words who was not known for his compassion. His faithful wife is worn out and exhausted from taking care of… Continue reading
It was one of those times in life when everything else seems to stop and all of the important and pressing matters are no longer important or pressing. I remember it like it happened in slow motion. Patty and I were walking along main street in the Kansas City suburb… Continue reading
This post is part of a synchroblog on gratitude as a spiritual practice. The other contributions are listed at the end of this post. I don’t exactly feel like the most qualified person to write about gratitude. If the topic were complaining or ranting, I would be in more familiar territory. When… Continue reading
I am seriously moved, definitely warmed and inspired as I just finished a new novel by Doug Worgul, entitled, Thin Blue Smoke. These characters got into my heart and let me know I still have a heart. They’re real and flawed. Some of them have had some really bad breaks… Continue reading
