Category: Uncategorized

“No sickness is allowed,” I told the family. Usually everyone obeys. Exceptions do occur. I anticipated pain and misery the week my octogenarian husband had a couple teeth pulled. On surgery day, we left early to compensate for road repairs and school buses. We encountered neither. We arrived almost an hour early. The staff processed…

                The ominous brain-tickling COVID-19 test swab finally caught me. The first time it threatened my nasal cavities came on a holiday weekend when Hubby could not get warm. I tried to get him a quick COVID-19 test. “We can’t test you until after the holiday.” He felt sick. I slept a bit more the next…

America has no royalty, but it does have dozens of castles, big, little, old and new. I discovered one via Facebook and suggested we include it on our summer trip. We left the Interstate for Loveland, Ohio, following the GPS which took us to a sharp turn at the top of a steep road. “Do…

                “How in the world did we end up with four queen sized air mattresses?” I asked after we emptied the crawl space over the garage. I stared at the mound of camping equipment on the garage floor where we usually parked the minivan.              “I guess we bought one every time we needed one. The…

Funerals and family filled our Fourth of July weekend. Yes, I did say funerals. Two aunts died this spring. Both lived hours away from family burial plots in the farming district of upstate New York. Since few could afford to travel the distance twice, the families planned the funerals on Saturday and Sunday. Various family…

 I used to tough my way through bruises and illnesses. “You fell down. Well stand up and brush yourself off, you’ll be okay.” You have a cold? “Rub on some Vicks and make sure you have a handkerchief. You’ll get better.” As an adult, I ignored back aches and headaches. Or at least I did…

Listening to the audio book “Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President” by Candice Millard as we drove north to see family, we knew we had to detour to Mentor, Ohio and visit the presidential library of James Garfield, our 20th president. Garfield served only six months…

            A bright spot of joy left our family recently when my Aunt Erma slipped into eternity last week.  She married Bert, my dad’s twin brother, and settled onto his family farm. My mom and aunt often visited. Toward the end one visit, Aunt Erma exclaimed, “Whew! I don’t know when I have talked this much!”…

Waiting on the jury to reach a verdict for the recent murder trial. We sat. We read. We walked out asking to be called when they returned. As the supper hour approached, we stared at the door silently begging for a verdict. A knock sounded. “They knocked! They knocked.” The message spread across the courtroom.…

A temporary return to covering the courts impressed me with the dignity and decorum expected and mandated for all attendees.  Before entering courthouse I saw signs forbidding cell phones. I took mine to my car. The officer at the metal detector audited everyone for guns, handbags and cell phones. I could take in a notebook…

A“Whether the weather be cold. Or whether the weather be hot. We’ll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not.” This old tongue twister recited in the middle of an otherwise unmemorable lecture caught my attention. I sat up and scribbled it down quickly and since then have quoted, especially at…

No forks. No knives. No spoons. Just a huge circle of flat bread folded in quarters on a small plate with a stack of napkins beside it acted as utensils at the Ethiopian restaurant Meskerem in St. Louis. Not what we expected when we decided to broaden our family’s culinary experience at an ethnic restaurant.…

High school graduation promises so many options to the graduates: college, work, boot camp or time to travel. Some organized graduates map out detailed, specific plans for college, summer jobs, internships and career. Many initiate those plans only to realize life does not always go as planned. Occasionally, I meet such students when I allow…

 “You watch a lot of tv,” my husband observed. “It’s a distraction. I get things done while watching shows I missed as a child. My parents said we had more important things to do than watch TV.” As a parent, I agreed. My children read the newspaper, news magazines and books. We bought a black…

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, life changed for former El Dorado residents Zac and Kim Wohleb Shepperson. They serve with Josiah Ventures in Slovakia. When asked how the war affected them, Kim responded: “It has changed our life in every way. We left our city and traveled to the Ukraine borders (about five and a…