Writing
Writing about writing, autobiography, cross posting selected work from other places.
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Monday afternoons my spouse and I devote time to organizing the household, reducing clutter, and cleaning. It’s a long-term project we do together. We schedule it on the calendar. Sometimes it means working together on a household issue. Sometimes it means moving boxes and furniture. It definitely means cleaning. Yesterday I spent an hour shredding… Read more
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When we moved to Big Grove Township we had expectations about building a life here. These expectations spoke to our shared culture. We built a new home, settled into the public school community and began getting to know people as I worked a career that would eventually take me to a job in Eldridge, Iowa… Read more
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If August was a tough month, this summer has been one of the best in recent years. Moderate local temperatures with reasonable relative humidity, rain enough to help the garden grow, and friends meeting the challenge of growing flowers and vegetables in a changing climate, all helped us feel comfortable. July was notable for being… Read more
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Out of the ashes of lives past we are reborn. With last Thursday’s death of Mother, as well as that of our friend Lillian Davis, life continues. As we linger around funeral arrangements and schedules, phone calls and meet ups, emails and social media posts, something positive is on the horizon if we can only… Read more
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It’s time to move on. Yet… I would linger in this spectacularly Iowa summer. It is a summer like those remembered from childhood. Long, warm days that stretch into a vanishing point. Cool nights to greet an early riser well before dawn. A never ending chance to find opportunity in a world which lies beyond… Read more
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Six weeks into summer 2019 we are over a hump, if not the halfway point. I visited Paris in August 1974. It was hard to find a business open. Eschewing air conditioning we Americans find ubiquitous, Parisians fled the heat of August for the Mediterranean Coast and other breezy spots. We could learn from that… Read more
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Trish Nelson will be returning to the editor’s desk next week. Among things she did while on hiatus was ride a couple days of RAGBRAI, posting this photograph of pies behind empty church pews. The image says something more although I’m at a loss to put words to it. It can speak for itself. Time… Read more
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There is a strong argument nothing is wrong with our food system. There is a strong argument everything is wrong with our food system. To talk about a “food system” at all presumes a lot that may or may not be true. It’s no secret large corporations increasingly control food production, distribution and marketing. Scalability… Read more
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Each time I walk on the state park trail there are different wildflowers in bloom. Today’s offering was some of my favorites. After returning from the day’s exercise, I mowed the front yard and couldn’t make out the line where the back yard started. Grass apparently wasn’t tall or thick enough to need cutting so… Read more
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