Writing
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Jessica Bruder’s book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century was recommended on social media. It contains the kind of crisp, clear writing, and solid narrative I seek to create. When combined with the topic of how septuagenarians and others fit in to a modern American economy where it is difficult to earn enough to… Read more
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Our small family gathered around my writing table as I displayed a PowerPoint slide show of images downloaded from the Johnson County Democrats Hall of Fame event. Our purpose was to view the dozen images, yet also to consider my thousands of photographs with an eye toward using them for many purposes. Mainly, I like… Read more
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My intent was not to become a food blogger. Best intentions aside, I have written hundreds of posts about food — growing it, shopping for it, preparing and preserving it. I have a sense of keeping recipes and techniques on these pages, yet most of that information resides within me, or the little red book… Read more
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Writing can be divided into two large categories: public and private. Most of us spend time in each domain. The obvious difference between public and private writing has to do with audience. Most of what I write is for public consumption, which means I have a responsibility to use logic, facts, and verifiable truth as… Read more
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The year is half done and it’s time to check the compass to see if I’m heading the right direction. Maps will be required, so I got out some of my favorite ones and considered where I’ve been and where I might go from here at mid-year. This process isn’t really scientific. I know the… Read more
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Before dawn it was 78 degrees Fahrenheit. I went for a hike before the sun came up and beat the daytime heat. It will be the kind of heat they were talking about in the Bible… namely, Hell. A couple groups of joggers were out with me, one running by flashlight. We locals often have… Read more
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On July 2, 1995, when our child was ten years old, the two of us rode our bikes to Solon on the state park trail. We read the newspaper and ate breakfast at the Country Café. On the way home we stopped to pick wild blackberries growing along the trail. I made blackberry jam with… Read more
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Big Grove Township was established before Iowa Statehood. The first sawmill was built here in 1839 by Anthony Sells on Mill Creek. Put the big groves of trees together with the sawmill and you have us. The oak, walnut, hickory, ash, elm and cottonwood that once thrived among numerous pure springs were gone when we… Read more
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It’s been a good spring. The cruciferous vegetable patch has been coming along nicely. If it continues, there should be plenty of home grown kale and collards for the coming year until next year’s crop comes in. Hopefully everything else in that plot will mature for harvest. I’ve been able to exercise daily with a… Read more
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After an overnight trip to Chicago to visit family and friends, I’m ready to begin summer writing. Ideas have been percolating all spring. It’s time to get them down and make something of them. I enjoy the Chicago suburbs of Oak Park, Skokie, and Forest Park where I have been spending more time the last… Read more
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