By Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: MY SOAPS In the store the other day, I stood before an array of bath soap. Blue packages, green ones, yellow ones, white. Which brand to choose? There’s Irish Spring – which I don’t buy because its scent is overwhelming and because 20 years ago …
Library Love
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: Here’s a photo I swiped from my brother’s blog (Too Long in the Wind). This part of the Pawnee Rock fire station building was the city hall/library. Photo credit: Leon Unruh. LIBRARY LOVE When I was a little kid, the best thing about my …
At the Car Show
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: AT THE CAR SHOW At the Cruisin’ the Campus event recently, classic cars were parked along the circle drive at Emporia State University. I stuck my head inside of an old Chevrolet and remembered the car interiors of my youth: the metal dashboard, AM …
Generations Past
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: GENERATIONS PAST My cousin Laramie contacted me last week and made arrangements to pick up our great-grandmother’s china cabinet. The cabinet had been handed down to me by my father. When I was ready to let it go, Laramie seemed like the logical cousin …
Royals Rebound
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: ROYALS REBOUND The Kansas City Royals are having a good season. I don’t watch baseball, but the team has been playing well enough that even I have paid attention. During the past two decades, I’ve observed a pattern. Each April as a new season begins, …
A Smile and A Wave
July 23rd Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: (This column was originally published in 2009.) A SMILE AND A WAVE To my left, at the 4-way stop, sat a pickup truck with three 20-something occupants: boy, girl, boy. As I turned left in front of this vehicle, the driver waved a big …
Church piece on the radio
Hey, I forgot to post a link to the latest radio piece I did for Kansas Public Radio. It aired on June 25 and I told about the closing of the church that I attended as a youngster in Pawnee Rock. Here’s the link: Death of a Church. By the way, you can follow Flyover …
Me and My Shadow
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: (I stole this photo of Patches from my brother’s blog: Too Long in the Wind) ME AND MY SHADOW On one of my recent walks, a man and his dog were out in their yard. The dog was tethered, but it ran toward the …
Death of a Church
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: DEATH OF A CHURCH I knew I would feel sad, but I didn’t expect to cry. Nevertheless, tears filled my eyes as soon as the congregation began singing the doxology. Every Sunday morning during my childhood, as the ushers carried filled collection plates to …
Mothers and Dresses
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: MOTHERS AND DRESSES The other day when I was shopping online, I accidentally ended up on a page full of dresses. Alongside the dresses were ads showing mothers and daughters celebrating Mother’s Day together. Now I wouldn’t buy my mom a dress; she prefers …
Little House on the Prairie
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE Every afternoon, Mary Louise Wilhite read to her second grade students at Pawnee Rock Grade School. Following our after-lunch recess, my classmates and I came in from the playground, windblown and energetic. But we settled down quickly when we sat …