Here’s a link to my commentary this morning on Kansas Public Radio. I tell about my first onstage appearance, age 5, at a Christmas Eve Program at the Bergthal Mennonite Church in Pawnee Rock. KPR : Love’s Pure Light. ***
Tumbling Tumbleweeds
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: TUMBLING TUMBLEWEEDS Just as many of us like to roam across Kansas, Russian thistles, too, are full of wanderlust. I don’t think about tumbleweeds often, but was reminded of them on a recent trip to Dodge City with my friend Tracy Simmons. While the …
Tracy’s Hometown
Wyatt Earp statue, downtown Dodge City. Mary Spurgeon, sculptor TRACY’S HOMETOWN If Tracy and I had grown up in the same town during the same time period, I’ll bet we would have been childhood friends. A few weeks ago, I traveled with Tracy Simmons to her hometown of Dodge City for an overnight visit. She …
Taking a break
Hey, Peeps – No column today. Or for the next several weeks. After 9 3/4 years of putting out a column every week, I decided it was time for a self-imposed break. We all just need a vacation once in awhile.
Autumn Days
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: AUTUMN DAYS The sun moves across the sky more quickly these days, and the once-bright evenings have become cobwebs of darkness. October drives us into that blind curve of autumn with its increasingly uncertain forecasts. It begins the time of year when out-of-town trips …
In the Presence of Trees
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: IN THE PRESENCE OF TREES An abundance of shade, a concert stage, the state’s largest southern magnolia, and an independent young cat named Twiggy. Those are just a few of the things that you’ll find at the Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine. This Sumner …
Noticing
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: Cafe, Leon, Kansas. NOTICING It was one of those early autumn days with the much-awaited tingly air. That air was still, not a lick of wind. A few white clouds smeared themselves across the sky but didn’t interfere with the sun. Dave and I were …
To Wonsevu
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: Christian Church – Wonsevu, Kansas. Photo by Dave Leiker. TO WONSEVU Ever since Dave took a photograph in Wonsevu several years ago, I’ve wanted to visit this ghost town in southwestern Chase County. Dave’s photo captured a powerful moment: a white wooden church, a …
Explorer Research Voyage
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: 2012 Kansas Notable Book Award winners EXPLORER RESEARCH VOYAGE Sometimes the evening news from the Statehouse discourages me. I hope for and expect better things for Kansas than are sometimes decided for us. I had been feeling down, so I was delighted recently to …
Fun at the Fair
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: FUN AT THE FAIR As soon as we got to the fairgrounds, Dave veered off to take photographs of a pig race. Pigs, goats, cattle and sheep – the Kansas State Fair is a reflection of our agricultural base. Livestock is transported to Hutchinson from …
Visiting Hurricanes
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: VISITING HURRICANES Here in the Midwest, hurricanes don’t enter into our forecasts very often, but occasionally the remnants of one will pass over Kansas and drop some rain. Not Isaac. At a time when our land is so thirsty for precipitation, Isaac slighted us. The …