By Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: WHERE THE LILACS BLOOM Winter can be a bully; it’s been shoving spring aside for weeks now. Spring break is always cold and wet so that was no big surprise, but during February and March we often get a week of dancing-in-the-sun warm days. …
Remembering Adam
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: REMEMBERING ADAM “When we got here, we went out to the farm to look at the dirt,” Amy told me. “That’s what Dad would’ve done,” she smiled. Amy and her husband Rod live in Lenexa and had just arrived at the motel in Great Bend …
YUKON – 2
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: YUKON-2 Pawnee Rock wasn’t anywhere near the Yukon. Nevertheless, YUkon-2 was our telephone prefix when I was a kid. In the ‘50s and ‘60s, each telephone exchange began with two letters to make phone numbers easier to remember. We had the super-cool YUkon exchange …
Back to the ’50s
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: BACK TO THE ‘50S A model home built in Prairie Village presented a new and exciting lifestyle option to Kansas City area residents in 1954. The number of people who toured the house that year, 64,000, was equivalent to the population of Johnson County at …
What Remains
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: WHAT REMAINS When I noticed the downhill-sloping sidewalk in front of my grandparents’ former house, I remembered being 8-years-old, holding onto Grandpa’s hand, and skipping beside him on the way to the neighborhood grocery store. We each have latent memories, things that we forget …
Looking for Joy
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: LOOKING FOR JOY It was the third week of December, 1986. Depressed, I sat alone in my new apartment. The divorce from my (first) husband had been finalized that week. Even if a divorce is the best thing for everyone concerned, it still turns your …
The Midget Malt Shop
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: The Midget Malt Shop was in the small building on the left. (Originally published in July 2006) THE MIDGET MALT SHOP The decision of the day: chocolate almond or chocolate chip? On a hot Saturday afternoon, Dave and I visited Braum’s for an ice cream …
Things that go boom
This week’s Flyover People column as seen in the Emporia Gazette: THINGS THAT GO BOOM As I write this, firecrackers are popping, several at a time. A whole pack has been set off at once. I step outside to look and half a block away I see flashes of fire dancing above the sidewalk. …
Two Girls, Tulips and Rainbows
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: TWO GIRLS, TULIPS AND RAINBOWS Sitting in the March sun feels pretty much like falling in love. The chill of winter is gone and that sweet warm sun makes my skin smile. Birds, unseen, chirp in the trees around me. Cars drive past, a lone …
Is it still a birthday…
… after they’re gone? Today would’ve been my dad’s 86th birthday. Just ignore that double-joined elbow of mine and, oh dear Lord, was I still perming my hair in the ’90s? Anyway, look at the clock on the wall that my dad made out of a flywheel or something. He used square nails to make …