In honor of the rain (finally!), here’s one of my poems that was published in The Christian Science Monitor. RAIN All day rain has held to the clouds, the sky turning from gray to purple to purple-blue and back to gray again. A soft wind, the breath of spring, pushes the yellow …
CH-CH-CHANGES
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: CH-CH-CHANGES By the time you read this, I will have mowed the lawn for the first time this year. Redbuds, crabapples and Bradford pears turn Emporia into an April wonderland, trees flowering all at once. Spring, the most elusive season of all, has finally …
A Flint Hills Meander
A FLINT HILLS MEANDER A March day without wind? Yes. It actually happened. The last Saturday of March was sunny and the breezes were shallow. One shouldn’t stay indoors on a nice day like that, so Dave and I ventured into the Flint Hills. The lack of wind made it an active day for …
Late Winter Road Trip
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: LATE WINTER ROAD TRIP Just after Dave and I got on I-35 at Merchant Street, I glanced to my right to the ESU parking lot near the highway. What had once been huge mountains of snow were now molehills of black encrusted ice. Snow may …
Color Confusion
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: COLOR CONFUSION On a recent weekend, snow fell overnight. Usually my first look at the world on any given morning is through our bathroom window. Through that window all I can see is the neighbor’s roof, the sky, and the tops of trees – and …
Winter’s Good Side
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: cat tracks into the neighbor’s yard WINTER’S GOOD SIDE I should at least get partial credit for making it through half of winter without whining or complaining. But I lost my cool, my patience, when February opened with a sleet storm, followed by 7 …
Grandma’s Ghost Chamber
Flyover People column for Dec. 31 GRANDMA’S GHOST CHAMBER Last week, on a cold winter’s night when the wind was scaring up noise outside, I pulled the blankets to my chin. At that moment, Grandma Unruh came to mind. When my brother and cousins and I spent nights with her during the winter, Grandma …
Looking for Joy (Radio version)
“Looking for Joy” – Here’s my radio piece that aired this morning on Kansas Public Radio. There are 2 “listen” buttons. The 2nd button includes the intro and outro – with fabulous music. Listen here. *** ** *
Crossing Missouri
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: CROSSING MISSOURI As we made plans to travel to Dave’s brother’s house for a Saturday version of Thanksgiving dinner, Dave used a mileage calculator to determine how early in the morning we would need to leave Emporia. I was surprised to learn that it’s only …
Gathering Leaves
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: GATHERING LEAVES Thanksgiving is a time to gather the leaves: table leaves – and maybe leaves of a different sort. My dad and Uncle Laramie always performed the table-stretching maneuver at Grandma’s farmhouse when we arrived for Thanksgiving Dinner. They retrieved the leaves from the …
Travels With Mom
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: In Toronto TRAVELS WITH MOM The pumpkin cheesecake tasted even better than it sounded. When my mother visited recently, she insisted on taking Dave and me to Ad Astra in Strong City. So we had no choice but to go – and to eat …