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 …
The Trip
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: THE TRIP In a recent email conversation, my friend Ed Durall described a lengthy move that his father’s family had made in the 1920s. Ed wrote, “In family lore, that was always known as ‘The Trip.’” First, I love the term family lore. And I …
Another Trail
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: ANOTHER TRAIL ANOTHER TRAIL Blue-violet clouds ride the northern horizon. I am following Kansas Highway 99 toward Admire, Eskridge, and beyond. While the clouds toward the north appear flat, perhaps that’s just because of distance. Clouds in the foreground are bulkier, boxier, and are in …
Emporia Main Street Photo Contest
To celebrate May as National Historic Preservation month, Emporia Main Street will hold a historic photo contest. Three winners will be chosen and receive Main Street gift certificates. * Photographers must fill out entry form for each photo and attach to photo (limit of 3 photos per photographer). * The deadline for the contest is …
It’s Kansas Day
*** Celebrate Kansas Day, buy a Kansas book! May I suggest… A collection of 80 essays about the Kansas experience: Flyover People – Life on the Ground in a Rectangular State. I write about the wind and the weather and the seasons. I write about people and places, about growing up in a small town. …
Naming Names
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: NAMING NAMES Once upon a time in Kansas, there were towns called Milo, Mimosa and Moonlight. Those towns have faded into history now, but they are three of the 4,281 post offices established in Kansas between 1828 and 1961. In a book called “Kansas Post …
Key to the Treasure
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: THE OLD FAYETTEVILLE PLACE I hang onto books, especially my favorite ones. As a youngster I must have read “Ribsy” by Beverly Cleary and “Key to the Treasure” by Peggy Parish at least 30 times each. Last week, in my basement, I found those …
Maxwell Wildlife Refuge
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: MAXWELL WILDLIFE REFUGE A fragile white moon hung against a blue winter sky. Below that nearly-full moon a dozen bison grazed. Atop a nearby ridge, seven head of elk, “the bachelors,” looked on. The elk and the winter grasses were the same shade of …
Travelers to Tanzania
Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: Lion in the wild, Tanzania – photo by Jim Griggs TRAVELERS TO TANZANIA “We got charged by an elephant, but it was a false charge. A couple guys asked me, ‘How do you know it’s not a real charge?’ And I said, ‘Because the vehicle …
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 …
And So This Is Christmas
This week’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: AND SO THIS IS CHRISTMAS Tom Flick’s raspy voice erased all uncertainty. “Ho-ho-ho” was a dead giveaway when that man put on the red suit. But the years that Santa wasn’t played by Tom, my friends and I had a dickens of a time …