Tonight, we take down the calendar for 2016 and put up a new one, but wait a minute! What if, suddenly, the calendar went backward instead of forward, pages blown off by the winds of time, years and decades whisked away, technology, modern marvels, all today’s concerns disappearing in a flash and there we are, in […]

Into the Darkness of the Cave
I mentioned a few days ago that my mother had written a personal account of exploring a cave near the Illinois River. People going out to fish on the Illinois may not realize it was once a free-running river, with no dam to block its progress. They may not know that caves lie hidden on […]

V Stands for Veterans; V Stands for Valor
The Valor of Veterans Down through the mists of time they come, marching to a distant drum. Soldiers, sailors, airmen, all, who stood to answer their country’s call. From the Revolutionary War days, through the War of 1812, The Civil War, World War I and World War II, Korea, Viet Nam, Afghanistan and Iraq, brave men […]

The Blight of Progress
Sure, I know “you can’t stop progress.” I’ve heard that many times and fear it may be largely true. Question is, where is this march of progress leading? I’m all for progress in medicine, in doing things better (not necessarily faster) and for headway made against the ills of mankind. What I’m not for is senseless […]

Suppertime on a Small Farm in Eastern Oklahoma
In October, around suppertime, the sun, as it nears the western horizon, casts a golden glow over leaves and grass. As the day comes to a close, my thoughts turn backward a few decades to a small farm in eastern Oklahoma. I remember a mother and father, a girl and her brother, who lived there. And, the cows, horse, […]

Pictures From the Past
My niece Missy sent me some copies of old photos she found among her parents’ pictures from the past. I’ve been enjoying them. They caused me to realize anew how quickly time flies and people and places we took for granted pass right along with time. This picture, for example, is of two cousins, a […]

