We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
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OK, at the risk of embarrassing people who don’t deserve it, let me begin by saying that the names have been changed in the following story to protect the guilty. Now, with that being said … I came to a pretty obvious conclusion recently. The easiest way to get a man to revert back to his days as a wide eyed ten year-old kid with a big grin and runny nose, is to take him into a fireworks store. Now, I’m not talking about the wanna-be tent displays you have in the area where all you can buy a...
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic,” (James 3:13-14 NIV). Satan is the prince of this world and any wisdom apart from God’s wisdom, is not wisdom, it’s demonic. It comes straight from the devil himself. And the onl...
Sometimes it’s the simple pleasures in life that mean the most. If you’re a regular reader of this column you may have heard about my love for the Chicago Cubs as a child and how that carried over into adulthood and was passed down to our own children. But, during and after Covid, with the way our country’s politicians politicized everything, including baseball, the game became repugnant to me, and totally lost its appeal. So, I abandoned it. Not intentionally, it just left me disillusioned and...
This time of year at the newspaper is one of the most nerve wracking, as well as one of the most rewarding. Over the last few weeks, if you are a loyal subscriber who signed up when we first converted over to a paid subscription publication, then you already have received your subscription renewal notice in the mail. Being a subscription newspaper is the biggest thing that sets us apart from all of the freebies people get in the mail. For those who care – the subscription price basically only c...
I was recently asked what the first thing I thought about was when someone mentioned the fair…my answer was quick: “the food”. I am a sucker for corn dogs, porkchop sandwiches and funnel cakes or strawberry shortcakes. Fair food tastes extra good, not only because it is often prepared by local associations/businesses, but because of the memories that go with it. During my childhood, one of my favorite activities was walking through the livestock barns. I did not grow up on a farm, so I did not h...
When I first started thinking about July 4, I looked at the calendar and saw that it was on Thursday this year, so I assumed all the celebrating would be taking place this coming weekend. Boy was I wrong! The celebrating began last weekend and for the most part has been going on all week and is now already mostly over - except for the fireworks. Ever since Francis Scott Key wrote the words to the National Anthem in 1814, fireworks have been a major part of our country’s 4th of July c...
Do you have a secret vocabulary with your wife? You know, words that might mean one thing to someone listening, but you and your wife know they mean something totally different? Now, I’m not talking sexual – although I know a lot of couples have a secret vocabulary for that too. No, I mean things like quotes from a movie or something that you tend to throw back and forth at each other. “Wow, that really escalated quickly didn’t it?” (I mean, Anchorman, lends itself to a lot of them – but tha...
Did you know that July is National Ice Cream month, which I think is a pretty perfect idea since July is typically a hot month and ice cream is a great way to cool down. I love hearing what everyone’s favorite ice cream flavor is. I personally enjoy most coffee flavored ice cream. But recently I’ve really been enjoying apple crisp, banana cream pie and cotton candy. But I also enjoy the occasional root beer float, banana split or dipped cone, especially when dipped in cotton candy flavor. Acc...
Of the 500 or so bills that passed this year, several good ones are headed to the Governor for final action, and I will write about some of them in an upcoming column. This week, however, I want to highlight some really bad bills— those that make you scratch your head and wonder what in the world the bill sponsors and supporters were thinking. I have been vocal with my views about the Fiscal Year 2025 budget that dictates how public funds will be spent from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. The F...
There was a moment when Moses had the nerve to ask God what His name is. God was gracious enough to answer, and the name He gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH. In order to pronounce it we added the vowels A and an E to get YAHWEH, presumably because we have a preference for vowels but scholars and rabbis have noted that the letters YHWH represent breathing sounds or aspirated consonants. When pronounced without intervening vowels, it actually sounds like breathing. YH (inhale) WH...
People ask me why I love going to all of the High School sports contests all the time. When taken as a whole, it does seem rather exhausting. Driving to the four corners of our region to watch a battle between Scales Mound and Warren, then staying up late at night making sure the story is written on the internet, then getting up the next day knowing that I will repeat the process yet again once the sun begins to go down. Friday nights in the Fall are the most hectic - I try and get to at least...
I’ve been doing some marriage counseling via Zoom for a couple who live out of state who are getting married soon. It’s kind of a unique situation. I am not officiating at their wedding, but they still wanted me to give them premarital counseling (the groom is a member of Martintown Church, but they are getting married in the South). After they are married, they will be living in Pennsylvania where they both have jobs waiting. One of the questions they asked me during a session was what advice c...
Many years ago, after I first got married, I needed a new car and ended up buying a Buick LeSabre from Confer Chevrolet in Lena (So, you know we’re talking MANY years ago). I liked the car for one main reason – I fit into it. With big fabric bench seats in the front and back, I was never having my hips pinched, and it had plenty of head room. And the engine in it had a little “pick-up” too so … I thought I was set. Until I told my Dad. “Why’d you buy an ‘Old man’ car?” “A what?” “An old man ca...
A popular question around the office recently has been, ‘will there be peaches?’ I am so excited to say yes, we will have peaches. We are still finalizing details with the orchard we work with in southern Illinois. We hope to have details ready to share with you all by Father’s Day. Once details have been finalized, we will share the information on both county’s Facebook pages and websites as well as in this column. If you would like an email when we begin accepting orders, please email either...
Hello again, Dan. This note and donation is to encourage you to continue the All-Star Volleyball game well beyond the third year of existence. The ll-Star Volleyball game is a great way to showcase the fantastic talent this area has to offer. You have answered my wishes, and I greatly appreciate your efforts. Watching from the stands last year, I could tell the crowd was in agreement with me. Listening to Nicole (Brinker) provide the fun commentary was an exceptional surprise! She was great! It was a great showcase and a lot of fun to watch....
Someone has aptly said, “There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who don’t know what’s happening.” I’d like you to meet some people in the Bible who made things happen. In Hebrews 11, we are introduced to a man named Moses where it says: “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.” As a prince, Moses had all kinds of wealth and prestige and everything else. But he had a choice to mak...
What is a dog? I mean, can you describe a dog? Some might say, “A four-legged carnivorous mammal with floppy ears and a tail.” But that doesn’t fit because not all dogs have floppy ears, and I swear my family once had a dog who loved grapefruit! You can try to look up “dog” in the dictionary, but even they can’t lock it down in spite of multiple paragraphs all trying to answer one simple question – What is a dog? If you think about it, the question is nearly impossible to define. And yet, I co...
Dear Editor; It seems to me that the word ‘community’ has been left out of HCC’s men’s athletic teams. The basketball and baseball teams only have players from out of district, out of state, and possibly out of country. Why are local high school athletes not recruited for these teams? We have many good players within the Highland District. I am sure that parents, grandparents and friends would love to see these young people have a chance to participate. I just got my property tax bill and that makes me think that someday HCC may want to put...
Disclaimer: Today’s column may emote strong emotions from friend and foe alike. Read at your own discretion. The other day I saw a news clip where our President was making fun of pro-lifers and mocking the Bible. According to Yahoo.com, “President Joe Biden on Tuesday tore into Donald Trump for his role in getting abortion rights overturned … referring to the Supreme Court case that overturned Roe v. Wade. ‘Maybe it’s coming from that Bible he’s trying to sell,’ Biden said as the crowd laughed...
There was a wedding ceremony last Saturday. And while the days of being a participant are well and gone for me, I was still caught off guard when my loving wife began to present her list of things I needed to do leading up to it. “Get a haircut.” Now, being told on Saturday that I needed a haircut before the following Saturday seemed like a relatively easy task. But when I still hadn’t done it by Tuesday, I could tell she was getting a little flustered. She never said anything, but … trust m...
Those of us who grew up in stable homes with solid role models are very fortunate. While most of us probably did not know or appreciate it at the time, we were taught from an early age the difference between right and wrong, the proper way to treat people, respect toward others, and the importance of telling the truth and obeying the law. We were told that school was important, homework was to be done, and curfews were to be met. We had siblings that looked out for us. When we broke the rules, o...
One always meets some very interesting characters when traveling. My wife and I do our fair share of traveling at this stage of our lives. We have family that live in all parts of the United States. Besides Wisconsin, we have family in Tennessee, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado, Alabama, Louisiana, and Montana. We’ve been to most or all of those places to visit at one time or another. Sometimes we drive. And other times we fly. It just depends on the situation and t...
“Why do I have to learn this stuff? I’m never going to use it.” You hear that question in almost every Algebra and high level math class across the country, and students have been asking it for decades. I was no different. When I was a student, I never asked that question - but I thought about it - A LOT. I’m sure we all did at one time or another. In our teenage years, when we’re trying to assert your adulthood, rebellion is natural, and if we didn’t see the value in something ... why were we...
Some of the people closest to me are involved in the agriculture industry. When my husband and I got married, over half of our bridal party was involved in the agriculture industry. That might explain why we got married in December. It is simple to say that many of the people that are near and dear to me are involved in agriculture in one way or the other. This means I worry about them during planting and harvesting season, when they are putting in longer hours and are moving from field to...
Someone called the other day asking if I had time to come over and chat for a while. We worked out a time and before we hung up I asked him if there was anything in particular he wanted to talk about. He hesitated for a moment and then said, “Yes, my funeral.” I get those kinds of calls every once in a while. People want to get their affairs in order and they figure the best person to talk to is the preacher. When I talked to the gentleman mentioned above, we had a grand old time going back ove...
