When anything changes in my house, it’s usually the Queen’s doing. She’s found some crock or something at an estate sale that now resides on the countertop filled with wooden spoons. But somehow, it clashed with the old coffeemaker, so here’s the new coffeemaker. Like that. Shut up and drink your coffee!
Read More
Are you a glass half full, or a glass half empty kind of person? We’ve all heard those kinds of questions about one’s “outlook”.
A little self-reflection never hurts, right? But I think there’s more to it than that.
Read More
St. Joseph, MO, January 13, 2020 – The Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art is proud to present Mud, Darkness, Wind, Smoke, Fire…Dooley Lawrence from January 17 through April 8, 2020.
Read More
When you put your thoughts and words out there on a regular basis, folks come to expect an opinion on everything that comes up. While I generally have strong ideas on a lot of subjects, sometimes I’m torn. The hard issues are hard for everybody and I’m no exception.
And since I’ve been pretty vocal about schools on multiple occasions, I’m repeatedly asked about the latest controversy.
Read More
You Write WHERE?
David Mamet’s collection of essays entitled WRITING IN RESTAURANTS inspired me to write just about everywhere. Like the pervert-preacher in MIDNIGHT COWBOY, I’ve written on rooftops, I’ve written in bus stations, I’ve written in brothels.
In the interest of full disclosure: Mamet argues that radio is a great training ground for writers, so, perhaps he is not to be trusted.
Read More
What happens when cultures collide? Terry Pratchett explores this in his often-hilarious book, Nation. This coming-of-age story takes place on…
Read More
Someday, in I hope the far distant future, somebody will throw out the glass bowl that currently sits on a shelf in our bathroom. While it means the world to me, both literally and figuratively, it will sadly be near worthless to anybody else after we’re gone. Though I won’t be surprised if they dump it and keep the bowl.
It’s filled with sand and seashells mostly, with a few tiny coral pieces mixed in, and a generous sprinkling of colorful sea glass. They’re the treasures of maybe a hundred perfect days with my family, on some beach or another.
Read More
My interest in steam locomotives goes back to my childhood in the late 60’s. Now my sights are set on 5614 and at least restoring her to the condition she was in when donated to Saint Joseph.
Because Saint Joseph’s history is steeped in CB&Q history and in the American railroading, the value of this locomotives’ contribution to local and state history can not be under-scored enough, and warrants it being restored to its former glory.
Somewhere around ten or twelve, it became my job to put up my grandmother’s Christmas trees. She had three. One in each of her second story picture windows, and a third, downstairs in her beauty salon on St. Joe Avenue.
There was a big, fake one, a smaller fake one, and the fakiest of all, the aluminum with the colored light wheel. She rotated them around from year to year.
But one constant was her Character Dolls. One of her customers made them. Fairy tale icons mostly. Robin Hood’s in there. So is Bo Peep. And the Jolly Green Giant for some reason.