Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
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g up in school, I showed some talent in writing essay questions, or even small story answers, but really never considered myself a writer. Poetry was much more significant as I literally hated the poetry we had to read in high school. The chances of me becoming a poet were an absolute zero in my mind. That all changed after we bought our first house in the country outside of Groton, S.D., while I still worked in Aberdeen. I was working full time for the railroad and was starting grad school at...
If you live in this part of northwest Iowa, there is a good chance you have seen a parachute plane. The colorful chute is readily recognized with its brilliant colors including red, yellow, blue, black, orange and more. The plane has a sleek fuselage with equally bright colors. When describing it, my wife affectionately refers to it as a flying dune buggy. Flying has never been a favorite pastime of mine, and the idea of being off the ground in an open-sided plane initially had no appeal to me....
My workday begins every morning when most people are settled in for a good night’s sleep. I usually wake up before my alarm goes off at 2 a.m. My morning begins with a shave and shower, then quickly changing into my YMCA work clothes. I then get my dog, Gabby, ready to go for her walk. She has a red-lighted collar she wears on our walk, while I wear a safety vest so that we both can be seen. After grabbing a bottle of water and its container, we are ready to go. Gabby’s leash has a 30 foot ext...
When we first got Heidi, our chocolate Labrador, she learned quickly not to get too close to either our horses or our barn cats. After a few close misses with our most aggressive horse, she learned not to go into their pasture when they were outside. It was fine to go along with us when we were riding, but don’t invade their territory. Likewise, after a few encounters with out barn cats, she learned not to go in the barn unless we were with her. If we were in the barn, the aggressive cats would...
As Cheri and I are closing in on our 50th anniversary, I have been reflecting on what has kept us together all these years. Here are some tips I have learned over the past five decades. 1. Your wife is always right (even if she isn’t). 2. The most important words in your vocabulary need to be, “Yes, Dear.” 3. No matter how difficult it may be, try to never go to bed angry at each other. 4. The dog belongs to both of you, so you need to take your responsibility. For me, that’s four walks per day...
My wife Cheri and I, and our two children, had been living in a comfortable newer ranch-style home in Aberdeen, S.D., when through many different influences, we decided to take the plunge into horse ownership. We bought an old farmhouse on an acreage that included pastureland for my newly-acquired steed, which included former out lots of the abandoned town of James. All that remained was the elevator, two farmhouses and an old shack that was cluttered with wagons, railroad ties and a lot of...
We hear a lot about people who have bucket lists of the things they want to do or accomplish before they die. Unfortunately, bucket lists are much like New Year's resolutions – dreams without opportunity or motivation that are unlikely to ever happen. I think it is better for us to each have a memory list of all the things we have done in our lives, so that we can always think of that list and be grateful for all we have been able to do and accomplish. No one can ever take that away from us. T...
A Christmas Gift Jesus Christ came to earth That wonderful Christmas Day. Nothing’s been the same since His birth. He has guided us to see the way. Jesus has helped us to believe In the God who loves us so. And though in time he had to leave, His life and love we’ll always know. Jesus gave us another way To accept God as our own. Even to this very day His love for us is shown. All we ever have to do To have life forever more, Is to have faith that is true That faith will have you at Hea...
Two years ago, an 18-month-old Catahoola Cur named Gabby became part of our family. We had been without a dog since the previous January, when our beloved chocolate Labrador Heidi left us. For the second time in our lives, Cheri and I agreed we would have no more dogs. The loss of Heidi did leave a huge hole in our hearts, and life was not the same for us. After our daughter got a new dog, our resolve to never have another one started to weaken. Finally, in August of that year we decided to...
