I used to be a fidgeter. I'd tap on things and bounce my leg so fast that Tom would sometimes reach over and put his hand on my knee as if to say, "Enough. That's driving me nuts." Fidgeters don't often realize that our small yet frenetic movements can make the table shake just enough to be annoying. more

My name is Kelsey Brabo, and I am writing to express my gratitude for the invaluable support that Care to Learn provides to our community and to share our need for increased funding. more

Dear Editor, more

Cosmopolitan Club of Ozark, a Christian County service organization, held their final meeting of the year on May 6 at Estes Farms, Cassidy Station. Cat Edie, event coordinator, gave club members a tour and a history lesson of this amazing property. more

Sixty-eight years ago, Nixa mayor and local barber Finis Gold came up with an idea. When spring arrived, most of the men from Nixa took off work, and teenagers skipped school to go sucker grabbing in local rivers and streams. Locals always called it sucker grabbin’. I was 10 years old back then. A few years later, I became a sucker grabber. more

We all go through our busy lives each day, never really thinking about how there will be a time when tomorrow never comes. We postpone things we want to do or should do until a future day, but in most cases, we never do them. more

Gardening season has awakened in me a troubling vice — impatience. I didn’t use to be this way, but digital cameras ruined me. more

Christian County has a new nonprofit, Christian County Cares. Our goal is to help our neighbors with currently unsupported emergency needs. We are also working with established nonprofits to help increase the impact, with the goal of maintaining shelters, utilities, and meeting basic needs. more

(Editor’s note: Given the tremendous efforts by many line workers and others to restore electricity to homes left powerless after the April 29 storm, it seemed only fitting to include this article in this week’s issue.) more

Have you ever gotten good at the wrong thing? I think it might have happened to me. more

In many homes, discouragement is the language everyone speaks. The home is a war zone, and the warriors have names like Stupid, Dummy, or Little Pain in the Neck. They live with scars and treat their open wounds. more

I was out fishing one day and found a small red and white plastic fishing bobber. I put it in my shirt pocket, went back to fishing, and forgot about it. more

When I was a boy, most mothers taught their daughters how to cook. more

I have a long relationship with waiting rooms. I’ve attended medical appointments for three kids, two dogs, one cat, and one husband. For nearly a decade, I also waited in rooms with my dad, which was tricky because he had dementia and couldn’t remember why we were there. more

We have just ended another busy month. more

“The Accountant” was a mid-sized hit from 2016 that, until recently, had a reputation as a wannabe franchise-starter that never got a follow-up. I watched the first movie for research last weekend, and I would have guessed that the reason the film went so long without a sequel was that the key players knew that they had made a lousy movie and wanted to do better things with their careers. But apparently, there was enough interest to bring about “The Accountant 2,” a film popular enough to make for one of the most crowded screenings I’ve attended in recent memory. I can’t say that I really see the appeal, either before or after the screening. more

Thirty-four years have passed since I lost my eldest daughter in a car wreck. more

Missouri’s seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities depend on Medicaid for the long-term care services they need and deserve. Yet this vital program has gone chronically underfunded for years, and potential federal reductions to the program threaten to exacerbate the situation. Currently, Medicaid covers the majority of the cost of nursing home care—federal cuts will impact access to the 24/7 care essential to our state’s most vulnerable citizens. more

Very early on that Sunday morning, Peter and John were given the news that Jesus’s body was missing. more

Wherever you find Johnson grass growing, you’re apt to find people trying to get rid of it. more

It has been another eventful week, with lots of school stuff and my normal running around to keep things going. more

A windsock shaped like a hot air balloon with a spiral tail is suspended above our backyard deck. When the wind blows, the balloon spins, and the spiral twirls below it, catching my eye when I walk past the window. more

I love springtime here in the Ozarks. To most people, the sound most associated with springtime is all the bird songs. But my world is also brightened by the love-inspired songs that male peeper frogs make during their breeding season to attract the females of the species. more

When I was a boy, dinner and supper were much different from today. more

For over 43 years, I was in the pharmacy industry owning a 26-store pharmacy chain. I saw local families come in every day, getting medications to help with their health needs. Increasingly, I and many others in this industry were seeing patients – people we have grown to care for deeply – struggling with a new challenge: opioid addiction. It is a constant struggle to look out for fake prescriptions, watch for signs of abuse, and defend our stores from theft. more