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

It was dusk on an evening in mid-April several years ago. My wife and I were at our cabin near Mark Twain National Forest. I was on a hilltop where I could see something I had heard about from our neighbors. A rarely seen bird called the woodcock. more

In 1995, I got my first job after college from a "help wanted" ad posted in a newspaper's classified ads. (Remember those?) The headline on the ad said they were looking for an "aspiring journalist" to serve as assistant to the newspaper's executive editor. At the time, I didn't know if I was aspiring to be a journalist, but I was aspiring to pay rent and buy food. I was aspiring to put my newly earned English degree to good use. more

That old wind just keeps on blowing and moving things around. When I look out and things look strange, it is because that was either in the backyard or maybe out in the field the day before. more

Jason Statham has a new movie out. He plays with a guy who used to work in a violent profession, but he’s sworn to leave that life behind. But now some bad people have messed with his employer (the only people to help him out when he was at a low point), and he’s going to make the bad guys pay. Cue a series of investigations, interrogations, and of course, action sequences. He’ll go through several tiers of bad guys until he’s contending with a huge crime empire that probably could have gone on unimpeded if a low-level employee hadn’t caused problems for Statham. Oh, and the whole thing is directed by David Ayer. The movie is called “The Beekeeper 2.” Okay, not really, it’s called “A Working Man,” but as similar as it is to that Statham vehicle from last year, it might as well be. more

The old gobbler is searching for me. I’ve done a good job making him think I am a hen. He is literally tripping over his beard as he comes in looking for love. His bronze feathers shine in the light of the early morning sun and the red, white, and blue of his head stand out against the emerging spring greenery. more

Some of you are carrying around a sack of stones. Stones of all sizes and shapes. All unwanted. Some are stones of rejection. Others are stones of regret. Some stones you don’t deserve. Some of them you do. more

During a special Board of Education meeting on Friday, April 4, the Board named David T. Snider as the new Ozark Transportation Director. more

One week of April is behind us, and we had every kind of weather this past week. I feel for all the folks whose life had been destroyed by floods, tornadoes, fires, or just plain old heavy winds. The water went across my pasture in three small streams. It didn't take the fences out like it had in the past. more

Once upon a time, I was nearly famous. more

Let me set the scene. We were at a restaurant with the whole family, including my mom, all three of our college kids, plus two roommates brought home by our 20-year-old son Jack, who was in town for spring break. His roommates were both born and raised in Michigan, and this was their first trip to a city in the South. We were on a culinary mission to show them the best Southern cuisine has to offer. more

In a few weeks, I will close out a public service career of nearly fifty-one years. As I do so, I have spent a good deal of time reflecting on those experiences and values which have stood me in good stead. I see those same qualities in Mayor Don Currence. more