Opinion

The Early Bird I’m early everywhere I go. I can count on one hand the times I’ve been late or even exactly on time for anything. And I hate it. This early business might be a family trait, or something I was taught long ago. Wherever it came from, it causes more stress than being…

By BILL HOAGLAND Unless you are old enough to personally remember the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, you probably don’t really care what happened on that fateful day. But for many of us who do remember where we were when we heard that JFK had just been shot, it still matters. For years, I…

Turkey season is right around the corner Deer season has been over for a few weeks now, and turkey season is right around the corner. I like how each of these are so different than the other. If hunting turkeys involved as much as hunting deer, I would have to give up one. In days…

I’ll probably lose some readers today because of this next sentence. I’m a big University of Kentucky sports fan. LOL. I hope you’ll keep reading because I believe we can get past that fact quickly. As some of you know, the Wildcats hired a new basketball coach this past year by the name of Mark…

Children’s Church didn’t exist when I was young. We sat in ‘big church’—first on our mothers’ lap and then on our own bottoms. Learning how to behave in church was as much a part of our development as learning how to drink from a cup or make rabbit-ear ties with our shoelaces. When services started,…

In June 1982, Annie decided to take our niece, Libby, on a trip out west to find a horse that would be suitable for Libby to ride.  At the time, Annie was running a cattle operation on our farm; she already had a pick-up truck and a stock trailer so off they went in the…

By Emily Swihart University of Illinois Extension, Horticulture Educator It is official, winter is upon us. The holiday season has come and gone, the calendar has turned over to a new year, and much of the Midwest is blanketed in snow. On these long winter days, one of my favorite activities to do is to…

By BILL HOAGLAND With all of the sensational news going on in the world today, you probably did not know that just two weeks ago, on December 24, NASA successfully maneuvered a spacecraft through the corona of the Sun. This is such a remarkable achievement that I think it justifie.”

Games for winter fun The winter months are a great time to share “intimate moments” with your significant other. Being stuck inside, day after day, can force even porcupines to interact. When marriage is new and “love” is the four-letter word most often heard at your house, it’s easy to find ways to while away…

If you have been fishing long enough, you have got a story to tell about a motor breakdown and how you had to paddle all the way back to the dock. I can remember two of these episodes and the order of events is always the same. You’re several miles from the dock and the…