Home Country: Love and other fiction

We weren’t at all sure why Doc did it. Well, yeah, maybe human curiosity was the answer. Doc seemed to hate unanswered questions. It was about Sarah McKinley down at the Read Me Now bookstore. And yes, it was about the sign.

Little Pasture on the Prairie

One of the challenges of crafting a weekly newspaper column is writing for a reader who may know your work well and one who may never have read your work before. That being said, I think it is good to share updates about some of the animals that grace this column from time to time.

It all starts with a dream

Dreams precede everything; all actions and all creations. Truly, everything does start with a dream. Dreaming is not an idle activity. It’s not an escape from reality. Dreams are the foundation of all creativity.The type of dreaming I’m talking about doesn’t just occur while you are sleeping.

Home Country

In a few days, all those rhymers who lived in Tin Pan Alley back when Gertie was a pup will be fulfilled once again. How’s that you say?Was a love song ever written that didn’t have both moon and June in it?

Stray Thoughts: Accustomed

To become accustomed to something is to accept the normalcy of it, the frequency of it, the lack of it, to let that something exist nonchalantly with you.We live in a place where we have grown accustomed to various extremes of nature, for example.

CANDLES AND MIRRORS: A tale of six parties

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of awareness, it was the age of questioning, it was the epoch of trust, it was the epoch of doubt, it was the season of patience, it was the season of annoyance, it was the spring of humor, it was the winter of outrage – in short,...

Little Pasture on the Prairie

Four years ago this weekend, my friend and her daughter arrived for a visit from Seattle. Initially, the weather was bright and sunny, but Seattle missed them, and almost immediately, the dry heat shifted to mist and rain. No one minded as we’d been in a season of drought.

We get by with a little help from our friends

I want to start off by thanking everyone for their positive thoughts and prayers during my recent health issues and tell you how much the entire Topic staff appreciates your patience and understanding during my hospitalizations.

The light keeps shining

DeAnn (Wolkow) Kruempel I pulled the rocking chair over the carpet and sat directly in front of her. I rested my hands on her knees. Her 104-year-old eyes were not as keen as they used to be.

Living with Parkinson’s Disease

“I am concerned your symptoms are due to Parkinson’s disease,” is something I have said to numerous patients over the years. This is a degenerative neurologic disease which is common enough that most patients have heard of it or even know someone living with it.