Stray Thoughts: Appreciation (Part 1)

When girls are young, they think about marriage.

The student doctor

As a clinical professor at my state’s medical school, I frequently have medical students seeing patients with me in clinic. While the majority of patients are happy to allow student involvement, some decline.

Little Pasture on the Prairie

Same old slippers Same old rice Same old glimpse of paradise —William James Lampton Framed by the small window above my writing desk I can see the tips of the grass waving green and gold.

LETTER

Good afternoon! I just wanted to let you know that I truly LOVED seeing a vintage bookmobile in the town of Timber Lake!! We drove from Kleinfeltersville, PA and I am a teacher.

Around the world in 80 years

There is a conversation I want to have with my children. Both of our kids are at the right age… out of high school and in college but not already claimed by another.

Little Pasture on the Prairie

I’ve shared before in this column the story of my family’s move from Michigan to Minnesota when I was a kid. Our modest backyard bordered an expansive wetland, a not uncommon feature in an eastern Minnesota suburb.

Doppelganger

I was dining recently in a Chinese restaurant and saw, twenty feet from me, a person who to my discerning eyes, from that position, looked very much like my own brother.

Little Pasture on the Prairie

The kids and I just got back from spending a week in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota. We camped by a mountain lake, visited family and friends, my son got to go to his first-ever summer day camp, and my daughter got a chance to find out what it feels like to be a part time only child.

Stray Thoughts: The Lap of Luxury

Have you ever thought about the products that are a part of your millennial kid’s world? Multiple containers of gels, balms, and potions disguised as beauty products populate their world.

The Spirit of ’76: Protecting us against the Putin Playbook

As we gather to celebrate Independence Day, it’s a good time to reflect on how our most fundamental freedoms have served this nation well. It’s an even better time to think about what would happen if those liberties were taken away. Sadly, the latter doesn’t take much imagination in 2022.