Write Team

I worked as a judge for the 2024 General Election a few weeks ago. It was a long day.

Here on the farm, we gain a lot of spiritual lessons while taking care of our livestock. Patience, perseverance, humility and awe are just a few.

As the holidays approach, many of us think about charitable giving, either financially or by volunteering our time and talent. Perhaps you have a charity of choice or two. But what if you want to support a community, not just a few organizations?

Our country is living in tumultuous times.

Last November I gave away my last Buick and bought my son’s Ford hybrid.

I stand amazed at the way all our approximately 600 muscles help us move, breathe, pump blood, lift things, and all the other work our bodies do, much of it without our giving it a thought.

Here in La Salle County, changes are coming as we settle in to the last few months of 2024.

“As AI Chatboxes become more powerful, how do we know they’re working in our best interest?” asks Carol Yepes.

One day recently when I picked up my granddaughter from kindergarten, for some reason she was in no hurry to leave the building. So, I simply seated myself in the hallway while she stood around, peering in some other classrooms, lingering, processing something in her young mind.

Everything inside that school has a story. We are now the stewards of these items, and it is up to us to learn from the past, good and bad, and share the tales and keep the legacy moving forward.

The latest issue of “Decision” magazine arrived today. It brought back memories and a longing for “Billy Graham Days" ...

I grew up the youngest of five daughters. My sisters closest in age were my playmates, of course, and the second oldest was like an extra mother, very nurturing. The eldest, Betsy, and I had a special bond, though.

Learning to read is extremely important. Reading is the key to solving problems, finding out about other cultures and people, and is the best way to connect and understand each other.

I was in the stands when the Northern Illinois University Huskies played their first game ever against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Dear Alex, Remember me? I have written to you before … it turns out now I need “phone lessons!”

My son Leo Manley Volker turns 21 this month. He’s smart, he’s tall, he’s strong, he’s good-looking. We’re ready to turn him loose on the world. Very much so! He’s been a great son throughout, and so, how do you build a boy and make a man?

Think about this. What if your only contact with the world around you was through your senses of touch, smell, and taste? How would you communicate? How would you figure out what was going on?

Baby Boomers are the longest living generation thus far in history, and we have seen many changes.

I’ve been thinking about that lone flower all week.

Write Team: September is indeed a special month, isn’t it?

I may not recall all the details that went on, but what I do remember about my first year of school is that it was a positive experience.

She’s 3 1/2 now and interested in everything. When her parents take her to new places, they call those trips adventures. I told her the county fair is a special adventure full of farm animals.

I now have four great grandchildren! Because they already had “grandmas” I decided I would be called GIGi, for Great Grandma.

Wow, summer is full-blown, and a new school year is upon us.

We are in the midst of the Dog Days of Summer.

The mind is a great gift! It stores our ideas, memories, plans, secrets, hopes, dreams etc.

The recent disclosure by OSF to build a new hospital in Ottawa while shifting some of their long standing services to Peru came as a shock to everyone including me.

Are you a dissectologist? Although the word does bring to mind distressing memories of a high school Biology lab, it actually describes a person who enjoys doing puzzles, usually jigsaw puzzles.

There was the year when our very best vegetable harvest involved nurturing, but in an unexpected way.

The prospect of the theater that now passes as politics taking up even more of my time and attention makes me queasy. Because of that, I spend more time outside.

The first day I exercised at the beautiful new Ottawa YMCA, the view that caught my eye included the old railroad bridge where the “Dinky” used to pass over the Illinois River.

The recent 80th commemoration of the greatest military invasion in human history, the invasion of Normandy, June 6, 1944, has brought significant personal remembrances that I would like to share with you.

Show of hands, who had never heard of Juneteenth until the last couple of years? Don’t worry! My hand is up too, so don’t feel bad. Let’s explore together and get to learn our history and how Juneteenth came about.

Some of our finest scholars in America today are women. They write histories, important science studies and biographies. Let me share with you my favorite books written by women, which I have had the pleasure of reading recently.

Fifteen years ago, if I were to mention I saw something on Facebook, you may look at me like I was speaking a foreign language. What the heck is Facebook?

With this as a beginning and with requests I have had from readers, I offer in this essay some of my favorite books recently read for some very pleasant reading.

According to the web site Illinois Issues, roughly 2 million people in Illinois are food insecure.

When I read the article in The Times about Johnny Durango and his film debut in the area, I knew I wanted to see it at the Roxy in Ottawa. I called my friend, Cookie and asked her to go with me.

Having read all of historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s splendid books on American history, I purchased upon publication last week her latest book, “An Unfinished Love Story” and read it.

I don’t think I’m alone when I say this, but like so many of you, I have cut the cord. Kind of.

In 1965, an imminent Kentucky author, Jesse Stuart, came to Ball State University to conduct a day-long seminar for the English department and all of their students. As a member of the English Department, I served as his host.

In these weeks following Easter, glimpse backward with me approximately 2,000 years to the days following Jesus resurrection.

Call me old school but I like a newspaper.

We keep handy our super Notable Quotable Board.

I remember our first visit to the shop and a conversation with the charming owner, Cam Ward, when she told us that she was a good friend of historical novelist Eugenia Price, who lived on St. Simons Island.

Operation Clean Sweep will commence two weeks from tonight, Monday, April 22. A group of dedicated volunteers will meet at Alfano’s, 1476 U.S. 6, Ottawa.

Guest column: Oh, how ready we are for change.

Write Team: These thoughts reminded me of a conversation with Robert Frost on an afternoon visit with him in his Ripton, Vermont summer home on June 3, 1962.

I’m not sure how I missed this but opening day in baseball, one of the most coveted days in all of sports, has already come and gone, somewhat quietly.

Why had I made the decision to bring my wife, son and daughter to live for a year in the country of Liberia, where I had been appointed Fulbright Professor of English at the University of Liberia?