Adventure Awaits!
Believe in Yourself
An elderly neighbor died. Soon after, large garbage bags appeared outside her home. Her family must have had the arduous task of cleaning out her possessions. It’s hard enough to deal with the loss of a loved one. Having to sort through everything from personal items to files of paperwork only adds to the misery. The memory of that heap of garbage bags made me resolve to begin a decluttering project. I’d start with my writing files. Gloom descended as I sorted through yellowed writing folders with page after page of no-thank-you letters. I tossed out a bulging folder with…
Start with a Story
My phone interview with Jerry Apps last week was not only enlightening, but emotional. The 87-year-old is the author of over 40 books. He’s also the amazing but humble star in many PBS documentaries about the land and farming in the 50s. We share a publisher, and during a Zoom meeting he told a story—as only Jerry can—of a farmer’s wife who approached him after one of his presentations. She credited him with saving her husband’s life. She told Jerry that her husband had been severely depressed, possibly even suicidal, until he began reading Jerry’s books. “Farmers have a high…
Big Money
I was in a panic. I didn’t have an idea for a Thanksgiving column. I could share my long list of things I was grateful for, but nothing listed was especially unique and column-worthy. Then a woman stopped me after church. She mentioned that she still thought about a column I’d written several years ago that explained that I didn’t play the lottery because I did not want to win. I didn’t want my life disrupted, and I worried the winnings could ruin lives. I still feel this way. Imagine giving a grandchild enough money to buy the car of…