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My husband’s and my 45th wedding anniversary is days away. Our older granddaughter has a boyfriend and is the same age I was when Frank and I married. The world has changed dramatically in 45 years, but the basics of…

It was 2007, but I remember it like it was yesterday. I walked into the funeral home for my beloved step-father’s visitation. He’d married my mother a few years after my father died, when I was in my late twenties.…

On a beautiful spring morning at Baraboo’s International Crane Foundation, friends and I talk about people who have recently passed away. One friend says, “I told my husband we’re at the age when we need to check the obituaries every…

Earlier this year, I had fun with mystery columns on a local man, woman, and business. Now see if you can guess this mystery bird. The bird whose scientific name is Cathartes aura flew directly over my head last night…

My daughter Heidi flew in from California over Mother’s Day to spend time with me. Since her two boys weren’t along, we had the chance to dine out, visit Madison’s botanical garden, kayak the Wisconsin River, and have a memorial…

“To survive, you must tell stories.” Umberto Eco, Italian philosopher Two weeks ago in my Mother’s Day column, I talked about Mom telling me she’d gotten angry with my father and had cut her wedding dress up to made curtains.…

Photo by Aaron Toth

You might be like me, motherless on Mother’s Day. My mother was a smoker who quit her Raleigh cigarettes too late. It’s been 16 years since I last heard her voice and laughter, was warmed by her smile, or saw…

According to “The Teacher’s Calendar,” May is National Teaching and Joy Month. If you’re like most of us, you could use some joy and maybe even a chuckle, so sit back and enjoy this collection of classics. Thanks to fellow…

Debbie keeping watch over the land