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I have always loved this time of year. My energy level peaks with the hint of cooler weather and the start of school. As a child, I would count the days, organizing my back-to-school supplies and pondering the prospect of…

I’ve always been a huge Oprah fan, and I’m channeling her for this column. One of my favorite Oprah’s quotes is, “I believe every one of us is born with a purpose. No matter who you are, what you do,…

I recently attended Milwaukee’s environmental conference, nicknamed “Green conference,” held at a high school. Driving there was stressful, and leaving was even more so because I took a wrong turn. By the time I arrived home, I felt drained. But…

Have you ever had to call the plumber to unclog your toilet? I asked Tom Brooks of Baraboo Plumbing for the craziest thing he’d ever found blocking one. He described going to an elderly man’s house and working on his…

     Do you ever think about how people will remember you?  What your friends and family will say about you after you’re gone?  If you live to be 100, what are the adjectives an interviewer might use to describe…

“What are the chances we’ll get dumped?” I asked Bob, the owner of Sylvania Outfitters in Watersmeet, Michigan. “Let’s just say you shouldn’t worry about fixing your hair tomorrow,” he replied. The following day my husband, brother, and sister-in-law joined…

“I arrived at a little town on the Wisconsin River,” Frederick Louis Haeberle wrote in his nineteen-page essay, “Why I Came to America.” He arrived in early March, 1884, after immigrating from Germany. “It was very cold, and my clothing…

We are all storytellers. We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.—Jimmy Neil Smith, Director of the International Storytelling Center. Since human life began, we’ve shared stories. Whether the details of…

Hi, it’s Josie the Cockapoo, hoping to get this into the paper before Mum-Amy catches me. She doesn’t let me write often—something about too many run-on sentences and getting off track—but I’m turning 12 on the 12th of this month…

Think about a pleasant memory you have of your grandparents. I’m guessing it isn’t opening a Christmas or birthday gift from them, but it’s a fun experience you shared. That was my hope when I set out to spend a…