Of all the blessings I’ve had this year, one of the greatest gifts was spending a couple of hours with my brother-in-law at an Amish horse auction. While the rest of the family headed to the apple orchards for fresh cider and warm donuts, Wayne and I headed to the county fairgrounds in my rural Wisconsin hometown. We slid onto the cold, metal bleachers on this unseasonably cool late September day. I shoved my hands deep into the pockets of my one-shade-away-from-gawdy green jacket, and Continue Reading
Have you ever been lonely? Not just words in a song
Have you ever been lonely, have you ever been blue? Seriously, I’m asking. Have you ever been lonely? Not the kind that Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison or Bobby Vinton sang about back in 1962, but true loneliness that can steer you into social isolation. One day last week, I caught the end of an interview on TV with two health professionals talking about loneliness and how it’s crept to be a leading public health issue in our country. Later that afternoon, an article popped up on my Twitter feed Continue Reading
What’s in a name?
“Hey, Stella,” I said. No response. “Stella.” A little louder, same result. I tried it once more with all the angst of Stanley Kowalski from A Streetcar Named Desire. “Stella!” When Stella didn’t respond, I knew I was doomed. “Adele… Adelia… Amanda…” My cries continued to be ignored. All I wanted was to listen to some good Aretha music. Was that too much to ask? In frustration, I opened my iPad and at precisely the time I hit the search key on google, I remembered her name. Continue Reading
KOTT All about food
I stood back and watched the man with awe. He tilted his head back and held the raw herring coated in salt and chopped onions over his mouth. That’s the technique so it slides down easier. Three bites. Maybe four. Man, after man. Woman, after woman. Others used a fork to eat it with a pickle. The guy hawking the slimy fish sold them as fast as he could clean them, and while Kathy was invited to try, I had to look away. The smell of raw fish was getting to me and I didn’t want them to see me Continue Reading