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I think I’ve hinted in the past that I like history. I don’t know if I could pass a history test right now, but I do like to read history. I don’t know when, or how, but I receive an email every day entitled “This Day in History.) The information they sent out included many things. American and World historical events on that day; from Crimes to Native American History . . . all events that happened on a particular day. Today, I learned something new. I suspect most of you have heard the phrase: “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of t...
The end of last week, I finally realized another example of the power of three. A lot of people believe things happen in “threes.” As I understand it, mostly bad things happen in threes. I’m not sure I believe in that, but it does seem to happen often enough to make many believers. My example in recent weeks is that three first cousins have just died, all close together: Robert Ostdiek, Harold Brockman and Jack Lemke. All first cousins to each other. That’s enough of my relatives to leave us. I hope the power of three is satisfied and I have...
Just a few days ago we observed “Memorial Day.” On June 6 we observe “D Day.” Throughout world history, few countries go out of their way to help protect the innocent. It happens, but just not very often. In the history of the United States of America, it has happened time and again. June 6, 1944 is a date the allied forced attacked the Nazi controlled Europe in an effort to free the world from the evil that was the Nazi rule of government. Not that America is free of bad decisions, it is just that so many of those graves we honor on Memoria...
Memorial Days can just come and go . . . sort of like birthdays. Sometimes you don't like to think about them. However, just like birthdays they are important. Nobody is "glorifying" war as some claim, we are just trying to say "Thank You" to all the military veterans who have gone out of their way to help continue this way of governing ourselves. However, almost each and every year something seems to be different and unique. This year, I came across two things, one humorous, one profound. 1:...
• Weeds . . . I finally got out to do a little work in the garden and yard last week and yes, those weeds were still there. I thought I pulled enough last year that I’d never see them again. (I didn’t say all signs of Spring were pleasant.) • Kids . . . one day when I was working outside, I heard the unmistakable squeals of happiness of children in the neighborhood. Yup, school was out. Children were enjoying playing and exploring outside in the middle of the day again. That was great. • There were high school and college commencem...
Northern Lights . . . Aurora Borealis . . . Plus scientific names . . . Gosh, what an experience. Something many of us in south central Nebraska never thought we’d have the chance to experience in our lifetime. I did take a peek outside Friday night, but did not see anything at all. Most all reports I heard about were much later. I heard about those lights, I read about them, but never thought they would ever reach this far south. In today’s ‘technology based’ world, it seems pictures taken by today’s cell phones show more than just plain vie...
RAIN . . . Remember all those foggy days we experienced late last winter. They were supposed to forecast rainy weather in 90 days. Are we there yet? Around this local area we’ve had approximately two inches of rain in the last few days. Pray that it continues. A O Some time ago I noted that the liberal, federal government we now have seems intent to pass so many laws over so many areas that no matter what we do, we’ll be breaking a law some place. That will give the government control over all of us in some form, or another. Then last win...
Some things never change, it seems. Many years ago someone said, “There’s never a good day for a funeral!” That statement has been proven out many times over the years and last Friday was another proof. We buried my brother, Bob, in Gretna, Nebraska. The day was cold, wet and just plain nasty . . . the gravel road on the way to the cemetery was under construction . . . and you had all the understandably sad feelings to go along with it. Then, later in the day, we had to dodge the tornados that hit Lincoln and Waverly on the way home . . . and...
I was reminded last week of a bit of history of the Lawrence community that seems to have been mainly lost over the years. It involves an action of Lawrence High School students during World War II. More than 80 years ago, in the early years of WWII, after Pearl Harbor, “The Lawrence Locomotive” was not being printed on a regular (weekly) basis. As such, much of the local news was not being circulated. The students at the high school started putting together a “newspaper” which they called: “The Panther.” I know from my days in this high s...
I have attended what I consider “my fair share” of funerals over the years. There are several that stand out to me for one reason or another. Funerals of family members, of course, maybe stand out the most, but one of the first one I remember was not long after I returned home to southcentral Nebraska after time in the military, the East Coast and St. Louis. It was the funeral of a cousin, Art Hoelting. What impressed me the most was the number of people at the funeral in the St. Stephen’s parish church. By that time, the world became famil...
I’ve watched my share of basketball lately, most of it being high school and college action. Last week, as I was watching the Cornhuskers play, a thought came to mind after watching those “big” men bump into each other. Many years ago, I remember hearing a number of parents of high school age boy’s debate over the decision of letting their children play football or basketball in high school. Part of that conversation centered around the fact that basketball used to be called a “non-contact” sport. Watching those games last week brought tho...
It was quite the weekend, on many items of interest. First off, the weekend included the fund raising “Dueling Pianos” at the American Legion Hall. The small group of citizens on the Community Building Committee did a lot of work in bringing the entertainment to the community to raise funds for the building. I’ve only heard good comments about the whole evening which seemed to end successfully. No matter how successful it was, the need for more monetary contributions to complete the project remains. The committee welcomes any contr...
Legislators, both federal and state are often condemned for the way they vote. Some times they are praised, but it depends on the issue, the time and place. I’ve read and heard and at times have also made remarks less than flattering at the people involved with the issues they vote on as they become more and more complicated. I thought of this when reading the Nebraska Unicameral Update last weekend. A front page article had to do with the inheritance tax the state allows counties to use to generate money. The interesting thing for me was t...
• Gosh, a beautiful blue sky. What a wind we’re having today . . . We must be in Nebraska. • Gosh, those clouds sure look like a rain may be possible. What a wind we’re having today . . . We must be in Nebraska. • Gosh, look at the dust from the field a farmer just prepared for planting. What a wind we’re having today . . . We must be in Nebraska. • Driving north or south is a lot easier than driving east of west. What a wind we’re having today . . . We must be in Nebraska. • Didn’t we just shovel four + inches of snow the other day? What a w...
I’ve mentioned my questioning of the national media reporting practices in the past. Well, maybe I was wrong. The following little item appeared last week concerning the state of Oregon and a change in their laws: to wit: “DRUGS: The Oregon Legislature passed a bill Friday to recriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs, undoing a key part of the state’s first-in the-nation drug decriminalization law amid the deadliest U.S. overdose crisis.” That’s about it folks, seven lines of information about a 180 degree turnabout in the drug laws...
I’ve mentioned before that I like high school and some college basketball games, but I’m not thrilled by the National Basketball Association’s style of games. They just recently had the NBA ‘All-Star’ game. If that is what you want to call it. Did you see the final score: 211-186? I did not see the game. I enjoy seeing points score, but that is ridiculous. A game without defense being played . . . is not a game. It is just a scoring practice. Hopefully, they will either drop the game, or else change it to include some sort of defensive...
Alexei Navalny. Oswaldo Paya. Two names that many of us sheltered here in southcentral Nebraska may have never heard of, or just briefly on a national news broadcast. Maybe that’s not all bad, but it does limit our understanding of a conflict between Socialism (Communism) and Capitalism (the free world). Most of us are too involved in our day-to-day lives of church, working, and family that much of what happens in the world does not involve us. Now retired, I’ve had more time to read and I just finished two books that give vivid des...
I have at times admitted to watching too much TV, but sometimes it’s the only alternative to doing nothing. It is good entertainment (at times), but it can also be an annoyance, especially the TV commercials. Years ago I read an article about TV commercials and the intent of the item was that many commercials were aimed at the mind of a nine year old. That surprised me, but over the years, I tend to believe it. What brought this up was a comment Nancy made recently while we were watching TV one evening. After a commercial she said: “That was...
“It’s tough to see into the future” someone once said. Right now, it’s tough to see a quarter mile ahead with all the fog we’ve had so far in 2024. Someone came up with the phrase: “Unintended Consequences” I understand in the 1700s. So, its been around for some time. In our day and age, most people take it to mean that the results of an action is not what was expected, or desired. This happens often in our daily lives and most likely just as often in our public lives. Many times in our political lives, decisions are made at some point with ma...
I don’t have the records to check but I’m guessing January, 2024, has to be unique in some way. Our days of below zero temperatures and consecutive foggy days has to be some sort of record. That’s how I feel but every year is different and there probably has been many such Januarys. This is probably just the only one in recent years that I remember. Whatever it is, it is. I just got the feeling 2024 has to be memorized in some way. As such, my contribution to our collective memory: An Ode to January 2024 . . . Ice, snow, fog and cold, On these...
Every so often a person reads, or hears, or sees something that strikes him in a particular way. It may be humorous, serious, or just plain interesting. A couple of items caught my attention this past weekend which I’d like to pass on. You may think uninteresting, or silly, or just wonder if I don’t have something better to write about. Basketball . . . A sport that maybe doesn’t have as much interest as football, but a sport I enjoy watching. High school and college versions of this game is what I enjoy and this year’s Nebraska Cornhus...
Something to talk about . . . The weather . . . This was one of the major things that impressed my sister-in-law who was born and raised in Chicago. On one of her first trips to Nebraska, she was impressed with how people talked about the weather. She noted that in Chicago, one person might mention receiving an amount of rain during the night. The other person in the conversation would reply his experience and that part of the conversation would be over. (Maybe a minute or two at the most.) She quickly learned that in Nebraska, any question...
As you know, I’ve used statements from books I’ve read that somehow relate to our current living conditions. I’m currently coming to the end of a good book called “The Universe Behind Barbed Wire.” The book is the memoirs of a Ukrainian Soviet dissident and written before the current Russian-Ukraine war. The author, Myroslav Marynovych, was a Ukraine citizen but lived in the late 1970s through the 1980s in a Russian prison because the Soviet Communist considered him to be a threat to the Russian government. I am not through reading the book yet...
I thought it fitting to start the New Year with a comment by Pope Francis. “My hope is to remind people that the ‘Christmas Spirit’ is not over.” The Christmas season extends far beyond the commercial season we’ve been taught to believe is the reason for the season. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas Day and the message below stays with you all the yearlong. The message of Bethlehem is indeed “good news of great joy.” What kind of joy? Not the passing happiness of this world, but the joy that consoles hearts, renews hope and bestows peace...
Gosh . . . maybe it was something in the air . . . but to see the Husker volleyball team lose in the manner they did, and . . . to see the L-N boys basketball team lose in the manner they did . . . it was a tough weekend for Nebraska sports. On the other hand, both Husker basketball teams won. The best comment I heard concerning the women’s volleyball team was . . . “at least it wasn’t to Wisconsin.” A O Another word for “Atheist” is “Non-believer” and I’m guessing that this time of the Christmas Holy Day may be among the toughest times of the...
