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Memories . . . Some things we remember forever, others we forget as soon as possible. Sunday, a bad memory came rushing back because of driving to Sunday Mass on a gravel road soaked by about an inch or rain. I forgot what it’s like to drive on gravel roads when they are wet. It all came back to me . . . quickly. However, I did stay out of the ditch and I’m thankful for however much rain fell during these couple of days. As I heard one lady say: “We just couldn’t go into winter without some moisture.” A O A good friend of mine retired a...
Oh my gosh! The last week has been rough! I told you I had depression and fibromyalgia. Well, I started treatment for depression a couple of weeks ago. It was great at first, I had so much energy, I was waking up in the morning feeling rested, and I was getting things done. It felt like I went from being Eeyore to Tigger overnight. It was awesome. Then I started waking up randomly at all hours of the early morning after only sleeping for a few hours, to not being able to go back to sleep. That made for some long days, but I did accomplish...
I enjoyed Saturday’s spring-like weather and appreciate the rain which followed but I am not looking forward to the colder temperatures and the possibility of snow which conclude the forecast for this week. That might be different if I had plans to put up ice. There was a time when putting away ice was a regular winter activity. Recently while reading an issue of the Ruskin Leader published in 1923, I came across a story distributed by the University of Nebraska Extension Service which advised every farm should have an ice house and farmers sho...
Today was a truly heartwarming day for me and I want to share with you the inspiring actions of young people I witnessed. After a church service that included many messages of thanksgiving, hubby and I motored to Hastings for lunch and to pick up a few needed items. Two young men, probably in their very early 20s, were seated across from us at lunch, and I could not help but overhear a portion of their conversation. One young man was recounting that he had changed his lifestyle and did not connect with many of his old friends, but that he...
A cousin left our family recently and though he died, the memories of him remain in our hearts. I am blessed to have so many cousins because both sides of the family had numerous children and from them came a lot of offspring. Dr. Suess said it best, “Sometimes you never will know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory.” I’ve found as I age, I’ve had parents, aunts, uncles and now cousins die. Oh, I always knew they were important to me and other family members but we think we will always have them around to talk to, to give us hugs,...
Producing a paper has been a bit of a challenge this week for this old editor. I approached Monday with great enthusiasm. During the weekend, I had assembled some interesting copy and I thought I would enter the new week with a good handle on this week’s paper. But when I tried to send the copy to the printer on Monday, my computer balked. It didn’t want to share. I could see the copy on my screen but it refused to let me send it anywhere and the computer program would crash. Before Monday was over, I couldn’t even open our desktop publi...
In earlier times before the people had a written language, it was the duty of certain elders to be storytellers. Their life’s work would be to tell over and over again in the exact words, stories of the history of the tribe. This was regarded of utmost importance. We saw this surface in Alex Haley’s book, Roots, where he was able to trace his lineage back to Africa and be told, “This is the very place where the young man Kunta Kintay was captured and taken away to slavery in America.” Alex’s grandmother and aunts had told the stories repeatedl...
I sometimes wonder if he really knows just what kind of damage he has done. I’m talking about a recent ex-president who said, “We had to fundamentally remake America.” I look around today and at times I think he is making progress (even if I think that’s not a good thing), but other times I look around and think maybe we’re doing OK in spite of what his desires were. The times I think we’re in the middle of ‘remaking American’ come when I have a week or two, or four like I’ve just had. Nancy’s last surgery required a week in the hospital fol...
Q: It seems that the Bible is written in general terms that allow for interpretation by different churches, i.e., the LBGTQ movement. Is this correct? A: People have always been able to twist statements to their own purposes, no matter how clear or specific they may be. The 17th century statesman Richelieu supposedly said:“If you give me six lines written by the hand of an honest man, I will find something in them to hang him with!” The task of every sincere Bible student is to take all Bible interpretations (including my own) back to the Bib...
Our Kansas subscribers had an opportunity to go to the polls Tuesday and select those who will serve on school boards and city councils. This is an off-year in Nebraska and the polls were closed. That wasn’t the case in Nuckolls County in 1903. Had we gone back in time 120 years ago this week, we would have had an opportunity to select those who were to fill various county offices. From the stories printed in the 1903 papers, it appears it was a spirited election with many folks seeking a county job. In the days preceding the election, well a...
The country roadways in most areas locally have become bumpy and are now rough for traveling. A driver has to watch out for pot holes filled with nothing but rock dust along the roads. I’ve been told, the rock road conditions were brought on by a really dry year, and recently from harvest trucks hauling grain into the elevators. It is hoped the road conditions will improve. Regardless of the native rock country roadway conditions, my husband and I decided to take a route homeward from Superior that I hadn’t traveled for some time. It brought ba...
Q. If the Bible says that those who kill should be put to death (Genesis 9:5-6), wouldn’t that mean that those who put them to death would have to be killed themselves? A: Well now, that would cause quite a problematic chain-reaction, wouldn’t it? While there is plenty of room for sanctified common-sense in understanding Scripture, it is also okay to examine its moral teachings more closely on occasion. When we do, we discover that the moral code of the Bible does in fact rest upon a rational basis, and teaches just and consistent ethics for...
I need to rant just a bit. I was reading Senator Ricketts weekly column and it brought up a lot of irritation I have with our government. Where in the world do we get all this money we spend on foreign aid? I thought we were broke and in the hole for a whole ton of dough! Where is that money coming from? Are we borrowing it just to send it overseas? If so, I think that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. I better stop there or I might get myself into trouble. George is always telling me I’m too conservative to be a Democrat, I keep m...
It’s soup weather! With this week’s cold snap, it’s time to create one of my favorite and easy meals. To top things off, delicious soups make my husband and family happy this time of year. Soup may be made in a crock pot in the morning and enjoyed for supper. A big pot of tasty soup or stew can also be made on top of the stove. A pot of soup can last for two to three meals. I’ve heard it said that soup tastes even better the second or third time around. I’ll share some of my favorite soup recipes and some that have been passed down to me fro...
Elsewhere in this issue is printed the obituary for Gorman Foley, a retired pastor I have much respect for and former resident of this area, I was in high school when I met Gorman at the Polk Bible Camp near Polk, Nebraska. At the time, he was pastor of a Congregational Christian Church at Clarks, Nebraska and he accompanied campers to the camp. I was helping a Lincoln, Kansas, high school principal run the camp book store and concession stand. I was impressed with Gorman’s Bible knowledge and interest in photography. Keep reading to learn more...
Q: How can salvation be a “free gift” when those who receive it feel obliged to study the Bible, pray, donate money to churches and evangelize? Are these things not a sort of real cost attached to this “free gift”? A: If these things were a requirement for accepting salvation, then the thief on the cross would have been out of luck (Luke 23:39-43). He did not have time to do any of those things before he died! All he could do was believe, which is all any of us can do to receive salvation (John 3:18). It is truly a free gift, and that’s...
When I lived in Pennsylvania, the hardwood trees put on quite a show in autumn. Along with the cool weather, harvest and start of many holidays, my drive home from work was full of exciting sights. Starting as I entered a valley, there was a farm with a vegetable stand. While all their produce was grown on their property, they had also planted a corn field in a maze pattern instead of the usual neat rows. There were two observation towers built in the field. Once the corn reached around six feet tall, the maze was offered for adventure with...
It’s been a fairly uneventful week, and I am thankful it was. This little visit from Old Man Winter has me feeling all crummy, achy, stiff and sore. I wish the Nebraska weather would just pick a season and stick with it for a while. A tropical vacation is sounding really good right now. I think I have just enough cash to make it somewhere warmer, although I would have to stay and live in a box on the beach because I wouldn’t have enough to make it back. I wonder? Could I make a box on the beach work? LOL! When it’s not wintertime cold, I love...
Well, folks . . . it happened. Snow . . . . It came Saturday night or Sunday morning. And, wasn’t it just 90 plus degrees a week ago? Reminds me of the old wives tale that forecasted the number of snow events an area gets because of the date of the first snow fall. Seems our first snow fall came on October 29, and that tells us we’re going to have 29 snow events this winter. Well, wait a minute, what about the old farmer’s tale that in order to use that criteria, it has to be enough snow to ‘track a cat.’ We barely got enough snow to say we got...
“Anyone can love the mountains, it takes a soul to love the prairie,” Willa Cather. Sometimes it is heard that people traveling through Kansas complain there is nothing to see. It’s all so flat and crops are grown on each side of the highway. It is thought that if they could just drive off the interstate or main highways and onto our country roads, they would see much more of our homeland and appreciate it like we home landers do — especially during the fall season. This time of the year is beautiful along the country roads. Ash, oak and cot...
Change may not be fast but it does happen. This year I have heard farmers talking about the small, but well developed corn they were harvesting. In at least some of the fields, the ears had filled well but were about the size of the early Fourth of July variety of sweet corn I used to plant in my garden. The early corn tasted good but the yield was so small I eventually decided it was worth waiting for the longer maturing varieties that produced larger ears and tasted even better. When my father sold Steckley Genetic Giant seed corn, the compan...
Q: Which of the three members of the Trinity did you receive in your life and have a personal relationship with? A: The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is a complex and mysterious subject. However, within that mystery we are given some clear points to hold onto which lets me give a somewhat detailed answer to this question. Clear point No. 1: God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ becomes our Father by adoption the moment we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior (Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5; 1 John 3:1; etc.). From that moment He considers...
Something borrowed: Saying “I don’t need newspapers, I get my news from the internet” is the same as saying “I don’t need farmers, cause I get my food at the supermarket.” A O If you are a ‘sports fan’ in Nebraska, you had a good weekend. The Nebraska football team won Saturday giving them a winning season going into the second half of the season. A record of 4-3 may not sound “great” but it is better than we’ve had for some time. Many folks are talking about the Husker Volleyball team as well. They are still undefeated for the year and on S...
I woke up at five this morning. For most folks that’s a normal day, but for me, well let’s just say it doesn’t happen often. Duke had squeezed his way under our bed and was stuck, so I helped him get unstuck and took him out to potty. He did his business and I decided to go ahead and make coffee and get started with my day. Since I was up and at ’em, I took my morning meds, and then I took them again when my alarm went off at nine reminding me to take my meds. It was just after I choked them down that I realized what I had done. I don’t t...
Shopping on a Saturday afternoon is nothing like it used to be. A drive down the main street shows only a few vehicles parked and in some towns, the main street is bare on Saturday afternoons. Several of the stores display closed signs and advertise they now close at noon, or mid afternoon. Thank goodness the grocery stores are open. Even during week days, unless a person knows for sure, phone calls may be needed to be made before making a trip into town. It is not certain some stores or eating places are open that day. These stores or eating...
