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Since Iowa is one of the nation’s top producers of corn, beef, swine, ice cream and no telling what else, I figured a food column was in order.
It’s hard to beat a good old Iowa breaded pork tenderloin. They’re a staple at the Iowa State Fair and many eateries across the state pride themselves in dishing out pork tenderloins that are as big a spare tire in a 1948 Desoto. They are big and Iowans love them. I saw a breaded tenderloin on Facebook that was as big as a pizza box. There are even yearly contests seeking out the biggest and best pork tenderloin. I enjoy them, but I would rather have a cheeseburger and order of onion rings from Culver’s. One of our favorite lunch spots at the Iowa State Fair is Beattie’s Watermelon Stand. Debbie usually eats a tenderloin and I have a ham or roast beef sandwich. And of course, some tasty hot French fries and cold ice tea. Another Iowa delicacy is the Maid-Rite or loose meat sandwich as it is often called. An article I found on the internet called it “A messy culinary rite of passage,” an Iowa tradition with just the right combination of spices and meat. First created in 1936 by Fred Angell of Muscantine, the sandwich was declared to be “made right” by a happy customer, and the name, Maid-Rite, was history. Top it off with mustard, ketchup, onion and pickles and it is a favorite of many Iowans. Growing up in Oklahoma, we often fixed sloppy Joes. My mom would brown a pound of ground beef in the skillet and pour in a can of Manwich or make her own mix. She’d then pour the mixture over a toasted open-faced bun and we’d eat it with a fork. I was living in Missouri and attending the University of Missouri-Columbia when I experienced my first loose meat sandwich. I was rolling down Broadway when I saw a sign for Mugs Up Drive In. It looked inviting, so I pulled in for lunch. I scanned the menu and found the Zip Burger. That looked good, so I ordered two. I opened up the packaging and about half the sandwich fell on the floor of my pickup truck. “Where’s the beef,” I’m thinking. In short, Maid-Rites are not too bad. One always has to have a spoon or fork handy. I guess that is the lure of the sandwich. Sweet corn is another Iowa favorite. Come July, the sweet corn vendors pop up on street corners in small towns all across the state selling their tasty treats. Slather some butter and add salt and pepper to taste and it is hard to beat Iowa Sweet Corn. Another tasty Iowa delight is the Hot Roast Beef Sandwich, which includes well-spiced roast beef stacked onto white bread with a pile of mashed potatoes and gravy poured all over it. It’s another popular Iowa State Fair food served at the Cattleman’s. Ham balls is another Iowa favorite and a food that has grown on me. I don’t recall eating ham balls growing up in Oklahoma. My mom may have fixed them, I just don’t recall it. We ate a lot of fried chicken, okra, barbecue Spam, fried fish and fried potatoes. My dad enjoyed wilted salads and fresh onions pulled from the backyard garden. Chili with cinnamon rolls is another favorite Iowa food. Not long after moving to Iowa, I was at a football game between English Valleys and Bussey. It was the last game of the season and the good folks of Bussey would all bring their chili and everyone poured it a large pot at the concession stand. It looked inviting, but I passed. Talk about a gas explosion. Real chili to me is a meat dish, not a soup, as it is often called. It’s good poured over a cheeseburger or over spaghetti with onions and cheese for a three-way. Toss in some beans and make it a four-way. Something that I didn’t see listed anywhere was corn dogs and polish sausages, two of my favorites. It’s also hard to beat a good steak cooked medium or tasty pork chops, baked, grilled, fried or however you like them. And it’s hard to beat Anderson Erickson anything from milk to cottage cheese and various varieties of chip dips. And Nutty Bars, another Iowa State Fair staple, or a dish of Iowa-made Blue Bunny vanilla ice cream is always a good way to end any meal or just enjoy while relaxing and watching a game or one’s favorite show on television. Next time you are out and about, stop and try something different. And while you are there, say hello to a stranger or find someone visit with. You’ll be glad you did. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.
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I was driving in Montezuma the other day and saw a fellow wearing short-legged pants crossing the street by the Presbyterian Family Center.
I happened to know him and I was going to the family center, so I asked him about wearing short-legged pants in the middle of winter. “I wasn’t going too far,” he said with a laugh. It was a fairly nice evening for almost mid-January. The one thing I’ve learned about living in the Midwest – there are some tough cookies here when it comes to the winter weather. People get out and drive around in a winter snowstorm. Others wear short-legged pants in freezing cold and some go without a coat or even a pair of gloves or hat. They’re just running up to the grocery store for a loaf of bread, a bag of chips, a case of cold ones and some hamburger meat. They’re planning to push some snow off the patio and grill out later in the day. A few buddies are coming over in their four-wheel drives to eat and watch the game. I wear more clothes in the summer months than some Midwestern’s do in the winter. I’m not one for wearing a big heavy coat. It kind of weighs me down and I don’t like that. My typical winter wear is two shirts (one being a long sleeve), long johns when the weather gets too cold, a mid-heavy jacket (a cotton jacket with a liner), stocking hat and gloves. It’s warm, but not too heavy. I’ve heard it said in Oklahoma, “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute and it will change.” I’ve witnessed my share of ice and snow storms in my native state, but here in Iowa, the weather can change faster than the score of a Iowa basketball game. When it starts snowing, I’m headed home. Even though the Iowa DOT does a good job keeping the roads clear, when the snow starts blowing, it’s time for J.O. to start rolling. My comfy chair is a lot better than a road ditch. Some years ago, I had traveled to see a friend near Princeton, Ill. I left his house on Sunday afternoon headed home and stopped and fueled up in Davenport. I bought a Pepsi and a Sunday paper and headed out the door. The fellow behind the counter told me to be careful. I never gave it any thought nor had I checked the weather forecast. I wasn’t too far west of Davenport when I ran headlong into a winter blizzard - snow, sleet, wind and icy cold! Cars and trucks were in the ditches on I-80 and I was in my S-10 pickup with no extra weight in the back. It was by the grace of God that I didn’t get hit or slide into the ditch. I stopped in West Branch at McDonalds to take restroom break and I was shaking like a tree in a windstorm. I could see the imprint of my steering wheel in my hands. Not a wonder I didn’t yank the steering wheel out of the dash. Some years ago, Debbie and I were headed to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving with my folks. It was Thanksgiving eve and a storm brewed up along I-35 in southern Iowa. So, I came up with the brilliant idea to take Highway 63 south. Debbie was not in favor of leaving that evening. Her Iowa wisdom told her to stay home and leave on Thursday. We left on Wednesday. It was not one of my brightest decisions in our marriage. South of Ottumwa, we drove into a snow blizzard and I couldn’t see a thing. We made to Macon, Mo. for the evening and ended up having Thanksgiving on Friday instead of Thursday. Another time, Debbie and I were in Oklahoma and where getting ready to head home. We noticed a winter storm had brewed up in Southwest Missouri. I didn’t think it was too bad, so we headed out of Tulsa toward Joplin. It got worse the closer we got to Missouri. Debbie knew what was coming and she tried to warn me and I wasn’t listening. I wanted to make it to Kansas City and Debbie wanted to stop in Joplin. We ended up staying in Nevada, Mo. after watching a truck zoom past us and fly off the road into a farm field. It spun around a half dozen times. That had to be a scary ride. If I’ve learned anything about winter in Iowa, the best advice is listening to my wife. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. How are those New Year’s resolutions coming?
According to a search of the internet, 38.5 percent of U.S. adults set New Year’s resolutions. Of those, 9 percent see them through to competition. Most give up within a week or by the end of January. According to the internet, the top three New Year’s resolution are: exercise more, eat healthier and lose weight. Other resolutions include saving more money, spending more time with family and friends, spending less time on social media, reducing job-related stress and reducing spending on living expenses. I’m sure it would safe to throw in buying a new or better car, paying off bills and getting out of debt, getting a new or better job, making new and more friends, decluttering and clearing your home, reading more, going back to school, taking time for yourself or taking that much-needed vacation. These are great things to living a good life. Setting goals is never an easy task. Exercising and eating right is probably the hardest challenge most of us face on a daily bases. There are so many options from pills to surgery to diet plans. It’s enough to make my head spin. I’ve lost 60 pounds since I was my heaviest in 2013. It’s not a lot of weight, but I feel much better and my clothes fit me better. I’m eating better (most of the time) and I’m walking and moving more. I stopped drinking soda pop, I stay away from alcohol and I try and eat more meals more often. Sometimes it’s the small things that net the biggest results. Unrealistic goals Instead of setting unrealistic goals each year, I offer you a different option. Spend your days and weeks doing good things for others instead of yourself. Following are some ideas: • Open the door for someone on a daily bases (in public and at work) • Let someone go in front of you at the checkout stand at Wal-Mart or the grocery store • If you have some extra changes, pay it forward • Leave an extra tip when you go out to eat • Make friends (even to strangers) – people have so much to offer that can enrich our lives • Invite some neighbors over for a summer barbecue cookout • Purchase and give gift cards to neighbors and friends • Participate in a Christmas giving or angle tree to make life better for others • Mow your neighbor’s yard or offer to clean out their garage or help in some way • Offer a ride to an neighbor or elderly person to the doctor or grocery store • Get involved in a community betterment group. If there is none in your area or neighborhood, start one • Work to make your city, town or community a better place now and into the future • See challenges as opportunities • Volunteer at the local food pantry or at a community event • Donate to the local food pantry • Host a food or coat drive • Give blood at a local blood drive • See the positive in everyday things I’m sure with some digging, there are many other ways to make life better for others and yourself. My parents were good people. They loved God, they loved their family and they believed in working hard and doing good for others. I appreciate all the good things they taught me from the good book and taking me to church and teaching me to give more than I took. There’s so much division in our world and political up evil and craziness. You may not be able to change the world, but you can change the world around you by doing good for others. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. I have always wanted to act in a community play, but being in the newspaper business and working a day job has put the brakes on that undertaking for now.
I’m sure acting in a community play is fun but with it comes a lot of work from learning the lines, attending practices and then putting on the performances for several evenings. Anyway, I have it on my bucket list for down the road. Maybe after I fully retire, I will be trying out my acting talents in a local production. Retire! I’ve already retired once, but for only a year. I’m working more now than I was before retiring. I’m a people person and I love to make people laugh. I’m hoping to make my acting debut soon. Anyway, I recently attended the Brooklyn Community Theatre production of “A Carol Play,” a one-act, faith-based play written and directed by Josh Gerard, the Brooklyn Librarian and local minister. The performance was about a director on the eve of the big Christmas play who had entirely forgotten the reason for the season. As with the popular “Christmas Carol,” the director is visited by the ghosts of Christmas plays past, present and future. It was an upbeat and delightful production and brought many laughs from the audience at the Brooklyn Opera House. After writing and directing several faith-based plays, Gerard said he found himself becoming a demanding perfectionist and started forgetting the message behind them. “This play shows how ugly we can let ourselves become when we forget grace and chase after unattainable perfection,” he said in an interview. Gerard has written eight plays and a musical, saying what he loves about writing is how he is able to put his sense of humor into his work. The cast, which was a mixture of adults and local students, did a great job and put a different spin on a well-known Christmas production. I have covered numerous school and community plays throughout my journalistic career. They all have been enjoyable and the acting has been outstanding. Young people these days are so talented. I wasn’t too involved in acting or participated in much of anything when I was in school. I was good about going to school, but being involved was not my strong point. I did play the part of a snowman in sixth grade. My mom made me a dress-like snowman costume from a white bed sheet. It wasn’t fancy and it didn’t have any hoops to make me look robust and round like a real snowman. I showed up with what I had and did a fine job. I doesn’t take a whole lot of talent to stand in the same place and say nothing. I’ve had other small non-speaking roles in several church productions through the years. I carried presents and placed them around the tree in tenth grade in a Living Christmas Tree production at the First Baptist Church in my hometown of Tulsa. And while in college at the University of Missouri-Columbia, I played a part in an Easter production at my church in Columbia some years back. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed a wonderful and blessed Christmas with your family and friends. In spite of the rough patch of weather, this Christmas was one of the best in the Parker household. It was so good to be with family during this time of the year. As we all look to the New Year, I hope you take time to reflect on your many blessings and keep your focus, dreams and resolutions on the positive and being difference makers in your neighborhood, community, town, city and in all you do. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. It was Christmas Eve 1997. I can still see my dad standing in the kitchen of his and my mom’s log cabin on a small acreage south of Tulsa, Okla.
I had just hung up the telephone after talking with my photojournalism teacher at the University of Missouri-Columbia about taking a job at the North English Record. “Take the job,” my dad said to me as I stood there. “Isn’t that what you went back to school for?” I took his advice and called Alan Sieve at Marengo Publishing Company (MPC) to accept the offer that I had received earlier in the day. Later that day, my mom and dad were in the kitchen when my dad asked me if a thousand would do? “A thousand what?” I replied. “A $1,000 to help you get started,” Dad said. That was a like a breath of fresh air. I didn’t have a dollar to my name. I had finished school at age 37 that fall after wrapping up a couple incomplete courses at MU. I had moved back to Oklahoma in October while looking for a job. I spent about a month of that time riding shotgun with my brother in his semi-truck. I slept in the truck and ate at greasy spoon diners and truck stops along the way. We hauled furniture from Tulsa to St. Louis, Denver, Omaha and even Royal, Iowa, a small-town near Spencer. We stopped in the twin cities and rolled through Chicago, Cleveland and ended up in Maine and New York City. After returning to Tulsa, we hit the road again, this time to pick up a load north of Detroit and take it back to the Sooner State. We made a stop in Princeton, Ill., to stay the evening with a friend, who I had met in Tulsa before going back to school, and his family. That evening, Tom and I called home and my mom told me that Sieve had called earlier in the day looking for me. The next day, I called Sieve and he asked if I was interested in the North English Record editor position. I told him yes. Sieve then said he knew I was on the road (per my mom) and wanted to know when we could have an interview. I looked at Tom and said, “How about this afternoon?” Tom and I pulled into the Landmark Restaurant in Williamsburg a few hours later where I met with Sieve and the Williamsburg Journal-Tribune editor for an interview in a Ford Focus. They were asking questions while giving me a tour of North English. I was hired a week later on Christmas Eve. I rolled out of Tulsa on Dec. 27 that year with a few belongings in my truck headed for my new home and a new adventure. Most of my belongings were in a storage facility in Ashland, Mo., where I lived in college. All I had was a credit card for gas. Had my parents not given me that money, I don’t know how I would have made it. They were always so good to me and my brother. I’ve been in Iowa for 25 years this month. I spent nearly 18 years of that time working at the North English Record, Montezuma Republican, Brooklyn Chronicle, which included covering Victor, and the Poweshiek County CR papers. Today, I work a day job near Grinnell and since November 2018, I have been doing freelance work for the CR paper. I met my wife, Debbie, at the Iowa State Fair in 2003 while doing a story on State Fair Campers from the Montezuma area. We were married just more than a year later on Sept. 25, 2004. I was a day from turning 45 and hadn’t been married before. We celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary in September. We bought a house together in November 2006 and have made a home in the years since. We’ve published four books, two Iowa photo books and two romantic suspense novels by Debbie in recent years. Her third book in the series is at the editor and she has books four, five and six in the series awaiting editing. She’s also written a Christmas book that she hopes to publish next year. I never had any idea growing up in the big city that I would move to small-town Iowa, meet my wife, buy a house and find my passion. I’ve written hundreds of stories and took thousands of photos and believe that I have made more friends than enemies along the way. It all started after I won a 35mm camera in a weight loss bet with a co-worker at the Tulsa newspapers in 1983. I started taking adult photo classes at a local community college, which led me to Rogers State College (now university) in August 1987. While at RSC, where I earned an AAS degree in graphics technology, I got the bug to continue my educational pursuits and landed at MU. I hadn’t taken an ACT test and barely passed high school English and still got into one of the top journalism schools in the world. I worked my through college, first with the US Postal Service as a part-time casual clerk at the Columbia Mail Facility and later as a custodian on the MU campus. I always said I cleaned lots of toilets and swept my way through journalism school. Thank you all for supporting me, encouraging me, sharing story ideas and helping me along my life’s adventures. And thanks to Debbie for believing and loving me just as I am. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. I hope you enjoyed a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends.
After enjoying a tasty meal of ham, green beans and mushroom casserole, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, hot rolls and an array of pies and snacks, I settled into the lazy chair in my sister-in-law’s mother’s home in Colfax. It was late in the afternoon and the Dallas Cowboys were taking on the New York Giants in the annual Thanksgiving Day game. According to historical records, namely the internet, Dallas has played on Thanksgiving Day since 1966. Only two years did the Cowboys not play on turkey day. In 1975 and 1977, then NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle swapped out Dallas for the St. Louis Cardinals in an attempt to boost that franchise’s national exposure. I’ve been a Cowboy fan for many years and eagerly await the team’s return to the Super Bowl. When I was a youngster in middle school, or junior high as it was known back then, I was a Miami Dolphins fan. It might have been because my PE teacher was a Redskins fan. In high school and for several years afterwords, I enjoyed following the Houston Oilers as I loved to watch Earl Campbell, a Texas Longhorn product, run the ball. In the early 1980s, I switched my alliance to the Washington Redskins (now known as the Commanders). I always enjoyed watching John Riggins, a fullback with the Redskins. He was a bruiser. In September 1985, I attended a Monday Night game at Texas Stadium when the Redskins took on and hammered the Cowboys. The next day, I had the opportunity to meet the Redskins mascot, who was staying in the same motel where I stayed. I was able to purchase some Redskins memorabilia, including a Hog T-shirt named after what was affectionally called the most notorious offensive line ever, a hat and ink pen and several other items. A couple years later, I attended a Cowboy’s Monday Night game in the old Texas Stadium against the New York Giants. The Cowboys had signed Herschel Walker at the running back position. Walker was a former Georgia Bulldog who won the Heisman Trophy his junior year and went on to play three years in the USFL (United States Football League) with the New Jersey Generals before coming over to the NFL side. Ironically, my hometown of Tulsa supported a USFL team, the Oklahoma Outlaws, in the 1980s. They played their home games at Skelly Stadium on the campus of Tulsa University, which was about one-half mile from my boyhood home. I enjoyed watching Doug Williams play quarterback while he was in Tulsa. He went on to play for the Redskins and win the 1988 Super Bowl. After watching Walker led the Cowboys to a win in that Monday Night game, I have been following the Cowboys ever since. I’ve never been to the new AT&T Stadium in Dallas, but have attended seven games at the old Texas Stadium. Five of those games were on Thanksgiving Day. The other two on Monday Night. My brother went with me all five years on Thanksgiving Day. We enjoyed games against the Minnesota Vikings, Houston Oilers, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers. Dallas lost the first three and won the last two of the five games we attended. The Cowboys have gone 31-22-1 on Thanksgiving Day since starting its holiday tradition nearly 60 years ago. Their best Thanksgiving stretch came in the early 1980s, as they set a franchise record by winning six straight Turkey Day games from 1980 to 1985. I got to see games when Tom Landry and Jimmy Johnson coached the Cowboys and watched players such as Danny White, Gary Hogeboom and Troy Aikman at the quarterback position, Emmitt Smith at running back and Michael Irvin at wide receiver. Aikman went on to led the Cowboys to three super bowls, the last for Dallas. We drove from Tulsa to Dallas and always stayed at the Red Roof Inn near the DFW (Dallas Fort Worth) Airport, the same motel where I had earlier met the Redskins mascot. Our trips typical included a stop at Dave and Busters, an arcade delight and fun place to visit, and we ate at various hamburger joints and restaurants. At least once, we made the trip to Fort Worth to visit the Museum of Science and History and Omni Theater. If you are ever in Fort Worth, it’s worth visiting. In addition to the Cowboys, I have attended three Kansas City Chiefs games. I saw the Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos take on the Chiefs. I don’t recall who won the games. I haven’t attended an NFL game in the years since. I returned to college in August 1992 and the budget wouldn’t afford me the opportunity. Some years ago, I toured the old Texas Stadium and visited Valley Ranch, the former home and training facility of the Cowboys back in the day. That facility is long gone and the team is now based in Frisco, Texas. The Cowboys have a pretty good record this year. Maybe they will get it done and make it back to the big dance. If not, I still have lots of good memories of watching football games in Texas Stadium with my brother on Thanksgiving Day. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. Growing up, the local public library was one of my favorite places to visit.
Florence Park Library was part of the Tulsa Public Library System and was about one-half mile from my boyhood home. I spent many summer days there exploring the world through books or attending a summer reading program. I never knew then that one day I would help write a book, or in Debbie and my’s case, publish two Iowa photography books. Our first Iowa photo book, “Iowa’s Tradition: An ABC Photo Album of the Iowa State Fair,” was published in July 2006. We met at the state fair and when we decided to do a book, the state fair was a natural fit. We learned a lot about the do’s and don’ts of the publishing world. We ended up printing more books than we needed and have since donated at least a thousand books to schools and children’s cancer hospitals in Iowa City and Des Moines. A few years ago, our state fair book was featured in a Des Moines Register article about international students who took part in a summer learning course about Iowa and the state fair. That first year, Iowa State Fair Butter Cow Sculptor, Sarah Pratt, came to the school and taught the students how to make a miniature butter cow using real butter. We ended reaching out to the coordinators of the program and the next year, we were able to sign and donate our books to the teachers and students. It was a lot of fun. In 2008, we published our second Iowa photography book, “Family Reunion: Midwest Old Threshers.” The book was a collaborative effort with the good folks at OTR in Mount Pleasant. That book has been well received and in recent times, has found a renewed interest among farmers and steam engine enthusiasts. Debbie has since published two romantic suspense novels, “The Auctioneer,” released in February 2018 and “Moving On,” a second book in the Hope Series, published in July 2020. The books center around the good folks in the fictional town of Hope, Iowa. Debbie’s has book three in the series at the editor and has written books four, five and six, which she just wrapped up last week. She’s already hit the ground running with book seven. The goal is publish three, four and five next year and if book seven is finished, we might get them all out to Debbie’s fans. She also has written a Christmas novella that she hopes to publish next year. It didn’t work out for this year. The key to having a good book is finding a good editor and proofreader(s). That second set of eyes is money well spent. Down the road, I hope to publish a photo book on the Mississippi River. I want to travel a portion of the river on a barge and take photos. I also would like to write a book on a family who used steam engines to farm. I’m not quite sure if it will be a fictional family with a historical narrative. In addition to our writing ventures, Debbie and I have been attending and selling our books and my photos at various craft shows around the state for more than a dozen years. We’ve had tables at everything from toy shows to larger venues such as the Varied Industry Building at the Iowa State Fair to Carver Hawkeye Arena, which was later moved to the Coralville Marriott Conference Center. This year, we attended a book fair at the Badger Public Library near Fort Dodge in September; the Clarinda Craft Carnival in the southwest corner of the state in October for a second year; the Pella High School Band Boosters Craft show on Nov. 12, and most recently on Nov. 19 at the Pleasantville High School Craft Show. We have one more show this year at the HLV Boosters Craft Show in Victor, the second weekend in December. Sometimes craft shows are a great place to sell books and other times, we can’t get a soul to stop at our table. One show we attended a few years back at a school in southeast Iowa featured their famous cinnamon rolls. People came, bought their cinnamon rolls and went home. On the flipside, at the Clarinda Craft Carnival this year, people where buying our books as we were packing up for the day. That is a great craft fair and worth the drive. Sometimes we sell a lot of books and other times, we don’t even get our table fee back. The greatest joy isn’t always selling a book, but in meeting people and being together doing something we love all while sharing our passion with others. And that sometimes is worth a lot more than what money can buy. I hope you follow your dreams. Today is your day to get started. I encourage you to take a step toward making your dreams a reality. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. A co-worker on my day job the other day called me an encourager. He said that was a gift that God gave me and that I used it to help him and others.
That was really nice that he said that and it made me feel good. A lot of thanks goes to my late parents, who not only believed in me, but taught me the Good Book and used the board on my backside when I was in error. If I got in trouble in school, when I stepped in the front door at home, my mom was there with belt in hand to make sure I understood the error of my way. My folks didn’t have a lot, but they used what they had to make life the best they could for my brother, Tom, and I. I will always appreciate that they took me to church, taught me right from wrong and taught me to do more for others than I would for myself. With that in mind, Thanksgiving is this week and I hope everyone will have a chance to take a break from work and life and enjoy some good food with family and friends. No matter whether you go Black Friday shopping, go hunting, take a trip, watch football and basketball games or clean the garage or work on a craft project, enjoy the holiday. I was around age 7 when I asked my mom if she’d cook a turkey for Thanksgiving. She not only cooked me a turkey, she made mashed potatoes and a pan of dressing. She put a heaping spoonful of dressing on my plate. I took a bite and didn’t like it. No matter, my mom fixed it and she made me sit in the kitchen for what was probably two hours and eat it all. I nibbled on it and finally finished off what seemed like a mountain of dressing. It probably wasn’t much more than a cup full. Many Thanksgivings we spent with family on my mom’s side. My grandmother could put together a Thanksgiving feast in half of the time it took most. She had plenty of experience as she and my grandfather spent several years working on the river barges traveling up and down the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee rivers where grandma worked in the kitchen. She also cooked in schools and nursing homes through the years. My grandparents raised a big garden, had a milk cow and a brood of chickens, which most likely ended up on the dinner table at some point. For a number of years in the 1970s, my grandparents lived in the country near Coweta, Okla., a small town about 30 miles southeast of Tulsa. Their small three-bedroom one-bath house was always full when the kids and grandkids came for the holiday. Grandma would be slaving away in the kitchen cooking a meal for 20 plus. Some helped in the kitchen while others sat around visiting. The old black and white television always had a game or some other show going while the volume was turned down. Some of us kids would run around outside for a time. When the meal was ready, everyone gathered around the table and took time to pray and give God thanks. We then dug in the dishes of food while my uncle or grandfather curved the turkey. I have lot of great memories of a blessed childhood. It is so easy in the world we live in to forget that holidays like Thanksgiving are not always about catching the best deal on Black Friday, but more importantly about taking time to spend with family and friends and taking a break from the businesses of life. I hope you enjoy a blessed Thanksgiving and holiday weekend. Take time to think of others and do something good for someone who maybe doesn’t have as much as you. Invite a neighbor or friend to dinner who doesn’t have family over to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal. When you do good unto others, you’ll never regret it. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. Sometime back, I was talking with Debbie when I mentioned the idea of teaching a creative writing class.
I don’t think the comment came as a surprise to Debbie. I’ve spent my whole life trying new things and overcoming obstacles, why not teach a writing course? It’s no secret that I went from barley passing English in high school to graduating from one of the top journalism schools in the world 19 years later at the age of 37. It took me three tries to pass the required 100-question grammar test to get into the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism. After hours and hours of tutoring and studying, I did it and I’m thankful for the experience. In my course, students would be given a subject or topic and would be asked to interview, research and write a story. I might even toss in writing a newspaper story. I think it would be fun! It reminds me of the news writing course I was required to take and pass to get into the MU School of Journalism. I took the course in the summer of 1995. The professor stepped into the small computer classroom on the second floor of Walter Williams Hall on the MU Campus. After handing out the course syllabus, the instructor told everyone that he gave up his fishing vacation to teach us how to write news stories. He went on to share tidbits of wisdom on the art of teaching journalism, then offered those of us in the class the option to give up. All we had to do was hand in our syllabus and leave. There could be no notes on our syllabus. I had already scribbled all over my syllabus, so the option of quitting was out. Plus, I was on the cusp of good things and my goal was to get into the journalism school and I was one course away. The news writing course that summer took us through life working at a newspaper. One moment we were writing a feature story when a call came in about a fire at the local school. We had to stop what we were doing and piece together a story about the fire from info given to us by the instructor. There was no real fire, just the idea that it happened, like it could at a newspaper. I think I got a B+ on that assignment and had the opportunity to share what I wrote with the class. During another assignment, we were handed an actual press release from the Indianapolis City Bus Service. The press release mentioned that a number of city bus drivers would receive safe driving honors and awards at the upcoming yearly banquet. It then listed the names of every driver. We were asked to read through the press release and see if we could find the “real” story. I didn’t find it, but a couple other students did. Two of the drivers had the same last name. After further digging, it was discovered that these two drivers met and married while working for the city bus company. And they were both receiving safe driving awards. That’s the story! For years, I’ve been digging through press releases, looking at bulletin boards in grocery stores, community centers, churches and elsewhere for story leads. Nowadays, I dig through Facebook and other social media outlets for news ideas and stories. I believe my years of experience qualify me to teach a creative writing course. Should I offer this course, which I would do through an adult learning option at the local community college, my students would write a half dozen stories or papers. Hopefully they would take something from the course to help them become better writers. Debbie’s first book was the result of entry she wrote some years earlier at a writer’s conference. I know that I would take something away from teaching the course. Mainly confidence and growth. I will let you know when I get all pulled together. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. I wrote my first newspaper column, which I titled “On the Road Again,” in July 1998 while working as editor of the North English Record. The title name was based on two over-the-road trips I took in a semitruck with my brother, Tom, in November and December 1997. He was driving for Mayflower Moving Van Lines and it was my job to help load and unload the truck.
I had just wrapped up my BS degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia and returned to the Tulsa suburb of Bixby, Okla., where I lived briefly with my parents, before hitting the road with Tom. The first trip we took was from Nov. 5 - 28. We covered 23 states and 8,000 plus miles on that trip, traveling from Oklahoma through Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and northeast to Maine. We even made a couple stops in New York City and moved a family from southern Minnesota to the panhandle of West Virginia before returning to Oklahoma. The second trip was in early December and took us from Tulsa to north of Detroit to pick up a load and move the family back to Tulsa. It was during that trip that I received a call from Alan Sieve at Marengo Publishing Corp (MPC) to interview for a job at the North English Record. We just happened to be in Princeton, Ill. staying with a friend I met in Tulsa. Ironically, while headed north on Interstate 44, I mentioned to Tom about returning to Tulsa via Iowa. I just happened to have my portfolio on the trip. When asked about an interview, I checked with my brother and then told Alan that I could be in Iowa in a couple hours. We stopped at the Landmark Restaurant in Williamsburg where I was picked up and interviewed in the back seat of a company car by Alan and then Williamsburg Journal-Tribune editor Dan Adix. Tom and I then drove all night to get back to Tulsa where we spent the next day unloading the moving van at a south Tulsa residence. Those were great trips filled with memories of showering and eating in greasy spoon truck stops and sleeping in a semi truck. I was hired as the Record editor one week later on Christmas Eve 1997. As editor of the Record, I started re-publishing columns written by former North English Record editor and long-time owner, Carl L. Hogendorn. I walked across the street to the North English Library where I descended into the basement to dig through Record archives looking for his columns. Carl had been gone nearly a dozen years when I arrived in North English in December 1997. I heard it said that Carl would send his crew of children around town once a week to gather what I called, chicken dinner (local happenings) news. It’s who eats what and where and all the other gossip fit to print Someone brought up the idea of me writing a column. I hadn’t done anything like that in college, but decided to give it a try. My first column was on Texas-style or smoked BBQ During the Fourth of July holiday in July 1998, I made the trek from North English to Van Buren, Mo., deep in the Missouri Ozarks near the Current River, to attend a Jackson family reunion on my mom’s side of the family. My mom graduated from Van Buren High School in 1955, before following an uncle and aunt to Tulsa where she met my dad, who was born and raised east of Tulsa. Out front of the Mom and Pop motel we stayed in at Van Buren for a few days was a Texas BBQ truck. I had to try a sandwich. I got to talking to the owner about Texas BBQ and what makes it different. He said the key was smoking the meat, not cooking it over a fire. The fire is a box on the side of the grill that pushes heat through the meat, he told me. Many of the pellet type grills use that concept these days where the heat is in a box and it moves into the cooking chamber. I’m not much of a meat smoker, but do enjoy grilling out on occasion. I also enjoy sharing many of my life’s travels and happenings in this column. I appreciate the many friends and supporters of my columns, news features and photos and the many kind notes I have received through the years. What makes it even more special is that I barely passed high school English but went on to attend and graduate from one of the top journalism schools in the world. Anything is possible, you know? As a journalist, my goal has been and always will be to share local positive news, stories and photos. Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always. |
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