I admit, I’m not always the best listener.
      Back in elementary school, my report card often had the category, “Usually doesn’t listen” checked.
        What can I say?
         I love to talk.
       In high school, I was sent to the dean’s office once for talking in architecture class my junior year.
      The dean called my mom to complain about my bad behavior only to have her tell him that he needed to spend more time cleaning up the smoke hole at school (the place where smokers took their daily breaks) and less time worrying about me talking in class.
I don’t remember what came from that episode, but I always appreciated my mom standing up for me.
      Talking is something that has hung with me for many moons. I’ve been a firm believer for years that talking opens up doors and creates opportunities. How does anyone know what is going on in your life if you don’t stop and talk? It starts with a simple hello.
        I can’t count on my hands and toes the number of stories and story leads I’ve gotten from visiting and talking with folks.
        It’s good to listen too, and that is an area I need to work on a bit more.
        Take for instance, this past Sunday evening.
      While fixing supper, Debbie was chatting with me from across the room. I admit, I didn’t hear much of what she was talking with me about.
       She was watching a crime show and I thought she was talking about that. That was not the case. She had a watched a Tik Tok video about a fellow in Wichita, Kan. who mowed and cleaned up badly overgrown yards, free of charge.
       He had received a call from a friend about an elderly lady who lived somewhere in the Wichita area.
       “So, I stopped by her house and her lawn was getting crazy,” said Spencer, owner of SB Mowing. “She’d been trying to get someone out to take care of it but nobody was answering their phones. The city had given her a warning for her grass and was going to charge her $240 to cut it, which she couldn’t afford.
       Spencer offered to mow the elderly lady’s yard, clean up the cracks in the driveway and cut down a large volunteer tree.
       When he was done, the lady expressed thanks and was touched by what he had done for her.
       Spencer posted a video on social media of him doing the work for this lady. That led to several of his viewers reaching out, offering to help the lady and asking him how they could do so.
      He went back to the elderly lady’s house and told her that there were people who wanted to help her do things such as fix her cracked driveway and make a ramp and fix up her back deck. He asked her if it would be OK if he started a Go Fund Me account for her.
      She couldn’t believe that anyone would want to help her financially, but she said that would be OK.
      Spencer asked the lady that if they received enough money, was there anything else she needed done in the house?
     She told him she needed a way to get up and down the basement stairs to the laundry. She also told him she had two windows that were broken and needed replaced.
Within 24 hours, 21,000 people had donated to the Go Fund Me and raised more than $500,000. He went back to tell her about the Go Fund Me account and she couldn’t believe it. She was almost in shock, saying “well, there is no fire here or no hurricane.”
       “Are these people from your church,” the lady went on to ask.
       “No, these are people from around the world,” Spencer told her.
       She said all her life, she had helped other people until she got down and out.
      “These kinds of things happen to other people, not to me,” she said. “All my prayers worked.”
       What a cool story in the midst of a world of craziness. Talking, listening, sharing your story and helping make life better for others is what life is all about to me.
       I encourage you to take time this week to do something good for a neighbor, a friend or even a stranger.
     I’m thankful Debbie shared the story with me. Hopefully I will do a better job listening next time.
     Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.

        Did you see the post on the Iowa Lottery Facebook page about the Newton man, Daniel Bragg, who won $150,000 in the $10 Money Gift scratch ticket?
      According to the Iowa Lottery story, Bragg drove his 2001 Chevrolet Suburban with 849,000 miles through a snow storm to collect his winning prize. His first thought when he realized he had won was getting a new vehicle.
       I’ve heard of vehicles with 300,000 plus miles, but not 849,000 miles. He got his money out of that vehicle and it looks like he has enough money to buy a new pickup truck.
        The Iowa Lottery Facebook page is filled with stories of winners from all across the state. 
       I’ve bought numerous lottery scratcher tickets through the years and the most I’ve won is $50 several times. Debbie once won $200 on an Iowa State Fair scratch ticket some years ago that we bought at the Montezuma Super Valu. It provided extra spending money for our annual trip to the Iowa State Fair.
       Santa always leaves us a host of Christmas lottery tickets in our stockings each year. Most years we win a few dollars, but not much more. It seems one year that I won $25. This year, I won $15 and Debbie didn’t win anything.
     And I’ve bought numerous Powerball, Mega Million, Lotto America and Lucky for Life tickets through the years, and the most I’ve won is $7 or $8.
       I once found a handful of lottery tickets in a local grocery store parking lot. I picked them up and ended up winning a few dollars on one that hadn’t been scratched.
       And each month I receive a free scratcher ticket or lotto ticket from the Iowa Lottery that comes via email. I won $4 in November and I think that is the most all year.
      It’s amazing what one can spend on lottery tickets. The most that I have spent on a single lottery ticket is $10, but nothing more. You can spend up to $50 on a scratcher ticket these days. Currently the Iowa Lottery offers one $50 scratcher ticket, two $30 tickets, four $20 tickets, 13 $10 tickets, 14 $5 tickets, 11 $3 tickets, 20 $2 tickets and seven $1 tickets.
      The lottery has become big business in recent years. Some years ago, a scratcher ticket was $1, $2 or $3. I would pick up one or two tickets now and then, spending a few dollars, but I can’t imagine spending $30 or even $50 for a winning chance.
     I think it might be better to give that money to the local food pantry or outreach that helps others. I think the funds would be better spent than on a lottery ticket. I’m sure I will still buy one or two this coming year.
Black-eyed peas
      Growing up in the south, a tradition in my boyhood home and many southern homes is eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day.
       My mom always said that eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day would bring good luck and prosperity in the new year.
      She’d purchased dried black-eyed peas in a bag and would soak them in water overnight. She sometimes would add a piece of ham for flavoring while they stewed on the stove.
      It’s hard to beat a bowl of black-eyed peas. They go good with anything from hamburgers to a chicken fried steak.
      Some folks in the south eat collard greens with their black-eyed peas. I don’t remember eating collard greens, but I do remember eating cornbread with my black-eyed peas on occasion. My dad loved fresh onions out of the garden with anything he ate. One of his favorite afternoon snacks was wilted lettuce from the garden with hot bacon grease poured over the top along with fresh onions.
     I buy black-eye peas in a can these days and cook them for supper. Debbie doesn’t care for black-eyed peas, so when I want a can, I will cook her English peas. It works well for both of us.
        The internet is filled with all kinds of reasons that black-eyed peas bring luck. One article noted that black-eyed peas symbolize the eye of God. Another stated that black-eyed peas given to the poor will inspire them to survive and thrive.
       Another article stated that the best chance of luck every day in the year ahead, is one must eat at least 365 black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. That’s a lot of black-eyed peas. Another article stated that black-eyed peas eaten with stewed tomatoes represent wealth and health. 
      I found another story that noted that black-eyed peas are a good source of fiber and protein and that they contain important nutrients such as vitamins A and K, calcium and iron.
     “Adding them to your diet can help with weight and blood-sugar management while lowering your cholesterol,” noted the article.
     I can’t point to any one thing or tradition in my life that has brought me luck as each day is a blessing from God and an opportunity to do great things in this world. It’s something I don’t take for granted.
      But as I do most years, I kicked off 2025 with some black-eyed peas and hamburgers baked in the oven with mushroom soup. I should have made some cornbread to go along with the meal. Top the cornbread off with a slice of butter and that is good eating. 
       Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.

         It’s been more than 40 years ago since I last went hunting.
     I was sharing this story with a former Montezuma resident on Sunday at Star Lanes in Montezuma.
      I had stopped there to pick up a Pepsi and an iced tea on my home from covering the last Sunday service at the Deep River Christian Church Disciples of Christ.
       The church closed its doors after 134 years of ministering to Deep River and area families.
      I happened to meet John Behounek, a 2005 MHS graduate and school teacher in the Omaha area, who was home with his family for Christmas.
     We started talking football and I mentioned the dismal season the OU Sooners, my favorite team, enjoyed this year.
     That led Behounek to mention the Nebraska Cornhuskers, his favorite team, and coach Matt Rhule, who just finished his second year as headmaster of the Big Red school.
      The Cornhuskers finished 7-6 and near the bottom of the Big 10. They did enjoy a 20-15 Pinstripe Bowl win over Boston College.
      Behounek mentioned that Rhule and company had to re-recruit the Cornhusker quarterback, Dylan Raiola, in an effort to keep him at Nebraska.
     The portal and NIL (paying college athletes to play) have really changed the face of college football with players leaving some schools in droves for greener grass on the other side of the fence.
       Anyway, OU, which has lost its share of players and quarterbacks this year and last, finished the season with a record of 6-7 under head coach Brent Venables, who is in his third year at the helm. It has some Sooner fans calling for Venable’s head.
       I’m not so brutal as the SEC rolled out the welcome mat to OU this season. Outside of a big 24-3 win at home over Alabama, this has been a season to forget. And it didn’t help that the Sooners lost the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl game, 20-21, on a missed two-point attempt against Navy.
      Being a long-time OU fan and remembering the glory days of the Wishbone offense and then the mid-90s, when OU almost had to buy a win, I’m more about giving Venables another year or two.
       I wouldn’t want to be in his or Rhule’s shoes with all the explaining they have to do to fans and university officials.
       Anyway, back to my hunting story.
       My good friend, Rob, and I had decided to go rabbit hunting. Seems like it was around 1981.
       Rob had a 16-gauge shotgun and I had a borrowed 410 single shot shotgun.
     It was Thanksgiving weekend and we took my 1977 Monte Carlo and headed to southeast Oklahoma. We were driving along a gravel road and saw some rabbits in field. So, we stopped at the farmhouse and asked if we could hunt.
       “Sure,” the homeowner said.
      It didn’t take Rob long to bag a few rabbits. I was less fortunate in my shooting skills, but did finally get one or two.
      Rob was carrying the rabbits in his hunting vest. As we walked along the field, he thought it might be a good idea to gut and skin the rabbits.
      We had no knife, so I went and knocked on the homeowners’ door and asked to borrow one. Rob was seated on a log in the fellow’s backyard gutting rabbits and trying to skin them. I was trying not to get sick from the smell as I realized he and I both didn’t have a clue what we were doing.
It didn’t help that it was misting rain and there was quite a chill in the air.
       I looked through the back door of the fellow’s house and saw that he was enjoying an OU vs. Nebraska football game, a Thanksgiving tradition back in the day. I remember some great games in the 1980s.
       I swore right then that I would never miss another OU vs. Nebraska game to be outside in the cold and rain to shoot rabbits that I would never eat.
       We brought the rabbits home and finished cleaning them in Rob’s parent’s kitchen. They were so full of buckshot, they weren’t worth eating. We probably should have used 22 rifles.
       I put several in the freezer for a later date. It must have been at least 10 years later when my mom boiled them and tossed them to the family dog.
      With that in mind, I do appreciate all the hunters who have killed deer, turkey and pheasants this season and I hope they enjoyed their harvests for family holiday meals.
       Thank you so much. Keep up the good work and I will stay home and watch a football game.
      In wrapping this up, I encourage you to find the positives in 2025. It’s a new year and new and good things are on the horizon.
       Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.

        I believe it’s a dying art that may have come to end, or at least it seems that way in recent years.
         Giving and receiving Christmas cards with family photos and letters are all but gone.
And how I miss them.
        Debbie and I have received three cards this year. One from an Iowa cousin, who sends pictures of her family every year, one from a Montezuma family and the other from the financial fellow at the bank.
        We might have one or two more trickle in, but that is about it.
      I used to gets lots of Christmas cards back in the day and loved reading all the letters and looking at the family and dog and cat photos. When I was kid, my mom had a felt Santa on a hanger with sparkly glitter with a large pouch like a Santa toy bag where she placed all of our cards. It hung by the front door on a nail stuffed full of Christmas cards.
        I don’t even know if folks still write Christmas letters these days.
      I admit, it’s a lot of work to write a letter. And with stamps being nearly 75 cents, it’s much easier to take to social media or skip it all together.
      Debbie and I haven’t mailed out a Christmas letter since pre-Covid. We used to do some really nice ones, giving a detailed list of life happenings. One year we did a collage of photos in our letter.
We have good intentions, but never seem to get around to it. Several years ago we didn’t mail our Christmas cards out to the end of January. It was the thought that counted.
       I love reading the letters and I also enjoyed writing my own letter and sending them out. I’d stop at Walmart and pick up some festive holiday paper and print out the letters, sign them with Debbie and put them in a card to be sent to friends and family. Actually, I bought the paper and Debbie wrote the letter and addressed the envelopes.
      Having Christmas cards is not the problem. I think we have a tub full of them in the basement that we picked up at after Christmas sales.
     The biggest issue is taking the time to put everything together. But it is worth it to stay connected. 
     As a blog writer wrote on the Internet, the best part of sending out Christmas cards is reconnecting with friends and family. I think that is what I miss the most.
         It seems like when you send out a Christmas card, you get one back or vise-versa.
       If you haven’t sent a friend or family member a card in several years, I think it’s easy to take your name of the list. 
      My aunt Alice, who lived in Fayetteville, Ark., always sent us a Christmas card. It was a simple card usually with a manger scene on the front and was always signed, Aunt Alice.
       But unfortunately, Aunt Alice, my mom’s younger sister, passed in January at the age of 83. She and my late Uncle Ronnie owned a chicken farm where they raised fryers for Tyson and other big chicken companies. They had two large chicken houses that held 16,000 chickens each.
      I used to drive from Tulsa about once a month to spend a couple days with Aunt Alice and Uncle Ronnie. Aunt Alice made the best homemade shrimp pizza and we’d always spend one evening playing cut throat rummy, a card game consisting of sets and runs using three decks of cards. Jokers and twos were wild. And I loved going bowling with Uncle Ronnie, who was next to impossible to beat.
       I miss her a lot and I miss her Christmas cards and occasional calls. 
     Next year for sure, Debbie and I will get our ducks in a row and send out Christmas cards. I might have to resort to sending a few out this year via social media or at least posting some type of letter on my Facebook page.
     Experts in the Christmas card department say the prime time to send out Christmas cards is early December. That gives folks time to read your letter and return the favor.
     We all have a story to tell as life is a story. Life is not mundane or boring, it is exciting with opportunities to use your talents to bless others. 
     I encourage you to write down or keep a journal of all of life’s blessings. There are so many things in life to be thankful for in the past and in the present. At the end of the year, you won’t need to rack your brains to remember what you did in January and February.
     Let’s get back to sending out Christmas cards and keeping in touch with our friends and family the old fashioned way.
      Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.

        I meet some of the most interesting people in life.
        Take for instance a couple ladies I met last week at the Grinnell Post Office.
         I had stopped there to mail a couple packages of my books.
         The first lady said she thought she knew me.
         “I am J.O. Parker,” I told her, thinking she might connect me with the newspaper.
         “Do you know who you look like?” she said.
         “No,” I replied.
         “Boss Hogg,” she told me. “You look like Boss Hogg of the Dukes of Hazzard.”
          I wasn’t sure if that was a complement or if I was supposed to run and hide.
         “He’s your twin,” she said. “Everyone has a twin.”
          I told her I had met Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) at a car show back in the day in my hometown of Tulsa.
         She went to list the other characters in the popular 1970s and 80s show, saying that Roscoe is dead and so is Uncle Jesse.
          She liked Uncle Jesse, she said.
         She then explained to me what she was mailing. It was some sort of artwork that she did. I didn’t quite understand it as I finished taping up my packages and she stepped to the counter to mail her items.
          I was next in line and as I waited, another lady came into the post office.
        “You need to be careful,” she told me, referring to the ice melt covered steps outside the post office. “You don’t want to fall.”
          It had been slick earlier in the week and the post office tossed out a bucket of ice melt.
         “It’s tough when you get old,” she went on to say.
         “I’m 65,” I told her, adding that I had just signed up for Medicare.
          She couldn’t believe it that I was 65. I can’t either.
          “You got good genes,” she let me know as I thanked her.
           That’s a nice thing to say and a compliment to my parents.
          The Dukes of Hazzard was a great show and I rarely missed an episode. I remember riding with my dad on many Friday nights to the Chuckwagon drive in on north Sheridan in Tulsa and picking up four wheel burgers and French fries for supper with the family. The eatery was shaped like a covered wagon and their specialty was the wheel burger. We’d go to the take out window and carry the food home where my folks, my brother and I would enjoy supper while watching the Duke of Hazard and Dallas.
        Those were some of the greatest memories of my growing up days as was Christmastime and the many August vacations we took in dad’s 1967 Chevrolet C-10 pickup to places like Nashville, Disneyland and Niagara Falls.
       I was already out of high school when the Dukes of Hazzard started airing. I didn’t go out too much during that time in my life and often hung around at home.
        I also enjoyed watching “The Incredible Hulk” on television. My brother and I got to meet Lou Ferrrigno (who played the Hulk in the show along with Bill Bixby) at a Tulsa mall J.C. Penneys many years ago.
        Anyway, when I got home that evening, I found a photo of Boss Hogg on the internet and a recent photo of me. I posted them on my Facebook page asking folks to share their thoughts if I was the Boss’ twin.
       One person said I was his twin. Another suggested I buy a white cowboy hat and see. One couple said I was way better looking. And another asked if I was letting everyone know what costume I needed for Halloween 2025.
       I have some similarities to the Boss, but I wouldn’t go as far as being his twin. I think I will pass on the Halloween costume, but do like the white hat idea.
      Like me, everyone loved the Boss and his relentless crooked pursuit of the Duke Boys and his on-going badgering with Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane and his dog, Flash.
      I loved his white Cadillac and large white hat with his big cigar and his huge appetite. It was a classic television show from the good old days.
        It was fun to visit with the lady and if anything, I appreciated the memories and a laugh.
       I hope everyone has the best Christmas with family and friends. Take a few days off work and the hustle and bustle of life and enjoy the holidays. Time spent with family is never wasted and the never-ending pile of work and meetings will be there when you get back.
        And always remember, it’s better to give than to receive!
        Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day

          One of my favorite adventures as a community journalist is taking Santa photos.
          This year I’ve captured Santa in Grinnell, Brooklyn, Montezuma and Deep River, where he arrived on the back of a fire truck with sirens blaring.
         I’ve taken at least 75 photos of kids and Santa this year. I love capturing all the smiles of area youngsters sitting on Santa’s lap or kneeling by his side and sharing their Christmas wish lists, while telling Jolly Old St. Nick that they’ve been a good boy or girl.
          However does he keep that list of who has been naughty and nice?
         What’s more special is all of these communities host holiday/Christmastime celebrations in connection with Santa’s visit.
      Grinnell hosts Jingle Bell Holiday while Brooklyn celebrated the season with Christmas Traditions. Montezuma was home to Hometown Holiday and Deep River hosted Santa at the American Legion. Every youngster in Deep River received a gift certificate, a bag of goodies and a free toy. And then after meeting will all the little ones, Santa took off in a Legion member’s pickup and made the rounds across town dropping off goodies for all.
           I always enjoy taking photos and talking to folks during these wonderful holiday celebrations.
        And I attended the Brooklyn Community Theatre production of “Many Things” at the Brooklyn Opera House. The Christmas play was written by Josh Gerard, the Brooklyn librarian, pastor of New Beginnings Church and playwriter and actor.
            It was a great production and I left thinking of all the blessings that life has afforded me.
           I don’t know how Santa does it, sharing cheer and leaving toys, electronics and many other gadgets with boys, girls and those of all ages across the globe, and all in one night. 
           I remember all the excitement of Santa arriving at the Parker house on Christmas eve. My brother, Tom, and I never went without a bunch of gifts on Christmas morning.
            I was so excited about Santa and Christmas morning one year that I went to bed at 6 p.m. so Santa would arrive quicker. As I tried to sleep, a knock came on one of my bedroom windows.
            I pulled back the shade and there was Santa in all his glory calling my name with a ho, ho, ho!
            We had a gas lamp in our front yard by the porch and at Christmastime, my family had a plastic two-piece Santa mask that went around the lamp.
            How that plastic mask didn’t catch on fire is amazing.
          My dad had taken one of the plastic Santa faces and held it up to my bedroom window having some fun. I was so excited to see Santa.
            I finally got to sleep, only to wake up around 2 a.m. I couldn’t sleep anymore, so I got everyone up and we opened gifts and then all went back to bed.
           We always set out a cookie and a glass of milk for Santa’s visit and on Christmas morning, the cookie and milk were always gone.
            We had a fake chimney, so it had to be our parents who let him in the house. I guess I will never know.
          Santa’s gift was always unwrapped and the rest of the family gifts where wrapped and neatly placed under our Christmas tree.
            After marrying Debbie, our first two Christmases, Santa wrapped my gift and left Debbie’s unwrapped.
            That second year, Debbie asked me why Santa didn’t wrap her gift.
            “He never did that when I was growing up,” I told her.
            “He did that when I was growing up,” Debbie told me.
            I sent Santa a note via email, and asked that he wrap Debbie’s gift. And it’s been that way in the year’s since.
         Debbie and I have enjoyed wonderful Christmases together and with family. Our home and garage quickly fill up with shipping boxes and wrapping paper fills the living room. We all check several times to make sure everyone gets a gift or two.
           That’s really what Christmas is about – Jesus, family, friends, giving to others and a time of reflection for life’s many blessings. Toss in some good food and all is well with the world.
            It is the most wonderful time of the year!
            Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.

        I woke to an unpleasant surprise on Monday morning – a light blanket of snow.
        I’ve lived in the state for almost 27-years, and I still don’t like snow and cold.
       Having grown up in Oklahoma, we didn’t get the snow like in Iowa. However, I do recall a few big storms through the years.
      One that comes to mind was in March of 1984, or maybe 1989. There’s been a lot of water and snow under the bridge since those days.
     Anyway, it snowed 14-inches and shut down my hometown of Tulsa for three days. By early March, Oklahomans are usually enjoying 70 plus degree weather, not a big a snowstorm. There was no mail, package deliveries, school and many business were closed due to the storm.
      Tulsa didn’t have snowplows back in the day outside of some plows that the state used to clean off the interstates and main throughfares. The rest was left to melt and refreeze until it was gone.
        It was bad enough that I got stuck in my driveway and had to call a friend to drive his four-wheel drive up and down the driveway to help get me unstuck.
       Some of my fondest memories of snow in Tulsa was when I was a kid. I remember on occasion my dad loading my sled, a gift from Santa, in the back of his pickup and carrying me a few blocks to a big hill in my neighborhood. It was there that I would join some of my school chums and go sledding for a time, until I got too tired.
        And I remember lots of ice storms in Tulsa in the 1970s. I took my share of slips and falls while delivering my newspaper routes and even once, wrecked my car during high school when I backed in to a sign pole on an icy morning.
       My mom was quite upset with me and took my car, a 1959 Chevrolet Impala, to a body shop and had them fix the crash and repaint my car. She also took my driving privileges away, which hurt a lot more than the crash.
        In January 1977, during my junior year in high school, we had a Tulsa blizzard for the books. When we crawled out of the bed at 4 a.m. to deliver our newspapers, it was snowing heavily and piling up quickly. It was also bitter cold and the wind was whipping the snow around like a tornado. My family threw 400 Tulsa World newspapers on Sunday and trudging through that storm was one that I will never forget.
        My dad drove his pickup loaded with newspapers while my mom and I took turns walking a block at a time placing the Sunday news on our customer’s porches. The warmth of my dad’s truck kept us going. We finished delivering the last newspaper around 10 a.m. We typically were done by 7 a.m., but not on that day.
          There have been a few winter-weather challenges along the way since moving to Iowa.
         In the late 1990s, I remember driving my S-10 pickup to see a friend and his family in Princeton, Ill. I never checked the weather when I traveled, so most of the time I had no idea what was happening. If it wasn’t for cell phones and Debbie, I probably still wouldn’t be checking the weather.
         I had stopped in Davenport to top off my gas tank, buy a Pepsi and a Sunday newspaper. The cashier told me to be careful. I thanked him and went on my way.
         I didn’t give it much thought until I was about 10-miles west of the Quad Cities where I drove headlong into a winter snow storm. There were vehicles and semis littering the ditches. With no weight in the back of my pickup, it was a miracle that I made it home without sliding in the ditch. I about yanked the steering wheel out of my truck from gripping it so tight as I inched along the Interstate.
         And another time, after moving to the country northwest of Montezuma, I went to pick up a pizza on a snowy Friday night. At the time, our driveway had quite an incline. It has since had some improvements made to it and is much better these days. I tried driving up our driveway, only to slide backwards and right into the road ditch where I hit the E-911 sign in my yard. I ended up breaking my outside driver’s side mirror in the process.
         My brother-in-law stopped a couple days later with his John Deere tractor and pulled me out of the ditch. That was not a pleasant situation.
           There is one thing about living in Iowa. There are a lot of hardy folks in this state. It’s not uncommon for me to see some fellow with no coat in short-legged britches on a cold, snowy winter night walking across the street into a building or house.
           It’s also not uncommon to drive by some homes and the driveway is full of four-wheel drives after a snowstorm. The good old boys stopped for a few beers and a tasty grilled steak on the BBQ grill. And they like to go ice fishing and hunting in the dead of winter. I enjoy sitting in my easy chair in my warm house.
             I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough snow. I’m already looking forward to spring.
            Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.

            It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas at the Parker house.
            We set up our Christmas tree this past weekend and Debbie decorated it.
        We’ve never set our tree up this early. It’s usually after Thanksgiving and sometimes a week or two before Christmas. A few years ago, we set up the tree, but didn’t get it decorated.
           When we first moved into our country home on Thanksgiving weekend in 2006, we set up a small fiber optics tree in lieu of the new artificial tree we had purchased after Christmas the year before.
          With boxes and furniture everywhere, it was next to impossible to set up and decorate our tree in our new home. Debbie bought the fiber optics tree at Target and we set it in the bay window and all was good with the world.
           I’ve mentioned this in past columns, as a child growing up in Oklahoma, my folks didn’t set up anything Christmas until Dec. 15.
           We always bought a fresh-cut tree and one year we purchased our tree in early December. My dad tied it to the clothesline in the backyard so it stood up straight until Dec. 15, when we were allowed to carry it in the house.
           We didn’t get out a box of decorations, lights or set up the manger until mid-December.
           I still have the manger and figurines of baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the three wisemen, the shepherds and some animals that I placed under the Christmas tree as a youngster every year.
          My mom bought the manger and figurines at TG&Y Five and Dime store in Tulsa. The manger still has the price tag on the backside. I think she paid a $1 or two.
          The old cardboard manger is in sad shape. I’ve thought about having a local craftsman make a new one, but I haven’t followed through with the project.
         A couple years ago, our oldest nephew, Gavin, found a wooden manger at a sale and bought it and gave it to us. It’s a nice addition to our Christmas deorations.
      Christmas was always exciting in the Parker house growing up and each year, Santa would give my brother and me an orange, apple and some nuts in our stockings.
       I asked my mom about it and she said it was a reminder of her growing up years in Southern Missouri when an orange, apple and nuts were all she and her siblings got for Christmas some years. Other times they got a set of new clothes, but nothing else.
       My folks didn’t have a lot of money, but they somehow found a way to give my brother and me the best Christmases gifts and memories possible. I can’t imagine getting a pair of pants and a new shirt and no toy or keepsake. I’m so blessed!
       I still have my Allstate (Sears and Roebuck) train set I got for Christmas when I was age 7. It doesn’t work and the box is somewhat fragile, but it’s priceless to me.
       I keep a running list of Christmas and birthday gift ideas on our home computer that I update each year. Outside of some music from the 1970s and several photography books, one of my top gifts this year is life-long fishing licenses for senior citizens. I will never need to buy fishing licenses again.
      Other items include a Tulsa ball cap, tools, postcards, a new frying pan, old board games and some antiques. 
        Anyway, I’m really looking forward to the Christmas season this year and getting our tree set up early is an added plus.
       I kind of feel like a kid again. Maybe it’s because I turned 65 this year. I’m still trying to wrap my head around that life milestone.
        I encourage folks to take time to celebrate and enjoy life. The holidays are a great time to do something good for someone else.
        Some ideas include making a donation to the local food pantry or giving some funds to a local outreach that helps those who are in need. Montezuma, Brooklyn and Grinnell all have wonderful outreaches that help others.
        Another suggestion is to buy a sack of groceries or a gift card for a neighbor or friend in need. Together, we can make a difference in this world and every gift is important.
        As we all know, the real reason for Christmas isn’t the gifts, it’s celebrating Jesus. He is the reason for the season. Spending time with family and friends and enjoying lots of good food isn’t too bad either.
         Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.

​        Like my dad, I’ve developed a somewhat bad habit of gawking while driving.
      Debbie reminds me often to put both hands on the steering wheel and quit gawking at the scenery.
      That was the case last Saturday while traveling to Pleasantville to set up a booth and sell our books at a craft show in the school gymnasium. 
      I was checking out Red Rock Lake and apparently was weaving on the highway some. I hit the rumble strips on the side of the highway several times on the curvy stretch of road between Pella and Highway 14.
      I was trying to eat my McDonald’s sausage biscuit and drink my ice tea with one hand on the steering wheel and it was putting Debbie on edge.
      Plus, I was checking out the road to nowhere at Red Rock Lake near Highway 14. There’s a road and a bridge that goes right into the lake. I suppose it was the old Highway 14 that was flooded when the lake was built.
      And then there is the mile-long bridge on Highway 14.
     I think they need to have higher guardrails on that stretch of highway across the lake. When there is a crosswind, it feels like I’m going to fly over the side of the bridge into the water. I always have two hands on the steering wheel when going across the mile-long bridge.
     My dad was bad about gawking and talking to strangers. I remember one time on a family vacation when we had stopped in Springfield, Mo. We were at a stoplight and a fellow was walking across the road.
      “How are you, Fred?” my dad hollered from his window.
      The fellow looked at him, like “do I know you or are you some kind of nut?”
       I’m sure his name wasn’t Fred.
      My dad would laugh as he got the biggest kick out of having fun with a complete stranger in some other town.
      I typically don’t holler at folks out the window, but I do seem to get easily distracted as I enjoy checking out the scenery.
      I enjoy God’s beauty and as one of my elementary teachers said, “I usually don’t pay attention in class.” I need to do a better job paying attention to where I am at on the road.
    Texting is another issue of concern for those with cell phones these day, which is most everyone who walks and breaths.
     I haven’t figured out how to text and drive. Some people are experts at texting and driving, but not me.
     Sometimes I will make a call and talk with someone on the phone speaker while driving, which is almost as bad as texting and driving. 
      I see people all the time texting and driving on the two-lanes and interstate highways. In fact, on the way home from the craft show, I saw a driver on the road from Pella texting at the intersection of Highway 14. She wasn’t paying any attention to where she was on the road.
     And speeding is another issue. Most folks drive too fast these days. I probably drive slower than I should, especially while on deer watch when driving in the early morning hours or at night after covering a game or some community event.
     I dislike people tailgating me. If I’m driving too slow, go around me and move on. If a deer pops out of the ditch, we are both going to be in trouble and I’m going to get it from the front and back. So, please slow down. If you are late, leave five minutes early.
      Another bad habit I have is not coming to a complete stop at stop signs. Debbie said her dad once got a ticket for coming to a rolling stop at a stop sign and she often reminds me of when I do the same thing.
      I never got a ticket for making a rolling stop, but my dad once got a ticket for turning right on red in the 1970s before it became law.
     There are all kinds of statistics on districted driving and many states have band texting and driving with fines if you get stopped. They probably should band gawking, too.
      I’m thankful for Debbie paying attention and helping me get to and from where I am going and through life.
       Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.

​            My cell phone rang and woke me from my slumber on Friday morning a week ago.
        I had taken off work at my day job to get some things done and was sleeping later than usual. 
        It was John Dodds of rural Montezuma on the line.
       He called to see if I might be interested in joining him for lunch at Culvers in Pella. The timing couldn’t have been better, so I agreed to join him.
       I had written a story on John last spring about his hobby of making wallets from old baseball gloves. In fact, I bought a wallet from him made from a George Brett glove. George played for years with the Kansas City Royals and I had the chance to see him play a few times back in the day.
       John appreciated the story I did on him and promised to take me to lunch.
      I’ve known John from when I was working full-time in the news business. At the time, he was serving as the minister of Grace United Methodist Church in Brooklyn.
     He came to Brooklyn in 2005 and after a few years, moved to a church in Carlisle before retiring from the pulpit and getting remarried and moving to a farm south of Montezuma.
      John, who is several years older than me, grew up in southern Indiana and was a big New York Yankees and Micky Mantle fan back in the day.
     “I liked him (Mantle) because he had a cool name,” said John in an earlier interview. “A lot of kids back then were Yankees fans. It was a time when baseball was truly an American pastime.”
     As a youngster, he had aspirations to play baseball in the big leagues, but after playing the game for three years in high school and running cross country for two years, he opted instead to become a teacher. While attending community college to study elementary education, John become acquainted with a young man who shared his faith with him.
      “He invited me to a revival service where I asked Jesus into my heart,” recalled John.
    After much prayer, John ended up switching gears and enrolled in Nazarene College in Kankakee, Ill., where he earned his bachelors in religion. He went on to attend Nazarene Seminary in Kansas City where he preached at a church in Missouri on Sundays while taking classes during the week.
     After becoming an ordained minister, he spent time in the pulpit at churches in Arkansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Iowa before retiring.
      One of those stops included a few years ministering in Oklahoma City, Okla. It was there that he spent two years as chaplain with the Oklahoma City 89s baseball team. The 89s were a AAA farm team for the Texas Rangers organization.
      “I didn’t get a chance to play baseball professionally, but I did get a chance to minister to some major league baseball players,” recalled John in an earlier interview. “I sure enjoyed that.”
        Since I grew up in Tulsa, John and I seem to have a Oklahoma to Iowa connection of some sorts and we have visited often through the years.
      I always enjoy a trip to Culvers for lunch, supper or anytime and spending it with my friend made for a great and relaxing day. We enjoyed visiting about life and our love of God while enjoying a double cheeseburger with the works. It was a wonderful day.
      When I interviewed John last spring, he said one thing that I will always remember.
      “People will forget everything about you, except how you made them feel,” he said.
      There’s a lot of truth in that statement and one I have taken to heart.
      I’ve enjoyed making friends with many folks, both young and old, during my nearly 27 years in Iowa and most importantly, meeting my wife, Debbie, in this fine state. I’m so blessed and so thankful for all of life’s experiences and all the people who have crossed my path. 
       I’m thankful for all the people who have allowed me to share their stories. My favorite part about being a community journalist is finding and telling people’s stories.
       I’m looking forward to sharing more stories in the coming years, months, weeks and days.
       Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.