​        I attended the comedy night at the Brooklyn Opera House on Saturday, Feb. 22.
       It was a fun evening of improv, joke and storytelling that lasted nearly two hours.
       I’m thinking maybe I should have signed up and participated in the event.
      Then I thought that wouldn’t work because there would be nobody to take photos. I am the camera man, as youngster have called me in the past.
      That didn’t keep me from thinking about what my opening dialog would center around. The last time I was on the stage was December 1971 when I played a snowman in the sixth grade Christmas play in elementary school.
      My mom made my snowman outfit from a white bed sheet. There were two us that had snowman roles.     The other snowman had an outfit that had wire hoops to make it look like a real snowman. My outfit was a white bed sheet.
       I think some of the other kids laughed at me, but I didn’t care. It was a fun memory.
      I can’t forget about taking dancing lessons at the Pink Barn in Tulsa (a real pink barn) when I was 16. My mom paid for the lessons to give me a chance to socialize and meet girls. I learned a move or two, but didn’t find a girlfriend.
      As I was taking photos of the different acts, I was thinking about what else I might share if I were on stage. I could share funny experiences about life or talk about seeing the wonderous works of God in my life.
      I remember the time Debbie and I got ready to leave for a playoff basketball game at GMG and our garage door broke. We had to leave it open all night since it wouldn’t shut.
     My brother-in-law stopped by the next day and bolted a steel support bar across the middle of door that allowed the garage door to work again.
     We used it that way for 10 years before finally getting new garage doors and a garage door opener three plus years ago.
      And then there was time a racoon got in our garage.
      Debbie said we used a live trap to catch it and the family released in the woods the next day.
      When you live in the country, it’s best to leave the garage door shut. There are all kinds of critters out and about and at any time, one might find solace in the garage.
      I would hate to find a skunk in there.
     And then there was time our kitty brought a baby rabbit, a snake and a frog into our house. Not all at the same time.
     I could talk about almost running out of gas the time that Debbie and I were taking a mini vacation to Hannibal, Mo.
      We were rolling down Highway 61 late at night and I noticed we were about out of gas. The little yellow     “your almost out of gas” figure hadn’t yet come on the dash, but it had to be close. Thankfully, I found a gas station that was still open and was able to top off our tank.
      Debbie has never let me forget that one and often reminds me or asks if we have gas before leaving on a trip or going to Des Moines.
     And then there was time that I ran out of gas in my old 1959 Impala while out job hunting. Seems like it was around 1979. I had $3 in my pocket and a gas can in the trunk. $3 would buy a lot of gas at 25 cents a gallon in 1979. I waked about a half mile to a gas station and it was enough to get me home.
      In November 1981, I had quit by night job at a Tulsa grocery and drug store chain. The store took up half a city block and was so big, that it took eight hours to clean it.
      I got tired of working there and quit. It wasn’t one of my brightest moves, especially in the economy of the day.
     I had been looking for a new job for quite some time with no luck when a friend invited me to a youth revival in Tulsa. I was 22 at the time. I wasn’t a youth, but felt I could relate to others in attendance.
      While listening to the message, I decided after the service to ask the minister to pray with me. He was head of the youth division for the Assembly of God churches in America, which is based in Springfield, Mo.
After the service, I went to the front of the church and sat on a pew and waited about 15 or so minutes. Everyone was about cleared out and the minister asked how he could help me.
      I told him my situation and he said let’s pray and ask God to get you a job in three days. This was a new concept to me to pray and ask God to do something like helping me find a job. 
     On the second day of job hunting,  I stopped at a friend’s auto upholstery business near my boyhood home. There was a fellow in there named Bucky who asked my friend if he could leave his car there one more day so he could arrange a ride. He had a nice old Buick and was getting a new convertible top installed.
       I offered to give him a ride and he accepted.
      I followed Bucky home and then gave him a ride back to my friend’s upholstery shop to pick up his other vehicle. We started talking and he asked me what I was doing. I told him I was looking for a job.
      “They’re hiring at my job,” he told me.
     He worked in a small factory in West Tulsa that made sheaves used to move wire cable lines on large cranes.
      To make a long story short, I was interviewed and hired on the third day. It was one of the many miracles    I’ve experienced along life’s way.
      I leave you with this - keep your head up, keep dreaming and keep on walking.
      Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.

​         Debbie and I enjoy going antiquing when we are able.
        Some of our favorite spots are the Brass Armadillo in Des Moines and Antiques Iowa in Story City north of Ames.
       The Plaza Antique Mall in Dyersville is another great antique mall featuring the old town movie theater façade at the entrance to the building.
       It’s been a number of years since we last visited The Plaza Antique Mall and we hope to get back there again soon. Being Dyersville, the antique store does have a nice selection of Ertl toy tractors and implements.
In 2009, my dad gave me his old Farmall 130 tractor with a couple implements. It came with a brush hog that my mom bought him to mow the pasture.
       He wanted me to have the tractor and Debbie and I arranged to have her brother and a friend drive to Oklahoma and bring it to Iowa.
        The Farmall 130 was manufactured in the late 1950s.
       My dad bought the tractor and implements from a neighbor in Oklahoma in the early 1980s and always enjoy mowing or driving around the yard.
       It sat in my driveway for several years and we opted to sell it to a collector and restorer in Oskaloosa. He gave us a fair price and went on to refurbish the tractor.
      I was able to take some photos of the refurbished Farmall 130 tractor in the Montezuma “Let Freedom Ring” Parade and wrote a story about it that was published in Farm Collector magazine.
      The tractor had a large dent in the front grill from the time my dad passed out from the heat while out mowing and ran into the back of the family Mercury.
       It happened to be a hot Oklahoma summer day. I’m sure my dad was thinking the grass needed mowing and due to the heat, probably should have waited until later.
      His buddy, Roger, was there at the time and saw what was happening. He was running after my dad and hollering his name. We are thankful Dad didn’t fall off or get hurt.
       Later, I was able to buy an Ertl toy tractor of the Farmall 130 at an toy store in Dyersville. 
      One of my favorite antique ventures is hunting for postcards. There are two postcard dealers at the Brass Armadillo who have an expansive offering of postcards, all of which are categorized by state, subject, farming, comical, World War II and much more. There’s even a chair and table at each dealer’s booth to use to sort through the boxes of postcards.
       Debbie will go one way and I will head to the postcard section.
      We also have enjoyed visiting antique stores in Hannibal, Kirksville, Columbia, Eldon, Marshfield, Ozark, Joplin and Lebanon in Missouri. All those cities and towns have nice antique malls. We have also visited antique malls in Illinois, Oklahoma and Kansas. 
     Going antique hunting on E-bay is another of our favorite pastimes. We have purchased a number of goodies through the on-line auction service. In fact, I’ve been buying on E-bay since 2004. My first purchase was a book on Buford Pusser, the legendary sheriff of McNary County, Tenn., who carried a big stick and kept law and order.
       His life was featured in a series of three DVDs from the 1970s. I remember seeing the first movie at a theater in Tulsa my senior year in high school.
       When buying on E-bay, be careful of the shipping costs. Some dealers have some steep prices to ship the items. Other sellers have high prices on their goods. Look around for the best deal and make your bid and leave it.
      Outside of collecting postcards, I enjoy collecting cigar boxes, Auburn rubber toy tractors, pop bottle openers, Pepsi collectables and seed corn booklets.
      Back in the day, seed corn dealers used to give their customers a pocket-size seed corn booklet. Some have various seed corn company history and others are blank or have charts to track prices and yields.
One seed corn booklet that I bought at the Old Threshers Reunion in Mount Pleasant a few years ago was used to record the farmer’s family tree.  It lists in detail the entire family.
       The seed corn books are colorful and full of history.
      What Cheer is another great place to find antique goodies if you are willing to do a lot of walking, dig through the treasures and have a pocketful of change. I like doing the digging, but I don’t have a pocketful of change, so I have to move on in some cases.
      I always enjoy entering my antiques in the Iowa State Fair. The antiques are located in Pioneer Hall. I typically win a few ribbons and once won a sweepstakes ribbon for my antique Will Rogers mantel clock.
       And now our oldest nephew enters antiques with us at the ISF. I enjoy the challenge and seeing who can pick up the most ribbons.
       And in recent years, we have purchased some items through auction services on-line and in person.
      We bought some Pepsi collectables through an auction from New York state and we also attended a two-day auction at a Pepsi bottler in northeast Missouri a few years ago. The owner had passed away and the family was selling his collection. It was amazing how much the Pepsi metal signs went for. They were all out of our price range.
      Debbie recently found a Barbie auction and had a great time digging through the large collection on-line and bidding on a few items.
     It is fun doing something we enjoy together. It’s all about the thrill of the hunt and enjoying God’s blessings.
       Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.

​       It might be cold outside, but when I’m visiting with folks, my heart is warm and happy no matter the temperature.
      And that was the case on Saturday, Feb. 8 at the 50th wedding anniversary of George and Jane Cline of Brooklyn.
       I was invited by the family to come take photos of the life milestone and celebration held at the Michael J. Manatt Community Center.
       It was surprise event hosted by their son, Seth, and his girlfriend, Amy.
       They had a nice a turnout and it was an enjoyable afternoon with good food.
       I met a lot of good people and reconnected with some I hadn’t seen in a while.
     I took time to visit with the couple at the end of the event and learned how the Clines made it to this milestone.
     “Compromise and give and take,” said Jane as she and George visited with a few remaining guests. “There were some bad times, but the good things outweighed the bad.”
     The couple met on a blind date and Jane said they went on their first date on Sept. 21, 1973. They were married on Feb. 8, 1975. George said the weather was much worse 50 years ago than on Saturday.
     Jane spent her early years in Guernsey before moving to Brooklyn in fourth grade. George is a life-long Brooklyn resident.
      When the couple married, George worked as farmhand. The couple was able to buy their first farm, an 80-acre spread west of Brooklyn, in 1993.
      The couple still has a cow calf operation and raises chickens.
      George worked for Sig Mfg. for 13 years, then spent a number of years at Victor Manufacturing, retiring in 2017.
       “He was a factory worker and a farmer,” said Jane of her husband.
      Jane worked as a proofreader at the Brooklyn Chronicle and spent time in the BGM kitchen cooking area youngster’s meals. She spent 20 years at Manatts as an accounting clerk and performed data entry in the trucking division. She retired in 2019.
       “Family is important,” said Jane of the day’s activities as she and George soaked it all in.
       What a wonderful story of hard work, faith and determination that led to their 50th wedding anniversary.
       Sitting at the table next to Jane and George reminded me of the importance of celebrating life.
       It’s easy to get busy in life and forget to celebrate your accomplishments and milestones.
       We all need to do a better job in the celebration department.
      It might be something as simple as overcoming an obstacle at work or reaching a milestone or celebrating a special day in your life.
       It doesn’t have to a big anniversary, it could be that you lost 15 - 20 pounds on a diet or you saved enough money to buy a new vehicle or you got out of debt or paid a loan off.
      There’s no limit to how you celebrate a milestone. Set goals and when you reach a goal, take time to be thankful and celebrate, then move on to the next step.
       It’s easy to put things off until later. Don’t let the busyness of life keep you from enjoying life.
       A few weeks ago on a Friday evening, I told Debbie that Valentines’ Day was going to be special this year.
      She was thinking that I was going to take her to some crowded fancy sit down restaurant. That was not the case.
      “We’re going to Culver’s,” I told her. “I’ll even go through the drive-through and eat in the car unless it’s too cold.
        “I might go inside,” Debbie said with a smile.
        I typically don’t buy roses and boxes of candy, but I do enjoy a double cheeseburger deluxe at Culver’s
     And Valentine’s Day is this week. About the only thing that will keep us from going is snow and bad weather. If that is the case, we will go as soon as possible.
      We had the opportunity last fall to make the trek to Hannibal, Mo., and the Lake of the Ozarks for a few days of rest, relaxation, good food and antique hunting in honor of our 20th wedding anniversary and my 65thbirthday. We had a great trip and came back refreshed and ready to tackle our dreams.
       I leave you with this - enjoy the day, the week and enjoy life! You are valuable and have talents that others need.
       Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.

         When it comes to finding story ideas, I can usually sniff out some good ones.
         That was the case the other day while scrolling through Facebook.
         I came across the Facebook page of The Iowa Gallivant, better known as Jay Jay Goodvin of Iowa City.
         His real name is Jay Goodvin, but he said when he says, “Jay Jay, people are more apt to hear him.”
    Goodvin has been traveling around the state for 11 years eating all kinds of foods from different restaurants and small town mom and pop eateries and then sharing videos of his experiences, all while giving the eatery a plug.
       He calls his fans Gallivant Nation and has quite a following on Tic Tok and other social media outlets. He calls himself a culinary crusader who is passionate about travel, food, family, overalls and the American Cornbelt.
       He’s been featured in the Des Moines Register, Ag Day, Farm Journal’s Pork and various other publications through the years. 
     So, I reached out to Goodvin recently and had the chance to interview him via telephone on Ground Hog Day.
      His most recent venture was eating a tenderloin in all 99 of Iowa counties. The project took 10 months and just wrapped up in late January. Goodvin will announce the winner of the best Gallivant tenderloin on Feb. 13 on social media. He will also announce his next statewide eating project on that day.
       When asked if the winning restaurant will get an award or trophy, Goodvin said, “They will get a nod from my favorite tenderloin and a spike in business will be their prize.”
     Before this project, Goodvin said he has been to every single county in Iowa multiple times eating everything from pizza to pasta, chili, pancakes, soups, salads, egg rolls, corn dogs and about anything else worth trying.
      Goodvin spent more than 20 years working in the restaurant and the hospitality industry before starting the Iowa Gallivant.
       “It started as an on-line family scrapbook project,” he said. “It turned into this beast.”
       When asked how he chooses a restaurant, Goodvin said he lets the locals and restaurant fan bases guide him.
      In Poweshiek County, he visited the Classic Deli in Brooklyn a couple months ago, where he enjoyed a tenderloin and some sides.
       He might show up at a restaurant wearing a pair of Key brand bib overalls or one his “Keep Gallivanting” T-shirts and Tenderloin and Chili ball caps.
       He sells T-shirts, bib overalls, ball caps and accessories on-line at tig.keyapparelstore.com.
       He carries a well-groomed beard along with a deep, inviting voice that makes you want to sit a spell, enjoy some iced tea and a visit.
     He doesn’t get paid for visiting the different restaurants, but said he funds his eating ventures by promoting different communities, organization and events on his travels.
       “Cities and communities hire me to do that while out traveling,” said Goodvin.
      He usually calls a restaurant the day before or the day off to let them know he’s going to stop by and make a video.
       “I think it is only fair that they know someone is going to be their making a video,” he said.
       A few years back, he traveled the state eating different kinds of sausage.
      “One of my favorite trips was Iowa’s Wurst Road Trip, casing the state for the best sausage,” he said. “That was hugely successful and I loved it.”
     That led him to write a book, Rural Iowa Sausage: History & Tradition of Brats on the Backroads, which was released in November 2023.
      The book features a story on Dayton Meats in Malcom.
     “Have your tried their homemade pies?” Goodvin asked me of Daytons.
     “I bought one once and put it in the freezer and forgot about it,” I replied.
     He went on to praise Dayton’s for their homemade pies. He said lard makes the best pies and there’s no better place to find lard than at a meat market.
     That’s making me hungry – not the lard, the pie.
     He does all of his own posting on social media with help from his wife. When he stops at a restaurant, his wife, or sometimes a customer, restaurant employee or someone in the restaurant will film him while he enjoys a tenderloin or some other kind of food.
     I mentioned that the next time he’s in Poweshiek County, I would love to meet and have my photo taken with him. I will put it right next to the Iowa Governor and a photo that Debbie and I have from the state fair with the now late Frank Fritz of American Pickers fame.
    And I mentioned to Debbie, that Goodvin would be a great speaker at our next All-Iowa Writers’ Conference in September.
      Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.

       The Kansas City Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl for a third straight year to tackle the Philadelphia Eagles for all the marbles.
       This is the Chiefs’ third trip in a row to the Super Bowl and fifth time in the last six years. Of the last four trips, the Chiefs have won twice against the San Francisco 49ers and beat the Eagles two years ago. They lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-9, in 2020.
      I’m OK with the Chiefs heading to the Super Bowl for a third straight year and I hope they can pull a three-peat off.
       If the Chiefs do, they will be the first team in NFL history to reach that milestone.
      I’m a long-time Dallas Cowboys fan and I admit, they stink. They have all kinds of talent, but something in the Big D just isn’t clicking as the they aren’t winning.
      The Cowboys have played in eight Super Bowls, winning five and losing three. During the 1990s stretch, the Cowboys won three games in four years.
      They beat the Buffalo Bills two years in a row, 1993 – 94, under Coach Jimmy Johnson.  The third Super Bowl win of that four-year stretch and the last for the Cowboys came in 1996 under the direction of former OU Football Coach Barry Switzer. Coach Tom Landry, who I got to see at a game, led the Cowboys in the other five Super Bowl games, winning two and losing three.
      I’ve attended seven Dallas Cowboys games in the old Texas Stadium, including two Monday Night games and five Thanksgiving Day games.
     Many moons ago, Johnson coached the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Switzer was at neighboring OU. There was a stretch of some 20 years that OU ruled OSU on the gridiron. Even with Heisman Trophy winner, Barry Sanders, OSU couldn’t beat OU.
      When Johnson took the Miami Hurricane gig, OU couldn’t win a game against them.
      In fact, Dallas Cowboy quarterback Troy Aikman, a Henrietta, Okla. native, started his college career at OU. In a game his freshman year against the Hurricane in Norman, he broke his leg and ended up sitting out a year before transferring to UCLA and taking the reins of the Bruins. 
     Since folks will be filling their refrigerators with cold ones, picking up some steaks, loading up with chips and dips and inviting family and friends over to watch the big game, I thought this would be a great time to share some Super Bowl history and trivia.
      The Buffalo Bills have the most consecutive appearances in the Super Bowl with four from 1990 – 1993. They are also one of two teams to lose four Super Bowls. For the Bills, it was four in a row.
      In addition to their recent success, the Chiefs lost to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl 1 on Jan. 15, 1967. In Super Bowl 4, the Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings, 23-7. They didn’t make it to the Super Bowl again until 2020. That’s a 53 year stretch.
       The Minnesota Vikings have played in four Super Bowls from 1970 – 1977, losing all four games. They lost to the Chiefs as earlier mentioned and the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl 13, losing that game, 16-6. They also lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 32-14 in 1976 and the Oakland Raiders, 32-14 in 1977.
      When I was in junior high or middle school as some call it these days in the early 1970s Vikings Coach Bud Grant would bring the team to Tulsa during playoff games to practice at Skelly Stadium, home of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. News reports that I have read, say the team came to Tulsa to get away from ice and snow in Minneapolis because they didn’t have an indoor practice facility.
      Another report I read was that then Vikings General Manager Jim Finks, a former TU and Pittsburg Steelers quarterback, was the connection that landed the team in Tulsa to practice.
       I never tried to sneak in, but reports say the practices were closed to the public.
      It seems one year while they were in town, it snowed in Tulsa. Skelly Stadium is on Route 66 just more than one-half mile from my boyhood home.
        The Steelers won two consecutive Super Bowls in 1975 – 76 and again in 1979 – 80.
       The Miami Dolphins appeared in three consecutive Super Bowls, winning the last two. And I can’t forget about the New England Patriots, who have appeared in 11 Super Bowls, winning against the St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons and the Los Angeles Rams.
      The Patriots were eliminated in the AFC Championship Game to eventual Super Bowl 50 Champs, the Denver Broncos. The Patriots and Broncos are tied for the most Super Bowl losses at five.
      And the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) have played in five Super Bowls, winning three and losing two. I once got to meet the Washington Redskins Mascot in Dallas and purchase some Redskin goodies, including a “Hogs” T-shirt and ball cap.
        Do you remember Redskins fans dressing up in hog outfits complete with big noses?
      There are four NFL teams who have not played in a Super Bowl – Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
         I was kind of hoping the Lions would have got it done this year. As my football savvy nephew said, “I’m not surprised with all their injuries.”
     And of course, I can’t forget about the Chicago Bears beating the Patriots, 46-10, in 1986. Do you remember the William “Refrigerator” Perry Super Bowl Shuffle?
         I haven’t come close to touching on all the Super Bowl history and trivia in this column.
         No matter which team wins, it’s the Super Bowl. My hope is that the commercials will be great again this year.
         Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.

​       It was a cold, wet Saturday morning in mid-September 1997. I had turned off Highway 63 and was headed north on Iowa 149 through a detour toward Delta.
         Iowa 149 goes through Sigourney and then North English, but was detoured through Delta due to road work.
        As the rain pelted on my windshield and the swishing sounds of my wiper blades rubbing across the glass rang in my ears, my mind took a few moments to reflect on my decision to apply for a newspaper job in Iowa with Marengo Publishing Company. MPC was owners of newspapers in North English, Williamsburg, Marengo, Montezuma, Brooklyn, Belle Plaine and another paper in southern Benton County.
        I had learned about the company though my photojournalism instructor at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He knew a fellow at MPC who earned his master’s degree at MU and knew that I was considering working for a small town newspaper.
        As I tooled along, the Iowa Hawkeyes were playing football on the radio. I had finished my coursework at MU, but still had a couple incompletes to wrap up before receiving my degree. 
        As I tooled along in my Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck, I was thinking about the weather and the crazy idea of living north of Missouri in Iowa.
        I interviewed for the editor’s position at the Williamsburg Journal-Tribune on the first visit, but didn’t get the job. It would be three months later in December 1997 when Alan Sieve with MPC, who I interviewed with in September, would come calling with another job offer.
       He had a position at the North English Record and was looking for an editor. He liked me, but was a bit unsure about my lack of experience in reporting on such things as the school board and city council.
       At MU, I spent a summer semester working the news desk at the Columbia Missourian, a student-ran daily newspaper that gives journalism students an opportunity for on-the-job training. The editors at the Missourian are students earning their master’s and Ph.Ds. 
        My focus at the Missourian was covering the rural areas and writing feature stories. I didn’t cover local politics and education. I was more interesting in cover agriculture and rural areas.
        When Alan called the second time, I was on the road with my brother in his 18-wheeler. He was driving for Mayflower Van Lines. We had picked up a load of furniture in Detroit and was headed for Tulsa when Alan called.
        I stopped at the Landmark in Williamsburg and was interviewed for the North English job in the back seat of a Ford Focus. I landed the job a week later on Christmas Eve and began working for the Record on Dec. 29.
         When asked during the interview if I had any concerns, I touched on the snow and cold.
       I dove right into my job at the Record and remember my first school board meeting in January 1998. I remember sitting in my pickup in the school parking lot praying and asking God to guide me. The board meeting lasted until after midnight.
        My lack of experience gave me the desire to learn beyond college. It was my job and I was going to make the best of it. And in the process, I made many friends and connections and raised the subscription and store copy sales of the Record greatly.
        Iowa is a beautiful state and I met my lovely bride at the Iowa State Fair.
       Now that I have lived in Iowa for just more than 27 years, I still don’t like the winter weather. And I sure don’t care for the snow.
      I’ve endured the Iowa Vortex a half of dozen years ago when temperatures reached -22 degrees below zero and windchills where in the deep freeze. And just this last week, temperatures dropped to -10 with cold windchills.
        It didn’t take me long to learn the importance of wearing multiple layers of clothing to stay warm.
      The cold leads to schools starting late, canceling ball games and even companies shutting down early or closing due to the weather.
      That’s too cold for this southern boy. It got below zero in Tulsa on occasion and we had some terrible snow and ice storms that shut the town down for days at a time. There were no plows in Oklahoma, at least when I was growing up, so the snow and ice melted during the day and refroze during the nighttime. 
       I took many spills on the ice and remember on occasion pulling my sled piled with newspapers through my customers’ yards to deliver the daily news.
        I’m glad to be in Iowa, still delivering the news. As for the cold weather and snow, it can stay to the north. And spring is just around the corner and so are good things to come.
       Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.