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Nov 20, 2024: Tepid Tapioca On November 22, 1986, my 14-year-old self watched a 20-year-old Mike Tyson become the youngest heavy-weight boxing champion ever when he knocked out …
Nov 6, 2024: Middle Cookie Do you remember when you were a kid and your parents were painting the garage or the house or most anything, and the absolute best way that you could …
Oct 16, 2024: Night Rider's Lament I looked up from my guitar as I was singing “Night Rider’s Lament” to see tears streaming down Don’s face. Don is in his 80s, residing in a hospice …
Oct 2, 2024: Back to the Future September 24th, 1994 doesn’t seem that long ago. In comparison, it seems much nearer than the 30-years Marty McFly traversed from 1985 back to 1955 in …
Sep 18, 2024: Ours & Theirs A few weeks ago, we made the 400-mile jaunt from Rapid City to upstate North Dakota to be a part of my brother Gabe’s 40th birthday celebration. There …
Sep 4, 2024: Dr. Kid A handful of times over the past few years I’ve had to drag my aging body in to be inspected by various medical professionals for the evaluation and …
Aug 21, 2024: Sort Of Between June 29th and July 21st, I spent a fair bit of time galivanting around various parts of Italy and France, before zeroing in on Paris …
Aug 7, 2024: Palindrome As has been the case for the past 25-years, my July 17th birthday conveniently occurred one day after my sons July 16th birthday. Every single year …
Jul 17, 2024: High Five On July 4th, as the sun began to descend, and various iterations of rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air ascended into the evening sky, a …
Jul 3, 2024: Making Hay Welcome to July. Where June went, I can’t say for sure. It was here one minute, I turned around to ascertain whether or not my bikini line was …
Jun 19, 2024: Chautauqua As stated on the Robert Pirsig Association website, “April 15th, 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of the publication of Zen and the Art of …
Jun 5, 2024: Hickey Happy June to you. I was thinking the other day that it’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone sporting a hickey on their neck. Have …
May 15, 2024: Every Song I hope you all had a lovely Mother’s Day, or at the very least, a mildly tolerable Sunday. Mildly tolerable doesn’t seem to be too much to …
May 1, 2024: HONK HONK What is the purpose of car alarms? There is a pickup on campus that seems to be of the sensitive sort, as a wisp of the slightest breeze or the …
Apr 17, 2024: Off Trail A bit of Spring weather found the Black Hills this weekend, prompting many a folk to get out and about in the various manner folks like to get out and …
Apr 3, 2024: Jaunty Hair Irish music, or to be more precise, Irish songs, are a form of musical expression that have been a part of my life for pert near a quarter century. I …
Mar 20, 2024: SCENES I have been a professor in the Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Department at Chadron State College for 10-years, a pretty good gig that I feel …
Mar 6, 2024: Stout Memories I don’t know for certain if I remember the actual event, or if I think I remember the event because I’ve seen the pictures, and have heard …
Feb 21, 2024: Premeditation Malorum A cousin of mine was looking for some home video footage of our Grandpa, Fritz Ellis, for a project he is working on. The footage in question is from …
Feb 7, 2024: Alice Those that are concerned about robots taking over the world and subjecting us human types to lives of servitude to their robot needs, wants, and …
Jan 17, 2024: Fittingly Gritty I hope you Upstate North Dakota folks are happy, you ordered so much bitterly cold weather that the state couldn’t hold it all and some spilled …
Jan 3, 2024: Contentment Happy New Year to you and anyone else wanting and/or needing such a year. Happy, that is, not so much new, that ship has sailed. One can obviously get …
Dec 20, 2023: Fermenting Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths, Enwrought with golden and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths Of night and light and the …
Dec 6, 2023: Friends and Children Jackson, our son, has been driving for UPS for a little over a year now. Keeping the fine folks of the Black Hills area supplied with all the wants …
Nov 1, 2023: Funded Each year around this time the college foundation and alumni office organizes a Fall Fund Drive to raise money for student scholarships and such. A …
Oct 18, 2023: Skin Deep I recently paid a visit to my dermatologist, not a social visit, rather my annual visit to pay the piper for years of joyous exposure to life under …
Oct 4, 2023: Carry On For those of you that are completely color blind, I thought I’d inform you that autumn is settling into the trees, and, in a blaze of glory, the …
Sep 20, 2023: Dead Mans Hat We’ve lived in Rapid City for about 25-years, and every few months or so of each of those years, I’ve found myself strolling and perusing …
Sep 6, 2023: Cooks Choice Have you ever fell down a rabbit hole? You go to the World Wide Web in search of some quick little tidbit of information only to emerge from a …
Aug 23, 2023: Indispensible On November 3rd, 2004, the Ramblings column made its debut here in the Burke County Tribune. Pert near 19-years and roughly 450 columns submitted on …
Aug 2, 2023: Pringles As we move through life, experiences accumulate, some we would like to experience again, some we would prefer to avoid, and some settle indifferently …
Jul 19, 2023: Little Human Things The other day I realized that I am closer in age to those that are 60 than to those whippersnapper 40-year-olds. I wish I’d stop realizing such …
Jul 5, 2023: A River It took a few more days into camping season than is customary, but our 1967 Aristocrat Lo-Liner camper finally got out of the yard for a 6-day …
Jun 21, 2023: Eternal Recurrence When we last spoke I was preparing to traverse the 1,300 miles between Grenville, South Dakota, and Houston, Texas, in the company of a two-man …
Jun 7, 2023: In Stereo Have you ever suggested something well in advance of something that was to occur and then wonder what you were thinking as the reality of that …
May 17, 2023: In the End In the end…all was well, but in the beginning, or more accurately, the time leading up to the beginning, had moments of trepidation. Many moons …
May 5, 2023: Look Tired It’s a glorious week. It is finals week on campus. That week when some students suddenly become interested in, or more accurately, concerned …
Apr 19, 2023: Stuff Have you ever been engaged in the task of seeking out and purchasing a new vehicle, when, seemingly overnight, the particular make, model, and color …
Apr 5, 2023: Chased Welcome to April. The month charged with providing showers to supply May with flowers. The transitional and temperamental conditions of April make for …
Mar 15, 2023: Cold Cut Coma My wife and I just returned home from a trip to visit our daughter, Sierra, in Brooklyn. She’s doing well, but the ebb and flow, and the fits …
Mar 1, 2023: The 3B Effect It’s been quite a few years since I owned a bathrobe. Exactly how many years, I can’t recall? Perhaps somewhere around 1980, just before I …
Feb 15, 2023: Kleenex and Costume Jewelry My wife and I are friends with a couple that lives in Helena, Montana, and every so often we try and meet for weekend getaway somewhere between Rapid …
Feb 1, 2023: Shiny Shoes Month two, the new year is old news. The “New You”, that you resolved to bring to fruition last month, quarreled and scuffled with Old …
Jan 18, 2023: Megaplied Life My wife informed me that the Mega Millions Lottery had climbed pretty high the other day, and that if I was feeling lucky, I should buy a ticket or …
Jan 4, 2023: 2022 Roundup Another year come-and-gone. They seem to be picking up speed? The years, not me. Thank you for spending a few minutes with me the first and third …
Dec 21, 2022: Man VS Beast “Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings.” That’s fine and dandy little miss Zuzu Bailey, but in our house, every time a …
Dec 7, 2022: Selfless and Kind As humans, we are aware of our precarious finitude within the infinite expanses of time. We know that there is a day, somewhere down the road, that …
Nov 16, 2022: Grandma Helen Like many of you, the day I was born, I had four grandparents to welcome me into this world. Four individuals, that many years prior to my arrival, …
Nov 2, 2022: Zen Masters Our daughter asked me, “What about being a child do I miss the most?” Good question. I was fortunate enough to have a tremendously …
Oct 19, 2022: Aloof Well for those of you without access to a calendar, smartphone, or contact with anyone other than your cat, it is a good spell into the month of …
Oct 5, 2022: Wilson As many of you are aware, due to my endless lamenting and carrying on, we had to lay our 13-year old black lab, Pre, to rest this past December. He …
Sep 21, 2022: Tea Time When I was a kid I wanted to be many things. I wanted to be a cowboy like John Wayne, ride high in the saddle, walk with a swagger, outdraw, and out …
Sep 7, 2022: Gus and Call Mystery solved. Back in May of 2021, I wrote “Sublet Piglet”, a column where I explored the possible reason or provocation behind a …
Aug 17, 2022: VROOM VROOM With the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in full swing, it’s been a noisy week here in the Black Hills, and all the extra people moving about has …
Aug 3, 2022: Ideal Enough Welcome to August. The first days of which bring to mind all of the things that you had planned on doing this summer. Back in March, April, and May, …
Jul 20, 2022: Clubbed I don’t know how they knew, but they can leave me alone, and they can keep their free insulated trunk organizer. My trunk doesn’t need …
Jul 6, 2022: Independence I hope you had an enjoyable Independence Day doing whatever it is you like to do on such days. Fittingly, I just returned from a trip to Philadelphia, …
Jun 15, 2022: Lucky Man Lying on my back in the thick soft grass on the summit of Mount Brandon, Cnoc Breanainn in Irish, with my head propped up on my backpack, I watched …
Jun 1, 2022: Should Be Happy June to you. I hope your summer gets well spent, and come September, you have a stack of fond memories to add to your ever-expanding album of …
May 18, 2022: My Mom For Christmas this past year, my daughter got me a gift that, in the words of cousin Eddy on National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, “keeps …
May 4, 2022: Brother-In-Law On the afternoon of April 30th, we got word that our brother-in-law Chad had died peacefully with my sister Amanda and his family by his side, in the …
Apr 20, 2022: Benefits Growing up in a small town you become quite accustomed to seeing flyers for benefits being held for individuals and families that are going through a …
Apr 6, 2022: Mort Happy Spring. Hope you are enjoying, or at a minimum, adequately enduring, all that spring brings to your world. I had a fairly productive garage/pub …
Mar 16, 2022: Long Ride The other day I was pondering all the stupid stuff I’ve done. Well, maybe not all, but some, I didn’t have all day. The things that could …
Mar 2, 2022: Round and Round As we arrive at a point on the calendar where there could possibly be more winter behind us than in front, I was thinking of family vacations we took …
Feb 16, 2022: Communiter As you are most likely aware, the Winter Olympics are in full swing. Young folks from all over the world have gathered in China to flip, spin, twirl, …
Feb 2, 2022: Be Present At the beginning of each semester, during the first day of each of my classes, a day that generally falls under the topic of “Course …
Jan 19, 2022: Pass the Crayons Bacon, side pork, pork chops, ham, pork rinds, crayons, suede shoes…now a heart. A few days ago, a living beating heart was taken from a pig …
Jan 5, 2022: Pre The definition of the word buddy is “a close friend”. I’m generally the last to call it a night in our household. Making the nightly …
Dec 15, 2021: Hot One Once upon a time, April 11, 1969, to be exact, my Mom and Dad had their first date. As Mom tells it… It was a hot one from the get go. My …
Dec 1, 2021: Time Share I’m happy to report that the family has successfully rescued a pine tree from the cold and scary forest to live out the remainder of its days in …
Nov 17, 2021: 100 Yards Out There are many things in life that we wind up classifying as “a 9-iron”, that is, they “looked good from about 100-yards out.” …
Nov 3, 2021: The Good Ones A few weeks ago, Dawn and I headed north for a visit. As is generally the case, we didn’t have much of anything particular planned for our …
Oct 20, 2021: In the End She decided it was time to make some changes in her life. Where to start? She decides to start this endeavor the same manner in which she starts most …
Oct 6, 2021: Dead Ringer Finger Pistols Frank was the best horseshoe thrower in the county, just ask him. Each year during the Labor Day Weekend Family Fun Days Celebration, …
Sep 15, 2021: Precious Cargo How often do you witness something that makes your eyebrows lunge for your hairline as your eyes involuntarily widen and your jaw slackens while …
Sep 1, 2021: 1854 I am always a bit hesitant to tell people what they should see, where they should go, or what they should do when I hear they are going somewhere that …
Aug 4, 2021: Dedication The bookend of summer is upon us. Happy August. The Olympics are in full swing in Tokyo, and over the past few days track and field events have begun …
Jul 21, 2021: Once Was I’ve known for quite some time that it is time to stop doing something that I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember, but I’ve …
Jul 7, 2021: Boreless We humans form emotional attachments to many things, automobiles, animals (both stuffed and sentient), lucky socks, and sometimes, whether they like …
Jun 2, 2021: Good Day On June 8th, 1996 Dawn and I were united in marriage at a destination wedding in Webster, South Dakota. As this was before Google, we had to rely on …
May 19, 2021: Real World Sometimes it seems as though the blinking cursor on the white page of the Microsoft Word document sitting empty before me on my computer screen is …
May 5, 2021: Sublet Piglet Happy May. Along South Dakota Highway 79, somewhere between Buffalo Gap and Hot Springs, just inside a stretch of barbed wire there sits an old …
Apr 21, 2021: For NOTHING When we last “spoke” my brother and I were being sent to our rooms for eating vegetables. “Eat your vegetables…eat your …
Apr 7, 2021: RePass the Carrots I decided to venture into the Ramblings archives for this week’s column. “Pass the Carrots” appeared in the Burke Country Tribune on …
Mar 17, 2021: Credit Giving credit where credit is due has most likely been a major tenet of being a decent human since the dawn of human realization that being decent was …
Mar 3, 2021: Jocularity Whenever my good friend Paul asks, “what do you have going on the weekend of….?”, I can generally be sure that he’s asking …
Feb 17, 2021: Ten Toes You happy? Winter heard us yammering on and on about the mild temperatures we’ve been having, the taunts of wearing shorts in January, the …
Feb 3, 2021: RIP For those of you that are not on our Christmas card list (you know why), I thought I’d share our 2020 goings on…what there was of it. …
Jan 20, 2021: Total Loss Well it’s been a wild and woolly start for 2021 here in the U.S. of A. I’m hoping to hang my hat on the old adage, “this too shall …
Jan 6, 2021: Three Questions Happy New Year to you, yours, and anyone else in need of such. As is generally the case, this time of year there is plenty of content flooding the …
Dec 16, 2020: FortyNine Dear Mom and Dad, as you are most likely aware, on December 18th your holy matrimony odometer will roll over to 49. 49-years! …
Dec 2, 2020: Forever Place Here we are, somewhere in time between the holiday trifecta of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. This time, like many times in our lives, …
Nov 18, 2020: Stick It Our car has a manual transmission, a stick-shift, four-on-the-floor, actually six on the middle console, but that doesn’t have the same rhyme …
Nov 4, 2020: Pert Near Happy November. November is a sneaky month, a month that sort of hides out between fall and full-on winter. Then it leaps out from behind a leafless …
Oct 21, 2020: The Queen I received word from my mom the other day that Marlis Glaspey had passed away. Part of living, being alive, and taking part in this life is that we …
Oct 7, 2020: Panthers and Eskimos “Have a good day sir”…“Good morning sir”…“Good afternoon sir”…I’m suspicious of a …
Sep 16, 2020: Final Note Wildfire season comes and goes each year with varying amounts of acreage burned, structures lost, and sadly, lives lost. In passing, we might see the …
Sep 2, 2020: The Bridge I don’t know him, I never will, but I will most likely see an image of him for quite some time. Maybe that’s all he wanted? Just wanted to …
Aug 19, 2020: The Arena After many months of plague induced recess, it’s back-to-school time for many, myself included. This August is going to be a bit different than …
Aug 5, 2020: Little Log Cabin Happy August. The time machine seems to have slipped into a higher gear the past few weeks. There’s a lot more summer stretching off into the …
Jul 1, 2020: The Boy I was conducting a roundup of stuff that is no longer of use to our family, so that it could be donated to those that it may be of use to. This …
Jun 17, 2020: Memories In lieu of my husband writing to you this week, I inquired if he wouldn’t mind if I would be able to write this week’s edition. He …
Jun 3, 2020: DeGenerate Prior to the plague, Dawn and I had planned to spend Mother’s Day weekend in Brooklyn with our daughter Sierra. Mother’s Day coincided …
May 20, 2020: Your Town Last year, towards the end of summer, we were in Lignite for a visit, and to be a part of the celebration of Doc Steven’s 90th Birthday party. …
May 6, 2020: Dullardness Happy Cinco de Mayo hangover my friends. Hopefully your feet didn’t swell too much from all that margarita salt, and you weren’t able to …
Apr 15, 2020: I Miss Halfway through many of the days of the past few weeks, I’ve taken pause from whatever it is I’m doing, and think, or more often than not, …
Apr 1, 2020: Wonky World I hope the plague has left you alone to tend to your shelter in place business…whatever that business may be. No questions asked, no …
Mar 18, 2020: Spray Zone I hope this column finds you well, or at least well enough. Our varying degrees of well are dependent upon a variety of factors, some of which we can …
Mar 4, 2020: Snowball Smirk We’ve had a few days of heavy snow, followed by warm temperatures, optimum snowball weather. This got me thinking, “does one ever outgrow …
Feb 19, 2020: Wildwood Gang Now that our blood glucose levels have begun to stabilize from the St. Valentine’s Day dietary massacre, we can dare to begin entertaining …
Jan 15, 2020: Melancholy It’s that time of year I suppose, one eye looking nostalgically back and the other prophetically forward, leaving us somewhere in the middle and …
Jan 5, 2020: Johnny Castle January is gone, the new year is old news, and reversion to the status quo is now in full effect. Step off the treadmill, it’ll still be there …
Jan 1, 2020: Our 2019 Many moons ago, when the kids were kids, and so were my wife and I, I began writing a Christmas letter to send out to friends and family each year. …
Dec 18, 2019: Elizabeth It is with anticipation and gratitude that we prep for our journey to upstate North Dakota to join family in the celebration of several rounds of …
Dec 4, 2019: Hope For the past few years I’ve made Robert Pirsig’s book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values, required reading …
Nov 20, 2019: Final Keeper Just as I’m sure it has for you a time or two, occasionally an odd thought occurs to me, possibly leaning more towards frequently than …
Nov 6, 2019: Suits Her Well, she’s a New Yorker now, or perhaps an aspiring Brooklynite trying to overcome a distinctively nondescript Midwestern accent. Either way, …
Oct 16, 2019: Brooklyn Bound In July of 1909 my Great-Grandfather, Josef Gins, at the ripe old age of 15, left his home in Durningen Germany, made a 12 mile trip to Strasbourg …
Oct 2, 2019: Fall “The ground was littered with folks that had fallen from the tree.” What tree? I have no idea. Family tree? Possibly, those branches can …
Sep 18, 2019: Senior Partner The fall semester is already half-way to half-way. Four-weeks in, and all is well thus far, good students, enjoyable courses, and a seemingly minimal …
Sep 4, 2019: Heading North As we prepare to head north to help Dad celebrate his birthday, I ponder firstly, that after 68 birthdays Dad probably doesn’t need any help …
Aug 21, 2019: Slainte Each year for the past 40 years the Irish Fair of Minnesota has been bringing a bit of Ireland to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Specifically, since …
Aug 7, 2019: Eudaimonia I’m sure I’ve spoke of much of this before, but it’s on my mind, and like many of my students, you probably weren’t paying …
Jul 17, 2019: Lucky Hello, this is Josh’s wife, Dawn, and I requested to be his guest writer for this week’s article and my husband obliged. I hope you all …
Jul 3, 2019: Doc This past weekend I was fortunate enough to take part in a 90th birthday celebration for Doc Stevens. There was a large crowd of well-wishers in …
Jun 19, 2019: We Had Plans She woke him at around five in the morning, and said, “We have water in our basement.” He stirred slightly, as a slight stir is generally …
Jun 5, 2019: Roll With It Each summer I try and immerse myself in the process of increasing my understanding about a particular area of interest and curiosity. As one in …
May 15, 2019: Sip It In Happy Mother’s Day to thee who have gone boldly forward and fully accepted their fate amongst the royal order of the motherly persuasion. …
May 12, 2019: Dreaming Tree Under the dreaming tree on Mother’s Day Breezes shift Branches sway Birds sing Shadows dance Under the dreaming tree on Mother’s Day Time …
May 1, 2019: Box of Nonsense Here we go again. Get ready folks, it’s time to start stereotyping and denigrating a new generation of young people. Move over Millennials, pop …
Apr 17, 2019: Will We Nick Linn is a musician I’ve gotten to know here in Rapid City, who plays piano and sings at various bars around town on occasion. The reason …
Apr 3, 2019: Well Placed Sometimes I think I can just go there, and everything will be the same. That little house with the flat-topped roof or the farm south of town. I think …
Mar 20, 2019: The Wall The calendar says that spring is here. Judging by the twinge in my low-back from wielding a snow shovel, Mother Nature, Old Man Winter, Willard …
Mar 6, 2019: Floored In case you haven’t noticed, it’s still more than a bit wintery outside our windows here in the Dakota’s. Snow is generally …
Feb 20, 2019: Puffy Pleats Awhile back there was a newspaper article headline that caught my attention, “Deer Poacher Sentenced to Watch “Bambi” Once a …
Feb 6, 2019: Offal Experience A few months back we bought half a beef from my wife’s hairdresser. To be clear, Dawn doesn’t go to a meat locker to get her hair done, …
Jan 16, 2019: Things We tend to accumulate a lot of “things” as we move through life. Some of these things are for a specific use, such as a toaster oven or a …
Dec 19, 2018: Grade A Another semester is in the gradebook. The book told various academic stories, some ending in triumph, some in tragedy, and most lingering somewhere in …
Dec 5, 2018: Tradition Happy December. Many of you are most likely treading around, elf ears deep, in the rising tide of the holiday season, lashing yule logs together to …
Nov 21, 2018: Group Work Happy Thanksgiving. I’m in week 14 of our 16 week fall semester, that time of the semester when niceties are approaching their limits and the …
Nov 7, 2018: General Merriment A few weeks back, a clan of sorts convened at our cabin in Montana for the First Annual Colter Wall Singing Bee and general merriment. If you …
Oct 17, 2018: Duty I was doing laundry the other day, and I began to wonder what it is exactly that people who have a full-time staff of maids, chefs, butlers, …
Oct 3, 2018: Our Dance On September 24th my wife and I celebrated our 24th year of “being an item”. It was homecoming week 1994 at Northern State University, …
Sep 19, 2018: Time Thievery I propose that at the conclusion of any workplace meeting a vote should be taken to determine if those subjected to the meeting found it useful in any …
Sep 5, 2018: Empty Nest Dawn and I have been empty nesters for a whole two weeks now, but it feels closer to forever since all of us were occupying the same space in life. …
Aug 15, 2018: Whoopee It seems that when we read headlines, and sometimes even the corresponding article lingering hopefully below the headline, we are drawn to those that …
Aug 1, 2018: Odd Time is odd. People are odd. The blink of time each of us get to breathe in and breathe out in the company of others attempting to do the same is …
Jul 18, 2018: Signs I’m not much of a believer in “signs”, as it seems to me that we can contrive whatever meaning suits us from whatever it may be that …
Jul 4, 2018: Month of the Week I spent a month in Huron, South Dakota, one week…last week actually. I think it was last week anyway, it felt like one very, very long day. I …
Jun 20, 2018: Economy Class To celebrate and commemorate endings and beginnings, something out of the ordinary is generally in order. Our family decided on a European graduation …
Jun 6, 2018: Questions It was a busy spring for the Ellis family. College graduation for our daughter, state tennis tournament and high school graduation for our son. Many …
May 16, 2018: Her Place About five years ago I took our daughter to Montana State University in Bozeman for a campus visit to see if it might be the kind of place she would …
May 2, 2018: I Swear “Did that make you feel better?” I have good news backed by actual scientific research conducted by actual scientist type people on actual …
Apr 18, 2018: Mirror, Mirror I was looking forward to spring, but I guess the Daisy Dukes will have to wait until summer. A few days back, a balmy 60 degrees if memory serves me, …
Apr 4, 2018: Silent Howl I’m toying with the idea of becoming a guru. Wikipedia tells me that “in Sanskrit, Guru means the one who dispels the darkness and takes …
Mar 21, 2018: Screened In This is a noisy world, a world of sensory excess, and this excess seems to expand its reach further and further with each passing day. Bit-by-bit, …
Mar 7, 2018: Life and Limb My wife and I were recently in California for a conference in Anaheim, and strangely enough millions of people in a relatively small area makes for …
Feb 21, 2018: Creative Memories When my brother Jarvis and I were in elementary school our bedtime was 9:00pm, which meant that we were in bed and sound asleep not a minute past …
Feb 7, 2018: Concerns Going to our cabin in Montana during the dog days of winter is always enjoyable. Well actually, being at the cabin during the winter is enjoyable, …
Jan 3, 2018: Certified Another year has teetered and tipped into the abyss of the past, but worry not my friends, the abyss of the future stretches before you. How far does …
Dec 20, 2017: Round For those of you that aren’t on our Christmas card mailing list (you know why) I thought I’d share this year’s letter with you. …
Dec 6, 2017: Dearly Departed Often times when I’m standing in front of a class of 18 to 22 year-old college students I feel the need to bring a bit of harsh reality to their …
Nov 15, 2017: Fantasia We headed west a few weeks back, predominately uphill, through wind, snow, and dark of night, so that the family could be together to celebrate the …
Nov 15, 2017: The Edges There are many edges in life. Some we approach knowingly, willingly, courageously and others unwittingly, blindly. Most have moments of choice …
Nov 1, 2017: Fine Mess Legends and myths are commonplace this time of year, and each generally have threads of truth winding through them. When you find that thread, and you …
Oct 18, 2017: Ruin There was a time, not so long ago, that we innocently viewed “getting your bell rung” as an indelible part of many sports. Simply a part …
Oct 4, 2017: Quarter-Century My wife and I recently ventured to Aberdeen, South Dakota, for the Northern State University homecoming festivities, along with a few friends that are …
Sep 20, 2017: Unreal “They seemed like such a real person, so normal, and so down to earth.” Have you ever heard anyone proclaim something along those lines …
Sep 6, 2017: Then What We have two seniors. No this isn’t the beginning of a ransom note that arrived at the retirement home shortly after it was discovered by the …
Aug 16, 2017: Grandma Rose It is said that we stand upon a narrow precipice between the vast abys of past and future, between all that has been and all that is yet to be. A …
Aug 2, 2017: Place Holders These vagabond shoes just returned from a few days of baseball, sightseeing, and several miles of walkabouts in New York City. I’ve been to NYC …
Jul 19, 2017: Good Man Well “The Boy” turned 18 this Sunday, and I, the number doesn’t matter much anymore, but I managed to make 45 on Monday. Five more …
Jul 5, 2017: Sundae Cone It’s been a hot few weeks here of late, as is generally expected in the summer I suppose. Expected, but seemingly always surprising. We slowly …
Jun 21, 2017: In Reality Happy Father’s Day to all you fine folks that answer to the call of “Dad” or whatever brand of call your children have settled on. I …
Jun 7, 2017: About and Around A happy June to you and yours. I was fortunate enough to ring in the month with four days of general puttering about and farting around at our cabin. …
May 17, 2017: Back-Up It seems as though the professed imminent demise of anything and everything that is real is demonstrating to be greatly exaggerated. By …
May 3, 2017: Well Spent Check another milestone off the old teenage “rite of passage” list for our son Jackson. “I don’t understand what the purpose …
Apr 19, 2017: Genius Do you live in a place that has proven itself to be a hotbed of creativity and genius? Can a geographical location foster creativity and genius? …
Apr 5, 2017: Be Loud We’ve started off the month with a few showers, and according to most of the elementary teachers that attempted to teach me many moons ago, …
Mar 15, 2017: Spring Broke The Spring Break weather wasn’t all that spring-like, but more often than not, that happens around this neck of the woods. My wife and I had …
Mar 1, 2017: Cheeky Last year, this point in time marked the end of February. This year, this point in time marks the beginning of March. A leapless year has left us a …
Feb 15, 2017: Know Better I should know better by now. I should know that the picture of Grandpa Ardell and Grandma Rose’s farm hanging on my wall shouldn’t be …
Feb 1, 2017: Knot-Headedness This just in, effective immediately, Facebook is changing their name to “I’m Right You’re Wrong and You’re an Idiot For Not …
Jan 18, 2017: Boxed Out I find all of the titles or labels ascribed to various generations of Americans to be useless, annoying, and seemingly contrived by the previous …
Jan 17, 2017: Good or Bad There’s a Zen-like proverb that can be found in many variations if a-Googling-you-go. I’m not sure of the original source. Sometimes, when …
Jan 4, 2017: Time As you are most likely aware, another year has recently been put to rest. Rest in peace 2016, thank you for your time. If you were not aware of this, …
Dec 21, 2016: Our Year For those that aren’t on our Christmas card list (you know why) I thought I’d share a bit of our goings on over the past year. First, a …
Dec 7, 2016: Chronic Bouts It’s that time of year. That time of year when the final few weeks of a sixteen week semester marks the beginning of some student’s sudden …
Nov 16, 2016: Characters Mission accomplished. Our daughter Sierra’s longtime wish of celebrating her 21st birthday in Lignite at the 109 Club was a rousing success. It …
Nov 3, 2016: Roughly On November 3rd, 2004 my first attempt at “Ramblings” was published in this newspaper, and in the twelve years between that day and this, …
Oct 19, 2016: Rock of Ages I’ve always enjoyed a good sit-and-sway in a porch swing or the rhythmic rock-and-creak of an old rocking chair. Each have their own rhythm, …
Oct 5, 2016: Kids Nowadays I recently was in Salt Lake City to attend and present at a conference with a few of my colleagues. I won’t bore you with the details of the …
Sep 21, 2016: Delightful I rarely watch the news on television, but I do enjoy reading the newspaper each day to find out all the local, and worldly, goings-on. Reading the …
Sep 7, 2016: Homesick Storms Well it’s back-to-school time for the Ellis gang. Sierra headed west for her junior year at Montana State in Bozeman and Jackson is commencing …
Aug 17, 2016: Two Weeks Every four years, around this time of year, I find myself watching more television in a two week span than I do during the other 50 weeks of the year …
Aug 3, 2016: Noble Clan The Ellis clan, from the Fritz and Helen branch of the tree, are having a reunion in Lignite this weekend. Any and all are invited to come and visit …
Jul 20, 2016: Up 44 The Lignite Community Calendar hanging on the wall in our kitchen tells me that today, July 17th, is my birthday. That calendar tells me a lot of …
Jul 6, 2016: Independent Happy 4th of July to you and yours. I hope you managed to sufficiently, and somewhat safely, celebrate our independence from those British rascals …
Jun 15, 2016: This Old Camper Finally, the episode of This Old Camper I’ve been looking forward to since I started on the remodel of the 1966 Aristocrat Lo-Liner my parents …
Jun 1, 2016: Hammer Time A warm, sunny semblance of summer is beginning to trickle in and take shape. School has been kicked to the curb, and for a few glorious months kids …
May 18, 2016: Nitwits When I think back to some of the earliest memories I have of my mom, they generally involve her sitting at her sewing machine surrounded by fabric, …
May 4, 2016: Norm Norm was a good dog. I don’t say that about a lot of dogs, mainly because a lot of dogs bark unnecessarily, and unnecessary barking is …
Apr 20, 2016: Schadenfreude Possessing the ability to order beer, chicken, eggs, or coffee with milk in Spanish does not make me bi-lingual. After all, besides counting to ten, …
Apr 6, 2016: Empathy Our daughter, Sierra, is nearing the end of her sophomore year of college. Unless she ends up on the “scenic route” that I took to reach …
Mar 16, 2016: Wild Rover I often hear, “the music nowadays is terrible” and “these kids don’t know what good music is”. These of course are …
Mar 2, 2016: The Cup I have coffee with my Grandpa Ardell and Grandpa Fritz every Sunday morning. I don’t have Miss Cleo on speed-dial, I’m not neighbors with …
Feb 17, 2016: Evolving There have been a few “special days” this past week; International Darwin Day was celebrated on February 12th, my brother Jarvis’s …
Feb 3, 2016: Played Out As the great Irish writer Oscar Wilde once said, “Everything in moderation, including moderation.” His full name, Oscar Fingal …
Jan 20, 2016: Guilt Free Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, we are more than half-way through the first month of the New Year. There are those among us that seem to thrive …
Dec 16, 2015: Snappy I have a confession to make. No, my hair is naturally this luxuriously grey and sparse, this don’t come in no bottle. What I must confess is …
Dec 2, 2015: Offal Good I hope Black Friday didn’t propel you headlong into any corners, posts, purses, or perfume displays. One would hate to be physically bruised and …
Nov 18, 2015: Times Our daughter, Sierra, left her teens behind her a few weeks back with the arrival of her 20th birthday. I’m not sure how she can be 20, seeing …
Nov 4, 2015: Traveler Watch I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Charleston, South Carolina, for a conference this past week. It was my first time in Charleston and I …
Oct 21, 2015: Rearview Mirror I can remember many a car ride, short and long, where I sat in the backseat and watched my dad in the rearview mirror as he navigated one of the many …
Oct 7, 2015: Oddly Enough Happy Fall y’all. It seemed that the heat of summer extended its reach further along the calendar than normal this year. Then again, considering …
Sep 16, 2015: Introduce Yourself The first few weeks of the new school year are behind us, and all the beginning of the year hubbub we must endure has finally passed. Freeing the …
Sep 2, 2015: Dad Duty Well friends, yet another long held dad duty has been quite literally kicked to the curb (or at least confined to the driveway). For the most part my …
Aug 19, 2015: Panther Pride The Burke Central All-School Reunion has come and gone, leaving fond memories of good times with old friends in its wake. Thinking back over the …
Aug 5, 2015: August Amongst Us Welcome to August everyone. The month that creeps up on us like ill-fitting underwear. As we stand there picking, pulling, and tugging in search of …
Jul 15, 2015: Golden Sweet On July 16th, 2015 our son, Jackson, will click over one more notch on the odometer and celebrate his “Sweet Golden Birthday…Golden Sweet …
Jul 1, 2015: Just Together I just spent four days in St. Louis at our National Athletic Trainers' Association yearly convention with about 10,000 other certified athletic …
Jun 17, 2015: Father and Son Happy Father’s Day to all you Dads. I’m sure many of your dads are lovely fellas and all but I’m particularly partial to mine. Not …
Jun 3, 2015: Earth Bound As of late I’ve found myself feeling a shift in the character I have played for many years in our family. My roster spot as the biggest, …
May 20, 2015: Moronic Memoirs III Continued…Ray hopped up as quickly as he went down and attempted to spin around and see who would do such a thing, but the rutabaga had hit him …
May 6, 2015: Moronic Memoirs II Continued…The reason I know our house was a rutabagas toss from Blanchard’s house surely wasn’t because Blanchard had thrown a …
Apr 17, 2015: … and heard One shot at something as grand and glorious as life doesn’t seem fair but it’s all we get, it’s all we have, it’s all. One go …
Apr 15, 2015: Moronic Memoirs Although names have lazily been changed, more shifted than changed, the story you’re contemplating donating five or ten minutes of your life to …
Apr 1, 2015: Have Another This past Saturday was one of the first days of the year to have that full on “summer” feel to it. A lazy feeling day that directed myself …
Mar 18, 2015: Elixir of Life Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all ye lads and lasses. I left the exclamation point off of the last sentence out of consideration for the wee …
Mar 4, 2015: What Do You Wish For My Grandma Rose celebrated her birthday on March 1st, her 81st time to celebrate the occasion. An occasion myself and many, many others are quite …
Feb 18, 2015: Reunion Well folks, make haste, we have just under six months to mold and sculpt ourselves into a quasi-presentable bodily state for the Burke Central …
Feb 4, 2015: Quiet Space Well the Super Bowl commercials are over for another year. Seemed to be a lot more focus on dear old Dad this year. Apparently some of us men folk …
Jan 21, 2015: Listed In Error As some of you may know, and just the same, some of you may not, my wife graduated with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of South …
Jan 7, 2015: Solitudeless Happy New Year to you aficionados of the news and noteworthy goings-on in Burke County. Despite the blatant newslessness (not a real word) and …
Dec 17, 2014: The Present Another successful Christmas tree hunting expedition has concluded and we have a fine specimen of Black Hills spruce mounted and adjourned in front of …
Dec 3, 2014: Brainless Bait Sometimes winter holds off just long enough that you allow yourself to foolishly ponder for a moment that maybe for some reason the cosmos has decided …
Nov 19, 2014: Casual Observer I was at the grocery store the other day leisurely strolling through the aisles, reading labels on this and that as I searched for the various items I …
Nov 5, 2014: All Right In general, we men folk tend to eat as if a fast moving blaze were advancing up each of the four legs of our dining room chair and we need to finish …
Oct 15, 2014: Face of Change Our daughter, Sierra, returned home for a visit this weekend. Her first time back from college, and the first we’ve seen of her, since we parted …
Oct 1, 2014: Dog and Pony Show It’s possible that I’ve explored this topic in days gone by, I tend to block out painful experiences, but when they’re experienced …
Sep 17, 2014: Half Time Computers and the World Wide Web make our lives easier in many ways. For instance, I can pay bills without having to find an envelope, track down a …
Sep 3, 2014: Essential Belongings Early on a recent August morning I awoke well before the sun had even thought about rising, earlier than I prefer to wake, closer to the time I prefer …
Aug 20, 2014: See Ya Summer About six Augusts ago our family started doing a “See Ya Later Summer” meal where we go out to eat and mourn the passing of yet another …
Aug 6, 2014: iLess My name is Josh and I have been cell phone free for three days. I quit cold turkey, as quitters sometimes say to emphasis their iron will and strange …
Jul 16, 2014: Joy Stick Me and video games have always had a strained relationship. Mainly because I stink at each and every one of them…always have and I suspect always …
Jul 2, 2014: Bush League Back in the early days of baseball, amateur teams, teams that weren’t professional big city ball clubs, that played out in the country, small towns, …
Jun 18, 2014: Boiling Point I have a bike that I ride thus I am a bike rider, or cyclist, not sure what the difference is other than bike rider sounds more passive than cyclist. …
Jun 4, 2014: Rainout It’s the rainy season here in the Black Hills. That time of year when you can hear the grass growing. The rainy season always corresponds with …
May 21, 2014: Class of I’m not entirely sure how this happened. The other day I was giving my daughter, Sierra, a piggyback ride up to her room as she excitedly filled me in …
May 7, 2014: Mayday Yet another May Day has come and gone without a knock on my door or ding dong of my doorbell. Each year I awake on May 1st, carb load with Cap’n …
Apr 16, 2014: Round Em Up We’re looking forward to venturing to Upstate North Dakota this weekend to be a part of “Otto’s Roundup”. Otto’s Roundup is a gathering to celebrate …
Apr 2, 2014: Spring Leak Well here we are…another Spring valiantly attempting to roll into the Dakota’s. Spring always seems to bring snow here in the Black Hills. Heavy wet …
Mar 19, 2014: Whistless Two old Pollock’s and a middle-aged Welsh-German-Norwegian-French Canadian-Irishman walk into a blue grass festival. The middle-aged mutt says, …
Mar 5, 2014: Full Bloom Family and friends from near and far gathered this past weekend to celebrate Grandma Rose’s 80th birthday. Grandma Rose is truly an angel on earth …
Feb 19, 2014: Suzie On February 13th my brother Jarvis’s odometer ticked over to 40. Dad and mom brought Jarvis home to my turf when I was all of 18 months old and I’m …
Feb 5, 2014: Show Time I have been a fan of Garrison Keillor and his National Public Radio show “A Prairie Home Companion” for quite some time and have always wanted to be a …
Jan 15, 2014: Altared Boys When my brother and I were approaching our teen years my mother decided that it would be a good idea for us to become altar boys at St. Mary’s …
Jan 1, 2014: Infectious Apparently, Santa decided this was the year he would settle up for all the years he turned a blind eye and gave me the benefit of the doubt in …
Dec 18, 2013: Time Share As you dawdle about in full holiday hustle mode diligently checking the “To Do’s and To Get’s” off your lengthy list of loved ones wants, needs, and …
Dec 4, 2013: 60 Laps Thank you to all the family and friends that helped make for an enjoyable surprise 60th birthday celebration for my Mom. Light Up Night in Lignite …
Nov 20, 2013: Flame Fan Generally I’m fairly indifferent when it comes to my reaction to the various advertising photos used in stores to depict how wildly wonderful the …
Nov 6, 2013: Adult Day When Tuesday November 5th roles around there will be one more adult residing in our home. No it’s not the day a Russian mail order bride arrives…she’s …
Oct 16, 2013: Fritz He was born on October 10th, 1928 at Van Hook, ND and died June 1st 1987. To a few he was known as Fredrick, to some Fred, to most Fritz, but I called …
Oct 2, 2013: Mentors It was opening antelope season here in South Dakota this weekend so my father-in-law and his brother ventured west of the Missouri to try their luck …
Sep 18, 2013: Ankle Deep During one of our family car trips this past summer we stopped at a rest stop along the interstate so everyone could do whatever it is they had to do. …
Sep 4, 2013: Need Not Apply As a married man married to a woman there are a few phrases spoken in my general direction, by the previously alluded to wife, that almost always …
Aug 21, 2013: Discomforting Despite a continuous onslaught from a cantankerous South Dakota wind the seventh edition of the Highway 212 Gut Check has been peddled to completion. …
Aug 7, 2013: Bomber In June of 1943 a B-17 Flying Fortress with ten airmen aboard was flying from Pendleton, Oregon to Grand Island, Nebraska where it was to join other …
Jul 17, 2013: Dutch to Me July 17th is my birthday. Hold the applause, all I did was not die for a whole year…again. No cause for celebration, balloon animals, silly hats, or …
Jul 3, 2013: Smore Stories What are your plans for the 4th of July? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t feel like it I was just asking to be polite. What am I doing? Well …
Jun 19, 2013: Standard Issue Generally the way it works amongst us humans is that a mother and a father are standard issue to kick start our existence in this world. As for other …
Jun 5, 2013: Just Dew It If aging has become a bothersome burden relentlessly weighing on your bent back, arthritic joints, and ever weakening bladder fear not my feeble …
May 15, 2013: Phone Home Survey says! Nine out of ten Moms’ prefer a phone call on Mother’s Day. Prefer a phone call as opposed to what? Prefer a phone call over a personal …
May 1, 2013: Hiney At the beginning of April some halfwit loony wrote a column in this very newspaper blathering about the numerous outdoor pursuits being enjoyed in the …
Apr 17, 2013: Promenade The crepe paper and streamer stringing season is upon us and teenagers everywhere are preparing to navigate the high school prom rite of passage. A …
Apr 3, 2013: Uff Da Spring is in the air here at the base of the Black Hills. I wish I could say the same for you folks at the base of the foothills up yonder north of …
Mar 20, 2013: Et Tu Toga’s are breezy. Breezy is good if you’re a Roman in Rome and your fan flappers are on their 15 minute grape and oil break. Breezy is not so good if …
Mar 6, 2013: Drive Time We have heard it said by many people many times, “There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity.” I met an individual this weekend that I have …
Feb 20, 2013: Smart Luck With the final semester of her junior year in full swing the gap between the end of high school and the beginning of college is narrowing quickly for …
Feb 6, 2013: Platter of Peace The other morning, a morning not unlike any other morning, I was standing at my post gazing out the picture window drinking my coffee and wondering …
Jan 16, 2013: Conduct Unbecoming My Mom has always had a nose for important breaking news, in this case breaking wind. Somehow the news story regarding a federal worker receiving a …
Jan 2, 2013: Whenever For those of you ascribing to the Gregorian calendar I would like to offer a warm welcome to 2013. The rest of you will have to wait for your new year …
Dec 19, 2012: Tannenbomb Put on your Santa hat, proudly display those elf ears you strategically camouflage with bushy sideburns during the other eleven months of the year, …
Dec 5, 2012: Pica glauca Another successful hunt is in the books. Dawn and I got a nice big one and each of the kids got a small one of their own. As has been tradition for …
Nov 21, 2012: Spending Time The avalanche of technology that has inundated every nook and cranny of our world over the course of my lifetime is a bit overwhelming. Most of it was …
Nov 7, 2012: Good Morning I woke up this Sunday morning with that good Sunday morning feeling of not having to get up and get going to get anywhere for anything. I glanced at …
Oct 17, 2012: Herd Enough When I first rolled onto the Northern State University campus in my 1958 Chevy Biscayne in September of 1991 I sort of had a plan. I had planned on my …
Oct 3, 2012: Paths I am aware that my taste in movies could be considered not so good by some, strange by others, or just simply bad by a few. I admit that I’ve come …
Aug 29, 2012: Undivided With another summer shot in the backside the kids are preparing to drag theirs to school this week. Neither of them is all that excited about getting …
Aug 15, 2012: What If NEWS FLASH: Latest Statistics Reveal “Parenting Gig Not for Faint of Heart.” Roughly 327% of parents interviewed stated in various ways and words that …
Aug 1, 2012: Controllables In London England the 30th Olympic Games are in full swing with athletes from all over the globe competing in a wide variety of this, that, and …
Jul 18, 2012: 40 By the time you read this column my son, Jackson, will be a few days into his rookie year of the wild and wooly teenage world. 13 years old…do you …
Jul 4, 2012: Gatherings Summer is typically the time of year when families, classmates, and other such groups decide it to be a good time to get together to celebrate their …
Jun 20, 2012: Subculture The number of subcultures in our society is mind boggling and more than a little interesting. There are groups of people, large and small, that get …
Jun 6, 2012: Herrentag With Father’s Day approaching I’m sure my children are fretting, arguing, and spending many a sleepless night trying to decide whether to get me the …
May 16, 2012: Mothers Day Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers. We had a wonderful Mother’s Day gathering at our house in Rapid City this year. Several mothers were present …
May 2, 2012: Good Apples My youngest brother, with a lot of help from his wife, became a father on April 17th with the birth of their son Otto. What pearls of wisdom does a …
Apr 18, 2012: The Sub As a self-imposed penance or a feeble attempt at righting a cosmic wrong for the sake of my karmic righteousness I took up the hobby of substitute …
Apr 4, 2012: Havin’ A Day April has come around once again and our world here on the top side of the lower 48 has begun its transformation from the white and gray of winter to …
Mar 21, 2012: Clenching As fate, demons, or sadistic leprechauns would have it, in the past few weeks two events have intertwined that could prove to put a damper on my life …
Mar 7, 2012: The Bandit As Mark Twain once said, and many have said since, “Truth is stranger than fiction.” Those words crossed my mind when I first read about the “Piggy …
Feb 5, 2012: BS During my glorious carefree fun filled college days I claimed, on paper anyway, to be a biology major and I somehow managed to graduate with a …
Feb 1, 2012: Signs I drew the taxi to Terry Peak straw this past weekend and as I was sitting in the ski lodge passing the time until 4:00, when the lifts shut down for …
Jan 18, 2012: Pre Early one blustery South Dakota January morning the “Pre and Me Meat Co.” was founded and brought forth stuff made of meat. One meat, actually, …
Feb 16, 2011: Johnny West My daughter wanted to stroll around downtown this weekend and visit a few antique shops so her and I headed out for some father daughter browsing. She …
Feb 2, 2011: Coach The Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo is in town for a few weeks which means I get the call to either work the rodeo or work whatever other sporting …
Dec 1, 2010: Noble Qualities When I was a sophomore in high school my parents bought the grocery store in Lignite. “Berg’s Red Owl” became “DJ’s Food …
Oct 20, 2010: Just To Look It was our dogs third birthday the other day. Well we really don’t know when his actual birthday is so we just use the day we got him at the …
Sep 19, 2007: Flip and Flop The kids and I kicked off our school year a few weeks ago. Back to the scheduled life of academia we go for another 9 month tour. I don’t care …
Sep 5, 2007: Mudd Butte On August 17th through the 19th 27 riders participated in the 2nd annual “Highway 212 Gut Check.” The “Gut Check” is an …
Aug 15, 2007: Jerryrigging For those of you keeping tabs on my cabin building progress, or lack there of, I’m happy to report that it has a roof on it now. Well it did …
Aug 1, 2007: Oranges My family went camping with the families of two of my good friends last weekend and we all had a great time. There were 13 of us in all, six adults …
Jul 18, 2007: Polka Dot The word on the streets is that the Lignite Centennial was a success and I for one am inclined to agree with those words on that street. My family had …
Jul 4, 2007: Centennial Time Lignite is abuzz with centennial preparation, lawn mowers mowing, paint brushes brushing, hammers hammering, chickens clucking, and whatever other …
Jun 27, 2007: My Grandpa At around noon, Wednesday June 20th, 2007, the big laugh that always rose above the roar of our family gatherings, or any gathering for that matter, …
Jun 20, 2007: Not Drowning “It seemed like a good idea at the time.” Have you ever responded to someone’s questioning of “why” you did something …
Jun 6, 2007: Just Played Let the games begin or at least increase in frequency and duration. It’s summer. The kids are milling around the house like misplaced guests …
May 16, 2007: Lazy Boy You may remember, or not, or not care, that a few years ago my brother Jarvis and me were extra’s in the movie “Hidalgo.” Recently …
May 2, 2007: TV Free This week was “Turn of the TV Week” for Sierra and Jackson’s school. No TV, no video games, and no internet. Each day the …
Apr 18, 2007: A Good Home On my travels to and from Lignite I pass by the Van Hook area and it always makes me think of my Grandpa Fritz. Grandpa has been gone now for over 20 …
Apr 4, 2007: Bobblapalooza This past week I had the pleasure of attending a band concert in which my daughter, Sierra, and her trumpet, B Sharp, took part. The concert was held …
Mar 21, 2007: Trembling My daughter is trying to kill me. Not with knives, explosives, poisoning, or a sleazy hit-man, but with a single question. Not just any question like, …
Mar 7, 2007: The Naked Truth A few nights ago Sierra and I were lounging around the living room reading, while Jackson, not being much of a lounger, was busy shooting hoops on his …
Feb 21, 2007: Wooly Mammoth Gentleman it’s been a week since Valentines Day which should be plenty of time for you to be back on speaking terms with your significant other. …
Feb 7, 2007: Chinchilla The typing is a little labored and painful today. It’s not writers block, I have too many voices in my head wanting to be heard for that to be …
Jan 17, 2007: Mickey's Diner I recently watched the movie “A Prairie Home Companion” and if you’re a fan of the radio show, as I am, you’ll enjoy the …
Jan 3, 2007: Spruce Abuse Did everyone get what they wanted for Christmas? One “Burt Bachrach & The Village People Christmas Medley” CD, two sock puppets, three …
Dec 20, 2006: The Little Wave It’s almost Christmas and seeing how I’m the father of two elementary age children I’ve recently had the privilege of attending a …
Dec 6, 2006: Happy Ending I have a confession to make. Back in April I wrote a column explaining my brother Jarvis and my botched garden burglary and apprehension by the …
Nov 15, 2006: Cant See Last week a man in Tehran, Iran was arrested for attempted bank robbery. Bank robberies happen every day, but this one struck me to be a bit more …
Nov 1, 2006: Witches Snot The morning after…candy wrappers strewn about, healthy granola treats angrily stomped into the carpet, a comatose child lying face down in a …
Oct 18, 2006: Super Dad With the proper motivation all of us are capable of incredible feats. Sometimes that motivation comes from within, but more often than not it is …
Oct 4, 2006: Elk Infirmary My daughter is a gentle soul that loves to care for animals and from what I’ve seen animals love her to care for them. Usually these animals are …
Sep 20, 2006: I'm Trying How many times have you heard someone say, “I’m trying to grow my hair out.”? It always puzzled me because I never realized you have …
Sep 6, 2006: Idiotically Insane Insanity is in the eye of the beholder. What may seem to be perfectly normal behavior to one person, usually the person performing the behavior, is …
Aug 16, 2006: Digin' Up Bones Sad to say that summer is on its last leg and the structured portion of the year is about to commence. Soon the pools will close, the schools will …
Aug 2, 2006: No Ordinary Life I have a good friend named Bubba that’s a pretty good guitar player and song writer. Bubba is an athletic trainer like me but he lives in Kansas …
Jul 4, 2006: I Know It’s that time of year again…flowers in full bloom, corn growing a foot a day, brats sizzling on the grill, and of course children …
Jun 21, 2006: Mr August I just returned from a four day athletic training conference in Atlanta, and I can confidently say that I don’t care if I ever visit there …
Jun 7, 2006: Coppertone Life is full of choices and turning points, some are big some are small, some are temporary some are permanent. Standing in the bathroom the other …
May 3, 2006: Lutefisk I would like to commend Shelley Bartow and Jackie Jensen for their time and effort in getting the Northern Prairie Wellness Center up and running. …
Apr 19, 2006: Yak Catching Cooking, dishes, laundry, cooking, dishes, laundry…..the three horsemen of my apocalypse are attempting to drain the life out of me. It’s …
Apr 5, 2006: Pass the Carrots It seems to me that if you’re contemplating beginning a life of crime that April 1st would be a good day to give it a go and see if it’s …
Mar 15, 2006: Inclined to Mischief This Friday is amateur night at pubs and bars throughout the land. The celebration of St. Patrick’s Day gives everyone a license to be Irish for …
Mar 1, 2006: Kitchen Wishes It’s my Grandma Rose’s birthday today, March 1st, so if you see her out and about with the big guy wish her well on her day. The best way …
Feb 15, 2006: Nine Years I believe I’ve uncovered yet another conspiracy. Valentines Day was created by the chocolate industry in response to the popular New …
Feb 1, 2006: Lasagna Prophecies My brother Jarvis’s birthday is coming up in a few weeks, so I thought my gift to him would be to tell a bunch of people what a pain in the butt …
Jan 18, 2006: Go Figure My daughter did it again, she made me cry. No she hasn’t developed a liking for rap music, hasn’t become a member of PETA, and no she …
Jan 4, 2006: Changes In Latitude 2005 is gone. It’s now categorized, labeled, and filed away into the ‘Years Gone By’ vault. There it is already accumulating a fine …
Dec 21, 2005: Classical Well it happened. I was flipping through radio stations the other day trying to avoid car and furniture super blow out sale advertisements and …
Dec 7, 2005: Nyquil First off I would like to wish the greatest photographer in Upstate North Dakota a very happy birthday. My lovely mother climbed up another rung on …
Nov 16, 2005: Mr Clean The dishes are done, the floors are washed, the laundry is done and put away, the carpets are vacuumed, the toilets are scrubbed, the sinks have been …
Nov 2, 2005: Sashay Halloween is here and gone, nothing left but candy wrappers, belly aches, and costume rash. Hope yours was a good one. Did your windows get waxed or …
Oct 19, 2005: Squirrelly Something is going on around here. This weekend I awoke to the clatter of my kids bringing me breakfast in bed, both Saturday and Sunday morning. I …
Oct 5, 2005: Pedal Fast Did you know that October 6th is “National Slam Your Bedroom Door Day?” It is also “Scream At Your Rotten Brothers Day”, …
Sep 21, 2005: Bumps and Tumbles Someone, I don’t know who, once said that bad things always happen in three’s (or fours). I shared that little law of the universe with my …
Aug 17, 2005: Timber Trees are a living organism, and the ones that were cut down to be a part of my log cabin seem to harbor a little resentment. Maybe they all don’t get …
Aug 3, 2005: Homer Who We moved my wife to Vermillion South Dakota this past weekend. She finally pushed me too far so I told her to gather her things and get out. A man can …
Jul 20, 2005: To Old The countdown can start over again. My son, Jackson, celebrated his sixth birthday on Saturday, Spiderman was the theme. Everyday for the past few …
Jul 6, 2005: BOOM I hope the 4th of July celebrations left all of your digits intact, no eye patches, no roman candle flesh wounds. When I think back it amazes me that …
Jun 29, 2005: Seventy to Stop What did all you proud Papa’s get for Fathers Day from your herd of sticky fingered yard apes? Ferrari? Private Jet? Tickets to see Jimmy Buffet? …
Jun 15, 2005: Phantom Hand Why is that when you get a burger of some sort at any fast food restaurant it always looks like someone fell on it in the kitchen? I’ve never had the …
Jun 1, 2005: Extremely X-Treme Hope everyone had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. I also hope you took time on Monday to attend a Memorial Day service to honor our veterans and …
May 18, 2005: Instigator A few weeks ago it was teacher appreciation week, and I truly do appreciate all the teachers that made an attempt to educate me. This column of …
May 4, 2005: Macaroni Necklace What are you getting your Mom for Mothers Day? Don’t panic you still have plenty of time to construct a macaroni necklace. If you don’t cook the …
Apr 20, 2005: 2042 Beings that I’m a hard working tax paying American; well a tax paying American anyway, I received my social security statement in the mail today. I …
Apr 6, 2005: No Yeti Another trip to Lignite and back, and still no Bigfoot sighting to report. Bigfoot goes by many names; Yeti, Abomible Snowman, Sasquatch, Steroid …
Mar 16, 2005: Delusionally Optimistic I don’t know if I’m overly optimistic or just delusional, perhaps delusionally optimistic. That would be a good name for a troupe of river dancing …
Mar 2, 2005: Monkey Wrench In about 3 months another school year will be wrapping up. This means little league, swimming pools, and visiting friends and relatives is merrily …
Feb 16, 2005: We Happy Gentlemen as your reading this the beautiful bouquet of flowers you bought your lovely wife for Valentines Day are turning into potpourri. The big …
Feb 2, 2005: Evil Kanieval Just before Christmas I bought a shiny new road bike. No not for either of my kids, for me, the big kid, and when I say road bike I don’t mean …
Jan 19, 2005: Losers Among Us “BE BURKE COUNTIES BIGGEST LOSER.” The headlines jumped out at me and seized my attention. My heart skipped a beat as excitement overtook …
Dec 29, 2004: Resolving Resolutions Alright stop sulking over the soap-on-a-rope you got from you great aunt. It’s not as bad as the doily of the month club your brother was enrolled in. …
Dec 15, 2004: Nat's Enough I called my mom on the 5th to wish her a happy birthday, because that’s what a good son does, and she informed me that the yearly school head lice …
Nov 17, 2004: Fad Diets and Mullets It seems as though everytime I talk to my mom a new diet is sweeping through the area. Some are interesting, some are strange, some could work, most …
Nov 3, 2004: Shadow Puppets Hello there, hope all is well in your world. Since this is my first column in the Burke County Tribune introductions are in order. First off I reside …