BACK IN THE SADDLE

It was a difficult week for pottery

It’s been a tough time for crockery at our house. The trouble started a couple of Thursdays ago. That’s the night Connie has her latest classes at Ball State University, so the dog and I were on our own.

Fan of house shows was content

Clive and Roger would not approve. Those of us who wander through the upper reaches of the cable channels while surfing with the remote control know, of course, who Clive and Roger are.

Art is about inspiration, insight

What is art? OK, OK, that’s a way-too-heavy question to launch a column in a small town Indiana newspaper. But I’ve got to admit it has been on my mind for the past couple of months.

Relative’s passing led to knowledge

Thanks to a cousin I haven't talked to in years, I now know my great-grandfather's name. Genealogy has never been a high priority at our house.

Problems there are cause for worry

It’s been a rough several weeks. Not here. There. Here, things have been just short of spectacular. But things are often different on the other side of the world, as the news from Iraq reminds us daily.

Dictionaries failed to bring fluency

If you could learn a language by buying dictionaries, I’d be fluent by now. Fact is, I’m as much a linguistic basketcase as the rest of America. That truth was driven home to me over the weekend.

It was time to correct a mistake

I dug the hole in the wrong place. As Mother Nature has reminded me. More than 20 years ago, we moved into our house in Portland.

Reading negotiations came to halt

Some serious negotiations are under way at our house, and Harry Potter is involved. No, not the wizard himself. The books. It started long before the latest in J.K. Rowling’s string of best-sellers hit the bookshelves — or, in the case of LoBill’s in Portland, the produce shelves.

Column sparked reader response

You never know what’s going to prompt a response from readers.

The right grill finally came along

I’ve finally found the grill of my dreams. That’s not a typo. I found the girl of my dreams back in 1968 and married her in 1971. The grill of my dreams was a gift on Father’s Day.

Old road has disappeared to history

The rows of corn kept marching in neat lines, east to west, north to south. There wasn’t any hint of northwest or southeast to be seen. Any trace of what I was looking for had long ago been erased by passing time.

Everyone needs a friend like Andy

These days, when a storm front is approaching, I can feel it in my knuckles. The combination of age and a lifetime of work at typewriters and computers has given me some variation of carpal tunnel or arthritis. Most of the time, it’s just a nuisance. But the knuckles really …

Freedoms don’t extend everywhere

Anna shook her head in disbelief. “That sounds like kindergarten journalism,” said the voice in my headset, translating her words.

Time goes by quickly at 4-H auction

Pete Shawver leaned over and asked, “How many years?” Good question. Melodi Haley and I had been talking about that same thing earlier in the week.

How much have we really changed?

The ugliness of it was casual, and that made it even uglier. Growing up in Jay County in the middle of the last century, my generation was awash in casual racism. It was something we inherited from those who went before us, but by the 1960s it was also something …
PORTLAND WEATHER

Events

October

SU
MO
TU
WE
TH
FR
SA
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
SUN
MON
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
28 29 30 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31 1

To Submit an Event Sign in first

Today's Events

No calendar events have been scheduled for today.

250 X 250 AD