The month of April is often considered that dreadful “income tax month.” It does not matter whether you do your own taxes, have a friend or relative do them or use a professional tax preparer.  But...

Election Day has come and gone. No more candidate commercials. No more mailings, telephone calls or knocks on the door. Those we elected will serve us for two, four or six years. I am sure we are...

It was July when I disembarked from the small ship in Russian America. The year was 1947 and the land is now called Alaska, meaning “great land” in the language of the native Aleuts. This territory...

When our youngest son was in Cub Scouts, I served as Cubmaster. On Memorial Day weekend we would join with thousands of other Scouts and leaders to place flags on the graves of the fallen at Jefferson...

March. The third month. The month named after Mars, the Roman god of war.  What does the month mean to you? For some it is the beginning of spring.  For the Irish among us, it is the time of the St....

During a thunderstorm in February 1911, lightning struck the Missouri Capitol dome.  The ensuing fire destroyed much of the building. When the Capitol building was reconstructed, the decorating committee...

December! The days grow shorter and colder. As a child I lived in a coal mining camp in Alaska where the temperatures dropped to the negative double digits and the days were very short.     It was...

Thanks: He came home from football practice complaining of feeling unwell. During the evening he got progressively worse and the doctor was called. The diagnosis was polio. He was rushed to the hospital...

Labor Day and September always mark the end of summer. A new beginning. When I was young, a new school year began the day after Labor Day. One of my granddaughters is in eighth grade. I tell her to study...

I am sure many readers know of someone who did not vote this month. The familiar excuse is: “I am only one person. What difference can I make?” But isn’t each of us one person? Why should anyone...