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Forest Bathing
I recently attended Milwaukee’s environmental conference, nicknamed “Green conference,” held at a high school. Driving there was stressful, and leaving was even more so because I took a wrong turn. By the time I arrived home, I felt drained. But I didn’t want to plop down on the couch. As usual, I wanted to head […]
Local Plumber unclogs toilet; the culprit smiles at him
Have you ever had to call the plumber to unclog your toilet? I asked Tom Brooks of Baraboo Plumbing for the craziest thing he’d ever found blocking one. He described going to an elderly man’s house and working on his severely clogged toilet. Unable to find the cause, Tom had to remove the it and […]
Advice From a 100-year-old Card Shark
Do you ever think about how people will remember you? What your friends and family will say about you after you're gone? If you live to be 100, what are the adjectives an interviewer might use to describe you? In Millie Becker Duffek's case, card-shark was not the first adjective that […]
Lessons Learned From the River
“What are the chances we’ll get dumped?” I asked Bob, the owner of Sylvania Outfitters in Watersmeet, Michigan. “Let’s just say you shouldn’t worry about fixing your hair tomorrow,” he replied. The following day my husband, brother, and sister-in-law joined me for a three-hour kayak trip down the middle branch of The Ontonagon River. The […]
Solve the Mystery of Two Kind Kilbourn Families
“I arrived at a little town on the Wisconsin River,” Frederick Louis Haeberle wrote in his nineteen-page essay, “Why I Came to America.” He arrived in early March, 1884, after immigrating from Germany. “It was very cold, and my clothing was light - no overcoat, no overshoes, no mittens. As I walked along the main […]
Stories Entertain and Connect Us
We are all storytellers. We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.—Jimmy Neil Smith, Director of the International Storytelling Center. Since human life began, we’ve shared stories. Whether the details of the buffalo hunt or the dramatic polar bear escape were told around a campfire on […]
Words of Wisdom from Josie the Cockapoo
Hi, it’s Josie the Cockapoo, hoping to get this into the paper before Mum-Amy catches me. She doesn’t let me write often—something about too many run-on sentences and getting off track—but I’m turning 12 on the 12th of this month and I have some words of wisdom to share. Not that I understand everything. For […]
Dude Ranch Adventure Fills my Memory Bank
Think about a pleasant memory you have of your grandparents. I’m guessing it isn’t opening a Christmas or birthday gift from them, but it’s a fun experience you shared. That was my hope when I set out to spend a weekend with my daughter and young grandsons. When I learned there was a dude ranch […]