Chances are you’ve gone through a personal experience that started a whirlwind of events that changed your life forever. Mine came exactly one year ago when, knowing I was going to faint, I dropped onto my knees and lowered myself…
Most of us have struggled with the thought, If I had it to do over again, would I have… Maybe you’ve questioned a major decision you made regarding a relationship or a big purchase or a career choice. Recently I…
I have always loved this time of year. My energy level peaks with the hint of cooler weather and the start of school. As a child, I would count the days, organizing my back-to-school supplies and pondering the prospect of…
I’ve always been a huge Oprah fan, and I’m channeling her for this column. One of my favorite Oprah’s quotes is, “I believe every one of us is born with a purpose. No matter who you are, what you do,…
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…
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…
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…
“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…
“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…
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…