Sophie's Story

       The power at our house went out about 20 minutes ago. I was in the middle of writing this column when the computer flickered for a few minutes, then went blank. I freaked out  because I was just starting to write. How was I going to get this done? I mentally kicked myself. I knew I should have done this in the morning. I should have got up earlier and done it. If I’d done that  then I wouldn’t be stewing over the power outage right now.     I didn’t do that though. I had to figure out what to do. Maybe I could use the laptop. No, I couldn’t do that. C was using it for some Toastmaster business. What else could I do? Then I realized that I could use my IPad. It wasn’t going to be the best choice, but it was all I had. I got it out and started to load my program on it. It wasn’t working. It wasn’t connected to the internet. Of course, the modem runs on electricity and we didn’t have any. Fortunately, C’s phone can act as a hotspot. He ...

   The flowers in our garden are looking very nice this year. The only thing keeping the garden from being perfect is the weeds. For some reason no matter how well you pull the weeds they keep coming up. I don't understand it when you pull up the plant you completely remove it and nothing else should grow back, right?   I'm not a very good gardener. I don't have a plan or a theme or a scheme or anything like that. I just buy what I like and stick them in the ground. The only thing I pay attention to is if the pants are sun-loving or shade-loving. These plants can't be too choosy about spoil type.   There are some things that I get every year. I always get wave petunias, snapdragons, and marigolds. The marigolds get planted with the vegetables to keep pests away from them. Sometimes I will buy other plants too. I'm trying to buy more perennials ( or is it annuals, I get them mixed up.) so that the garden will be lower maintenance. I wish I could tell you the ...

    The CBS Sunday morning show broadcast a segment on songwriter and performer Rory Feek. He performed with his late wife, Joey. Joey died of cancer in 2016. The segment was about some of the challenges he's facing as a single dad and about performing again without his wife.    During the interview, he talked about a challenge that happened a few days after Joey died. He could tell that his daughter, Hope, was bothered by something. He encouraged her to talk to him about it. What happened was that she told him that she is a lesbian and in love with a woman. Here is a quote from the interview. " Rory added, 'She's asking me, 'Are you still gonna love me?' And my first reaction, honestly, was, 'I don't think so.'" The reason for this reaction was that his conservative Christian faith teaches that homosexuality is wrong. As the interview went on he talked about how it is his job to love his daughters regardless of their choices and to love the...

   A small newspaper in Minnesota ran a paid obituary that recently went viral. It started out like any other obituary with basic facts about the woman who passed away. Then it said the woman had a child fathered by her brother-in-law and she abandoned her two children to be raised by their grandparents. It ended by saying that the two children are not sorry she is gone and that the world would be a better place without her. That obituary has had several newspapers and legacy websites examining their policies for obituaries.    I read two articles from different sources about this obituary. They were interesting. As I read I realized that there are two lessons that this situation teaches. I'd like to share them with you.     Lesson One     One article I read quoted a man who knew the family although he did not identify his relationship with them. He said that the facts in the obituary are true, but that there was more...

   A customer dropped off a box of Dilly Bars at our store last week. She wanted to bring a treat for the staff. On Saturday, there were a few left. After I finished my shift, I helped myself to one of them.   I should probably explain what a Dilly Bar is since there may be some who don't know or remember them. A Dilly Bar is an ice cream treat made by Dairy Queen. It is a round flat disk of ice cream a couple inches thick covered by a hard flavoured coating, usually chocolate, on a stick.   Back when I was a kid, the man who directed the grade school church choir would buy each choir member a Dilly Bar on the last day of choir practice. Back then the coatings came in different flavours. I always asked for cherry. Another boy in the choir would always ask for butterscotch. Everyone else preferred chocolate.   As I savored my Dilly Bar, I remembered how good they were. It's funny how as you get older you appreciate simple things more. I rememb...

   Graduation season is upon us. The past few weeks young people have been lining up wearing caps and gowns all around various institutions of learning. Pomp and Circumstance has been played by school bands all over the country. Student speakers have been feverishly working on their speeches. Family members are making plans to travel.    Parties are being planned. All over houses are being cleaned and sometimes undergoing a bit of painting or light remodeling. Park shelters are being reserved for parties and gatherings of various sorts. Families are picking up meat and cheese trays that were ordered weeks before. Bakeries are baking yards of sheet cakes with various congratulatory messages on them.    Napkins and plastic eating utensils are being bought along with color-coordinated decorations. Tables are being set up, tablecloths are being spread over them.    Eventually, everything will be in place and the celebrating wi...