A YouTube post appeared on my Facebook site featuring Flip Wilson a black comedian who performed back in the 70’s. I always enjoyed Flip’s sense of humor so I decided to watch it. Flip was performing on the Johnny Carson Show, a show that I used to watch faithfully every weekday night from 10:30 until midnight. Flip Wilson made his entrance smoking a cigarette which I’d forgotten was a common practice for performers to do back then. Also, smoking was a common occurrence in TV episodes and…..
Several weeks ago on Facebook a post was being shared that questioned why atheists who believe in no god insist on attacking and mocking Christians. Why does it bother them that we Christians believe as we do? Maybe God put them here to serve as “belief strengtheners” for all Christians. That post reminded me of an early Facebook experience I had with an atheist and I’d like to share it with you. Read on to discover how Facebook posts from an atheist…..
I’ve got our Christmas letter written and ready to stuff into envelopes and mail. It was quite a struggle to accomplish the writing part this year. Sometimes writing goes quickly and other times it is hard work. This fall the writing was hard work but it got much worse once the letter was finished. Yesterday I began the task of making copies of the original “cut and paste” Christmas letter. The printer on my computer decided to print in slow motion….really slow motion. I…..
I was very young when I first discovered my love affair with cranberries. You would have to journey back with me to the early 1950’s to understand how it all started. As the holidays were approaching the cranberry farmers in our neighboring Wisconsin were knee deep in the cranberry bogs harvesting the cranberry crop. As Thanksgiving approached the store shelves were piled high with transparent bags of cranberries. Each fall my Mother faithfully purchased a bag and brought it home to officially start the holiday season. …..
It’s that time of the year again as holidays approach and craft fairs begin in earnest. This Saturday from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm I’ll be sitting in my ‘mini-book store’ booth at the Herman High School gymnasium. I was a biology teacher in that building for eleven years (1980-1991). However the title of this blog is a little misleading as I was never involved in any crimes during those years. I came close several times but was always able to refrain myself and…..
What a morbid title for a blog but it wasn’t as morbid as if may sound. My sixth grade teacher had passed away at the age of 97 years after leading a happy and successful life. In addition to that she was the one who opened my eyes to the joy of writing and as a result it became a dream of mine to become a published author. As I was making the trip to Glenwood, MN where the funeral was…..
In my previous blog “A Teacher Made Me Do It!” Mrs. Sager my sixth grade teacher gave our class a writing assignment to do a bird report. She displayed several of the outstanding reports on the bulletin board and mine was one of them. My classmates said I wrote well and I believed them. So began my dream to become a successful writer. I must add a footnote to last week’s blog as I received a phone call from Mrs. Sager’s son informing me that his mother…..
Violet Sager was her name. We called her Mrs. Sager. She was my sixth grade teacher and at the time I didn’t realize it but she was a hero to me in more ways than one. That was the fall in 1955 when many of the country schools consolidated and came to the nearest town school. So in the fall of 1955 my Clinton, MN sixth grade class grew to contain 35 rambunctious, energetic boys and girls. Mrs. Sager was able…..
I’m a pumpkin farmer and as harvest time approaches I look back and realize there’s a battle going on in our profession. It’s not with the neighbors or the UPS man who occasionally visits. The spray planes that frequently buzz our house are even tolerated. The real battle is with all the little critters that are living among us and who assume we are renting space from them! The first critter to make life miserable for a pumpkin farmer are…..
Probably one of the most important experiences of my teaching career is approaching its 50th anniversary and it almost passed unnoticed. That would have been unfortunate since that experience opened the door to a my 42 year career of enjoying and educating young people as a teacher. Diane reminded me of that important experience when she posted on Facebook about her upcoming 50th high school class reunion in 2019. She is planning on communicating with as many classmates and teachers as possible. After interviewing them…..