I wasn’t expecting this. Time was running out to retrieve the holiday wreaths we had made to dress family graves. Grandview Cemetery warned us they would destroy decorations remaining after March 1. Fair enough. I jumped in my car and … Read More
121 Years Ago Today
Sunday evening, February 5, 1911. Unusually warm. A thunderstorm approached the state capitol from the west and lightning struck the dome around suppertime. Among the dozens of eyewitness reports and photographs is this one, courtesy Cole County Historical Society. The … Read More
The Good Badass Samaritan
It was Friday, already scorching hot, and the sun’s heat shimmered on the highway ahead. My car, Erifnus Caitnop, pointed her nose toward Columbia, and we both looked forward to some rest after a grueling week on the road. By … Read More
The Bridge to Nowhere
I was running late. Hannibal was still an hour away. So I took a short cut. My Pontiac was making good time on the backroads, slicing down straightaways that squeeze between flat soybean fields, fallow before spring planting. Oncoming cars … Read More
When Harry Met Elvis, Sorta
“Give me the Elvis.” I hadn’t expected to encounter food fit for the king. Not here, within a wedge shot of so much history. But that’s what makes the journey so rewarding. I finished my Elvis, a peanut butter sandwich … Read More
Paradise found!
Almost everybody has a mental image of paradise. I took a picture of it. If you look closely, you’ll see the spirit of John Milton. Or maybe that’s Milton Berle. Truth is, nobody knows for sure.