11 recommended columns
Family · 3 min read
As we go through life, we gather two things possibly more than any others: debts and bicycles. Maybe the reason we've got all these debts is that we've bought so many bicycles. We start off…
Read column →Grandparenting · 3 min read
It was Sunday evening. There was nobody home but me. I was downstairs in the dark watching television when I heard several footsteps above. I turned off the TV and went to see who had…
Read column →Family · 3 min read
When I was growing up, I don't remember anyone giving me much advice about girls. I think it was the same with all the guys I knew. Folks just kind of left us on our…
Read column →Family · 3 min read
I have often wondered what happens to time. Everyone does. Times passes too quickly. It disappears. One day you see your whole life spread before you. The next day you are looking back, wishing you…
Read column →Grandparenting · 2 min read
When I was a boy and winter finally gave way to spring all the kids in the neighborhood got together every evening to play baseball. We played in vacant fields. We picked teams and used…
Read column →Grandparenting · 3 min read
We are the most informed people in history. In fact, with the Internet, TV, radio, newspapers, magazines -not to mention gossip and rumors - we actually are over informed. I have hit information overload. It's…
Read column →Grandparenting · 3 min read
I've been a grandfather for almost five years. People say I'm too young to be a grandfather. I don't know what this means. I guess you have to reach a certain age and have white…
Read column →Grandparenting · 3 min read
This was a big week. Our youngest grandchild, Kirsten, started kindergarten. Of course there was tremendous excitement, anticipation, nervousness,tension, stress, tears. But don't worry. Eventually, her mom and dad got over it. Granddad took it…
Read column →Family · 3 min read
Life is full of rules. Some of them become important. They are made into laws and violating them can get you arrested. Most rules, though, are stuff we already know…
Read column →Family · 2 min read
Many years ago I ordered three cases of Girl Scout cookies. Not boxes. Cases! The day after they arrived only one case was left. I had to face the fact I had a serous personal…
Read column →Grandparenting · 3 min read
When people ask me if I golf, I don't know what to say. Yes, occasionally I do get out on the course and upset the grounds keepers by filling the water hazards with my golf…
Read column →Family · 3 min read
The other evening my wife made appointments for us to get our Moderna booster shots. I promptly forgot about it. Wife: "How could you forget this. Our appointments are today at the Payless Pharmacy in…
Read column →Grandparenting · 5 min read
"Granddad, are you old," our 4-year-old granddaughter, Anna, asked. It was an interesting question because it came just days before my 70th birthday. I had to stop and think before I could give her an…
Read column →Family · 4 min read
Dawn comes early now, as April gives way to May. Just as we had planned when we built our home so many years ago, when our children were young and we were too, the first…
Read column →Grandparenting · 4 min read
11/26/2016 It's just a family Christmas tree. We put it up each year the weekend after Thanksgiving and children and grandchildren and grandparents join in hanging the ornaments. With Christmas music playing, it's a time…
Read column →Grandparenting · 8 min read
Syttende Mai May 17, 2016 It's been quite a year here on the edge of the river in my hometown of West Lake Woebegin -- where the women are strong, the men are good looking,…
Read column →Family · 2 min read
Last Sunday eight of us went on a wonderful Father's Day golf outing. I took one of my grandsons. Me: "Do you know what we do on the first tee before hitting the ball? Grandson:…
Read column →Family · 2 min read
There is a lot of divisiveness in politics today. But the most divisive thing in our country is a color: pink. It divides us along gender lines: boys wear blue; girls wear pink. It wasn't…
Read column →Family · 2 min read
Women make me nervous. All my life women have been able to outsmart me and maybe that's part of it. But what really makes me nervous is a group of women. I'm not alone in…
Read column →Family · 3 min read
Everyone wants a piece of the pie these days. Everyone wants their fair share -- until it comes to things like snow. We've been getting our share of snow lately. Personally, I'd be glad to…
Read column →Family · 2 min read
Most people say that Thanksgiving is a man's holiday. For women, it's a lot of work. But when you think about it, everything works out pretty equal. For example on Thanksgiving I have four responsibilities:…
Read column →Family · 2 min read
My wife married me as a fixer-upper project, kind of like some people buy a fixer-upper house that needs a little remodeling. Nearly 31 years later she's still trying to do the fixing. This isn't…
Read column →Family · 2 min read
Matt was 9 years old when I married his mother. One of my favorite memories from that time is driving in the car and the endless questions he would ask that I didn't know how…
Read column →Family · 2 min read
Teachers and schools make me nervous. Even today when I walk in a school I have a feeling in the pit my stomach that I haven't done my homework. When teachers look at me, I…
Read column →Family · 3 min read
My wife and I were at a large family gathering this summer. When it Came time to say goodbye, I hugged all the relatives. It took so long to say goodbye, by the time I…
Read column →Family · 2 min read
We are the proud parents of a new,shinny, red Hyundai Sonata. Actually, it's my wife's car and the other day I asked if I could drive it. "Ofcourse," she said. "You can drive it to…
Read column →Family · 3 min read
"And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days." Today is June 1. If ever there was a month full of perfect days, this is it. Chilly air…
Read column →Grandparenting · 2 min read
It's just an old, family kitchen table. And last week my wife and I gave our children the news. After more than 30 years we were getting rid of it and buying a new one.…
Read column →Family · 3 min read
Chicago White Sox World Series tickets went on sale last Tuesday. They sold out in 18 minutes. This is what happens when a team hasn't been to the World Series since Eisenhower was President. I…
Read column →Family · 3 min read
So it's finally here, after all the rush and hurry. Christmas comes but once a year. If it came any more often, we'd split our time between the poor house and a rest home. Among…
Read column →Grandparenting · 2 min read
Our Christmas tree is up and decorated. My wife says my gift this year is a carpenter to repair the damage I did to the house in putting it up. It's a wonderful time of…
Read column →Grandparenting · 3 min read
Here's an easy quiz. Now that summer is approaching, in those quiet moments when you are all alone with your innermost thoughts - how do you visualize yourself spending the next three months? Life only…
Read column →Family · 3 min read
Some people believe Father's Day is just another event invented by greeting card companies. But, that's not true. It was invented by the Tie Manufacturer's Association. Father's Day is an important time to honor fathers…
Read column →Grandparenting · 3 min read
As I write this it is our youngest daughter's birthday. It's huge day. Not necessarily for her. But for me. Beth is 22, and a 22nd birthday isn't the biggest thing that happens in a…
Read column →Family · 3 min read
I love Halloween. I love it when tick-or-treaters come to our door. Every time trick-or-treaters come to our door, there's a candy bar for each little trick-or-treatee and a candy bar for the big tick-or-treator.…
Read column →Family · 3 min read
We need to replace the shingles on our house. The roof is only 12 years old. It's way too soon to go. But it's one of those things that happen in life. Nothing lasts forever.…
Read column →Family · 3 min read
They've found my niche. Everything today is targeted. Products are developed for niche markets and advertisers go to great lengths to promote them to the targeted group. For example, television shows are created for a…
Read column →Grandparenting · 2 min read
The older I get the more I understand. When I was young I thought what women wanted in a man was a handsome movie star, muscle toned athlete, daring mountain climber. If my grandsons asked…
Read column →Family · 2 min read
Sometime this month the 300 millionth person will be born in the United States. You know what this means. It means there's going to be one more young person in a country that already seems…
Read column →Grandparenting · 2 min read
I always hoped as I grew older I would acquire wisdom. Unfortunately, instead of wisdom what I've actually acquired is a huge collection of family photos. Here's what happens to people. We have children and…
Read column →Grandparenting · 2 min read
I am convinced the day is fast approaching when babies will not be given names at birth. They will be given user IDs. Nurse: What a beautiful baby! For the birth certificate and our records,…
Read column →Family · 3 min read
Technology is going to make life in the 21st century easy, relaxed and the most wonderful time in history. Or, it's going to drive us all crazy and send us running back to the caves.…
Read column →Family · 2 min read
I just bought an iPhone. They're incredible. You can take photos and videos, read news, cruise the internet, watch movies and TV shows, listen to music, check stocks, calculate, do e-mail, text message, check the…
Read column →Family · 2 min read
I recently overheard this conversation between a mother and her young son. Mother: "Sorry, we're going to have to unsubscribe from the cable movie channels. They have movies that aren't appropriate for children." Boy: "I…
Read column →Everyday life · 2 min read
As we get older we become a little more forgetful. We have to work a little harder to remember things. Not big things. Little things. There is scientific explanation for this called "Needle In the…
Read column →Grandparenting · 5 min read
Today is Father's Day. According to my father, today is right up there with Thanksgiving, and he often wishes it shared the same dinner menu. My father is writer John Norberg. He has worn many…
Read column →Grandparenting · 2 min read
Life is too complicated. There are too many choices. The other day we had our three grandchildren in the car and pulled into the drivethru of a combination Mexican-Pizza fast food restaurant. As grandparents we…
Read column →Grandparenting · 4 min read
Last week my wife and I traveled out of state to visit our son, his wife and our 15-month-old grandson, Alex. We discovered he is not only learning to talk, he’s learning American Sign Language.…
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