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There are people who can tell a story, and then there are people who can make you believe it. Jerry Clower could make an ordinary tale hilarious simply by telling it. Imagine Michael Jackson’s Thriller without Vincent Price’s voice. The words matter, but so do the timing, the pauses, and the silence between them. One…

In the past I have done presentations on finding Joy in your life. The presentation involved each person taking a piece of paper and folding into thirds. Then with minimal thinking the participants were to write down ten things that bring them joy. The next thing they were to write down three to five activities…

My childhood memories of Halloween are non-existent. Raised Church of England, October 31st was All Hallows Eve the night before All Saints Day. A three-day period that concluded with All Souls’ Day. Introduced around 740 AD it was designed to remember the saints, and the next day to remember the ordinary dead. If you are…

Long before escape rooms were part of anyone’s vocabulary, our FFA chapter built them out of small square straw bales. They were among the attractions at Barnwarming, the annual fall dance. While they weren’t exactly engineering marvels, the tunnels were elaborate enough that a person had to crawl up, over, and back down before finding…

As the Halloween season approaches, there are a few important points I’d like to address regarding candy, the official currency of All Hallows’ Eve. Here’s a heavy hitter to start things off: I love candy corn. And.. I just lost half of you. Seriously, I love them. And that mixed bag that has the pumpkins,…

Some friendships begin because two people choose each other. Others begin because somebody makes a housing assignment. I met Bart Hansen in the summer after our junior year of high school, at Nebraska Christian College in Norfolk, Nebraska. The program was New Way Singers, which brought high school students together for several days of rehearsal…

Even if you have never flown internationally you may have seen movies (think “Boeing, Boeing,” and “Catch Me If You Can,”) or at the least seen the latest slick advertising showing elegant, spacious airplane seating with cuddly blankets and gourmet dining. Those days, dear reader, are gone with the wind and numerous now defunct airlines.…

It’s pointless to do so, but here’s a wish I frequently make: I wish my phone would disappear. Not just mine, but everyone’s phone. I wish they had never been created. Ok, I’ll amend that: I wish phones had stayed phones, rather than morphing into highly addictive personal computers that beckon each of us to…