Category: Personal
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A Goodbye for a Nice Dog
2003 marked a definitive change in my life. I returned to college, effectively abandoning a potential career in journalism to pursue English, effectively changing my focus to fiction writing. That was also the year that my ex-wife told me that she wanted to adopt Tippie after finding her in an Ames animal shelter. Tippie always…
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The Closing of “My” Bookstore
As I write this, another bookstore is about to die. This, on its own, would be a tragedy in itself. For a booklover, the bookstore is almost as much a part of the experience as the book. From the rainbow of spines peppering the worn wooden shelves to the intoxicating odor of old paper, a…
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Holiday Wishes and Goodreads
Holiday Wishes and Goodreads This week at The Confabulator Cafe, we are sharing our feelings on the holidays. My views have become conflicted in recent years. You can read all about it at http://www.confabulatorcafe.com/2012/12/holiday-wishes/ Also, if you are a Goodreads user, feel free to connect with me there. I usually review every book I read. Discussing…
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Fear and the Fourth in Clearfield
The Fourth of July is a time of family, fireworks, a hot grill, and a scorching sun. For me, many of my Fourth of July memories revolve around the small Iowa town of Clearfield. Clearfield is a rural town of only a couple hundred people. Broadway is a wide two block street flanked by crumbling…
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Minor Moments
It is human fate to have our dreams and to chase them throughout our lives. But dreams are fleet-footed. They tease our hope then slip through our fingers time and again. But, in the end, the chase and those minor moments of success are what will matter. I’ve been thinking a lot about dreams lately.…
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Fifty Dollar Crossroads
“Destiny is no matter of chance. It’s a matter of choice…” – William Jennings Bryan The tree that is your life has many branches breaking off in various directions. Sometimes, it seems there is no reasoning behind which way the branches go, but on you climb, wondering what the view will be like from the…
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Pressing the Reset Button
“If some people didn’t tell you, you’d never know they’d been away on a vacation.” – Kin Hubbar Vacation is a time of peace and relaxation meant to give you a break from the day to day. So how is it Thursday already? I have been off from my day job since last Friday, but…
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A Fisher of Hearts
“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” – Matthew 4:19 My grandfather had died, quietly, in his sleep. I sat in a wooden pew, awaiting the beginning of his funeral. There was no organ, only the constant drone of the crowd. My family had arrived early. As I sat impatiently, my hands…
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A Train Ride to an Unknown Stop
“A great man is always willing to be little.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson The curse of living is not age, but the aging of those around you. One by one, the flowers of your life, those who brought you the greatest color and beauty, whither and return to the Earth. You move on, not because…