One Nation, Under God
One Nation, Under God
Sorted by date Results 60 - 84 of 194
As a lot of people know, I am from the Chicago-land area, so I can’t comprehend the southerner’s take on Confederate flags and monuments. (Before you continue, re-read the previous sentence twice if needed and then consider this is from a different point of view.) I do know that growing up I was taught of the south’s rebellion that led to our Civil War. It is great that some people want to remember something terrible from our past. I get it, southern pride. But whenever I am in the presence of a...
I have a love hate relationship with corn. Yes the grain. Growing up in the suburbs around Chicago, I have seen my share of corn fields. I have been on road trips throughout the state of Illinois and if there was one theme it could’ve been cornfields. My friend Owie even tried to rap about them once. I have eaten many corn kernels in my life. Whether it be canned, casseroled, popped, high fructosed, etc.., I owe a few of my pounds to corn. I can’t even tell you how many times, I have heard bas...
When local summer camps hit, it is a fresh reminder that school is right around the corner. Last Wednesday I visited the North Country Basketball Camp as well as the Mustang Football Camp. Both camps had a decent amount of participants. It was great seeing all of the youth in both of these camps, but it also reminded me of how long I have been here in Phillips County. I know in the grand scheme of things that five years is not a long time. I also know that some of these kids have grown a lot in...
I am not often the one to follow certain trends but I caved and bought a fidget spinner. The funny thing that I have noticed as I get older I have often looked at some of the trends that the younger generation is trying to popularize and have thought, man, that’s stupid. I can tell you one thing; I will not be wearing a romper this summer or any summer for that matter. If you are a grown man that can wear a “casual” onesie in public, power to you. But for one thing I can’t fit in a onesie...
Before the 2017 Gospel Jamboree, I did not think I could have anything in common with anyone in the Bluegrass community. Boy, was I wrong. From a musical aspect, I had never played Bluegrass music but I could relate to a few aspects of being a Christian traveling musician. My wife and I had a conversation with a young 22-year-old from one of the groups. This young lady had a desire to be in a marital relation one day. Even from a young age both Susan and I could relate to wanted to be with a...
My parents came through for a few days. My real parents. You have no idea how awkward it is when people assume that my parents are around Malta when in actuality it was just another African American that I have never met in my life. It is awkward and yes it happens. If you think that you saw my parents here around Father’s Day, yes it probably happened. It lifted my spirit to see or should I say hear my folks coming down the street. They had a piece of their Buick’s undercarriage scraping the...
Get your mind out of the gutter. It wasn’t that kind of drive. I blew a tire for the first time. I admit I should’ve seen it coming, knowing that my tires had struggled to hold air in the winter months. During spring my tires performed a lot better but on a weekly trip to pick up the papers in Havre, I passed a vehicle going a somewhat reasonable speed when I knew something wasn’t quite right. The blowout wasn’t as dramatic as I thought one may be. I made it safely to the shoulder but the roa...
A customer came in and noticed a Happy New Year sign at the PCN, reminding me that we are about halfway through 2017. This sign also reminded me of how a new year is typically stereotyped as a point of change. At this halfway point, I have noticed I haven’t done anything to change myself. I looked at the scale and I have never been heavier. I think most of us have had that moment where you look down at the scale and your eyes bulge through your head. I had that moment about a month ago. S...
Some sad news hit my family the other day. My godmother passed away and I have been pretty bummed out. I am thankful that my parents are still alive and that we never needed to use her for finding a new home after the unthinkable happened. My godmother was one of my mother’s best friends growing up and she was named godmother for myself and my two brothers growing up. She became one of our favorite adult figures growing up. She was a strong spiritual figure, praying for us every day, even b...
Somehow, something that was a tedious and sometimes strenuous chore became an experience that I never saw coming. My wife and I had been talking about upgrading our mower that cost me a whopping $35 a couple of years ago. I thought that it would be something that we would get in a couple of years due to other expenses we have as homeowners. But a couple of weeks ago it happened. This was after I was annoyed with my first attempt at mowing my yard this year. I was so annoyed that my bagger would...
Sometimes being a photographer takes you weird places. I received a phone call from a loan company earlier this year to become an inspec-tor. Initially I was annoyed that an out of state company would approach me while I was struggling with a bout of writer’s block. That was until I found out that it could help someone that needed a person in my position. I called back the company who needed my services to accept the short job. I’m glad I did because in minutes I was transformed into an ins...
Man is it tough to be a Bears fan. For those that missed it, in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Bears originally had the third pick of the draft. With so much talent of defense and our lack of forced turnovers last season, I and many other Bears fans expected our GM to draft the draft’s top safety or cornerback. While watching the draft, I waited patiently expecting the 49ers to draft Stanford’s Solomon Thomas with the second overall pick. Then it happened. The Bears traded from the...
Sometimes social media videos can bring out all kinds of emotions in people. No, this isn’t about our President, but it is linked to America’s past time. Now that I’ve cleaned up my Facebook page from obnoxious keyboard politicians things are looking up. My page has since been overrun with sports and cute animal videos. I never in a million years thought I would enjoy videos of cats and baby goats but seeing my two year old react to those things is priceless. I also stumbled across some video...
My dog Brucey gave me a friendly reminder of why I need to clean up after myself. Last week, my wife bought me an early Father’s Day gift that was two years in the making. It’s no secret that I love smoking meat, so many of you already know what it is. Last year, I was supposed to get a new grill but scared of the price of that grill, I picked up a second hand grill for a fraction of the cost. That grill has served my family really well over the past year and has accumulated countless hours of u...
Since moving to Malta, I have been intrigued with the wildlife around the area. I am relieved to say that I have not encountered any predators like wolves or bears yet living in the bustling metropolis that is Malta, but I have seen a few things that I haven’t encountered in the Chicago land Suburb I call my hometown. The first animal I saw here was the controversial Buffalo. Somewhere around Fort Peck, my then fiancée Susan and I were on a double date with her parents and we pulled up to an ar...
Since moving to Malta, I have been intrigued with the wildlife around the area. I am relieved to say that I have not encountered any predators like wolves or bears yet living in the bustling metropolis that is Malta, but I have seen a few things that I haven’t encountered in the Chicago land Suburb I call my hometown. The first animal I saw here was the controversial Buffalo. Somewhere around Fort Peck, my then fiancée Susan and I were on a double date with her parents and we pulled up to an ar...
I’ve been to five state tournaments and so far this one was pretty far up there. To say that we had two teams in their respective games is something that will never happen for most schools in the country let alone Montana. Congrats to the Mustangs for bringing home a championship. It wasn’t an easy tournament for the team having to overcome two top ranked teams but they were able to get it done. The M-ettes put up a strong effort surviving a tough side of the bracket, defeating the eventual thi...
I will admit that reading has never been one of my favorite hobbies. Maybe it’s an occupational thing but after writing several stories a week, unless it’s sports related, or something that grabs my attention, reading is the last thing I want to do. I used to enjoy leisurely reading in my college years, which came as a shock to me but since my college years I haven’t picked up a book. It’s been almost eight years My son loves his books. He probably owns more books than I have had through...
Despite the stakes being low for the majority of 2B teams in last weekend's tourney, there were several quality games in Malta last weekend. Though there was the spirit of competition, I also saw many fans and players on opposing teams hanging out together, which was great to see. I also had the opportunity to take photos of out-of-county teams, which really let me focus on several kids that I have seen play over the last few years. It was great seeing so many athletes compete so hard, several...
Welp, for the first half of the Super Bowl, I was correct. Last week I had predicted an Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl win. At halftime, the Falcons were up 21-3 and Tom Brady hate memes were running rampant on Facebook. Then Lady Gaga sang. I have to admit that I didn’t want to see the halftime show until some people claimed that she was going to make a political statement. I was gearing up for the next thing President Trump was about to say on his Twitter account in retaliation to the halftime s...
This Sunday, many Americans will engage in what many consider to be the biggest sporting event of the year. Me? Maybe, maybe not. It’s hard to watch the Super Bowl without a horse in the race. Being a Bears fan that wasn’t even a thought the last time they won a championship, you would think I’m used to it. I still attempt to watch the yearly game. Every year I get the question, “who are you rooting for?” To be honest, the answer that always comes into my head first is neither. Let’s be...
The high school sports season is in full bloom. I have to say that I am very proud of our local sports teams. Each team that I have covered has shown growth and have been keeping things very interesting for this reporter. Both Malta basketball teams are currently in first place in their respective conferences. The Mustangs are 6-0 in 2B basketball and the M-ettes are 5-1 at the moment. This past week the Malta-Whitewater Wrestling team won the Harlem Wildcat Tournament. That’s huge because t...
In my life, last Tuesday was a great day in many ways for me but it was also one of the most traumatic days I’ve had in a while. I had been highly anticipating the day because I would make my weekly trip to Havre. This particular time I had been waiting to make the trip to pick up a blend-er that I had ordered online. This blender was not only affordable but it possesses a motor and blade combination that completely liquefies fruit and vegetables. I had tried juicers before but they always l...
As I wrote last week I noticed my column had nothing to do with the holidays. So this week I will talk about Christmas despite my disdain of the over commercialism associated with Christmas. And yes I said Christmas. Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. I have no idea how Christmas became a bad word. Even in its most un-religious form, who has a problem with sharing time with family, bringing joy to little kids and giving gifts from the heart? I loathe Christmas movies. Every year my wife asks me to...
I understand that what I’m about to say does not apply to everyone but I want to try and paint a picture. I’ve never taken kindly to bullying of any kind. Whether it be teasing, roasting, hitting, etc., I have always been against it. Riding home from school, kids would roast each other. Eventually they started roasting me and I learned how to respond with my own jokes. When a kid thought they could pick on me I eventually fought back because that was the only way I knew how to overcome bul...
