Author: Daris Howard

Too often it seems like all of the news we hear is bad; at least a high percentage of it is negative. That’s why I always look for positive, uplifting stories. There was an event that occurred over the last few weeks in our community that is worth ... Read more

“When will softball ever help you get a job and earn a living?” Dean’s mother asked in exasperation. Underhand fast-pitch softball was big in the communities before World War II, and Dean was a crazy fast pitcher at it, with an emphasis on crazy. ... Read more

I joined some other men and women to take the youth of our community to a water slide for the evening. I went down the slide only once and felt my body would never be the same. Most of the other adults felt the same way about the slide, so while the youth ... Read more

I was with the youngest primary children at church last Sunday, when something happened that made me think about Civil Rights Day and the challenges this country has faced. One of the teachers was trying to help the children understand that ... Read more

I was nineteen years old and living in New York when I first met Juan. His family had come to the United States from South America, and he was proud of his heritage. He was a pleasant young man and a jokester. But one thing he especially liked to ... Read more

We attend a little country church in our rural community. I have been involved in many community events and have taken on lots of assignments that have come from the congregation leaders. Mostly I have worked in scouting. On Tuesday of one week, ... Read more

It had been a hard year in our rural community. Lots of older people had passed away, leaving their spouses alone. There had also been quite a few farm accidents from which people were recovering. To add to that, farm prices were low, and many in ... Read more

Cyrus was an old farmer and had worked hard all of his life. He was independent, but he was getting older and everything was just a little bit harder. Still, he was determined to maintain his independence and pride. When the Boy Scouts came around ... Read more

Donna and I had barely started dating. She played in the orchestra for a musical, so I went almost every night. One night after the musical finished, she invited me backstage. As we were mingling with other cast and orchestra members, one of them ... Read more

My daughter Heather had had a bad day. In fact, the whole week hadn’t been that good. She had started school, and there was a mixup in her classes. By the time she had that straightened out, a few days of class had already gone by. She then had to catch ... Read more

We were in a theatre production, and the men’s changing room was nothing but an old converted closet. We were stuffed tight in there, which made for times of joking, telling stories, and barely getting into costume before the opening scene. ... Read more

A truck was approaching, and I recognized some art work on the side and smiled. I thought back to the first day of class a couple of years earlier. The students were introducing themselves. When we got to Wyatt, his introduction was unique. “I ... Read more

Sunday, after church, we loaded our harp into the van, then, connected the van to the tent trailer. We were soon on our way to a music camp for our daughter Elliana to be part of an orchestra and a choir. We arrived at our destination shortly before ... Read more

I was scoutmaster to eighteen boys. On Tuesday nights I handled the scouting activities, but on Sundays, though I met with them in their church class, another man taught them. But one week, after he finished the Sunday lesson and everyone was ... Read more

My phone rang, and when I answered, it was Andy. “Hey, Daris,” he said, “can you come help me? My printer isn’t working.” It was the early days of the internet, and most people didn’t know anything about it yet. A teaching salary didn’t pay all of ... Read more