Author: Daris Howard

My university colleagues and I always tried to find summer work and then returned to share stories of our adventures. But John’s story was unsurpassed that year. ... Read more

As I watched the veterans ride by on a big trailer in the Fourth of July parade, I was reminded of a good man I had grown to know and love. ... Read more

My two-year-old granddaughter, Hannah, loves animals. When she comes to our house and I take her for a walk, we have to stop and pet every cat or dog that she sees. Hannah especially loves to go out in the backyard and pet our golden retrievers. ... Read more

Jennifer’s children wanted a dog. That is normal for children, and Jennifer decided that maybe it would be good for them to learn responsibility. So Jennifer sat down with them and talked to them about how important it would be that the dogs were ... Read more

The recent COVID-19 outbreak, and the fear surrounding it, reminds me of a story I heard. It was based on an event during the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic. Earl was a hard-working, family-oriented man. He, his wife, and their children ran a little ... Read more

Coach blew his whistle, which brought us to a stop. His favorite conditioning exercise was to have us run on our hands and knees back and forth across the wrestling room. He started us off by blowing his whistle and ended the exercise in the same ... Read more

After finding out there was a bullet in my arm, I hoped that was what was causing the pain in my arm. I figured that if a bullet was removed, there would be less trauma and healing than if it was torn ligaments. But I was to have no such luck. The doctor ... Read more

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