South & Southwest Fort Wayne Indiana News
Kick back and relax, you deserve it! All of the stories in this section are unique, original entertainment by our local Waynedale, (Fort Wayne) Indiana columnists, created just especially for you. Our columnists love to hear from their dedicated readers!
Recently I was traveling along a dusty road when I stopped at a place in the middle of nowhere. The road from our high school in St. Anthony to the one in Salmon where we often competed, ran through a long, barren stretch of road. The trip on a school bus was about three hours and seemed to go forever.
This year November 11 marks the 100th anniversary of the signing of the armistice which ended WW I. Formerly known as Armistice Day and now Veterans Day it is the day our nation pauses to give thanks and show appreciation to all of the fine men and women who have served our country in the military.
The
We know we said we wouldn’t, our children said we shouldn’t and our friends said we couldn’t, but we moved again anyway! This was number 13 in nearly 52 years of marriage. That’s an average of four years living in each apartment or house, which doesn’t sound very long even though we stayed
The whippoorwills are gone now, flown away to warmer climates. The summer sun is gone too, although it stayed here longer than usual. The frogs and crickets still sound their lonely cries, intermingled with the last of the katydid’s dirge. Summer is over.
There is more than a whisper of rain in the
Somehow it was meant to be: I invite a nice woman I meet outside Born Again Quilts to come take a gander inside and not only make a new friend but have a great quilt story to share.
This is how I met Marianne Darr Norman, a quilter, a lover of quilt history, and most importantly the keeper of many
Autumn entered our hills with wet feet, and it has been mostly damp ever since. Our hills are not the colorful scene as usual, since there has been no frost or freezing weather. We still can look forward to bright autumn weather, which is yet to come. The summer season is now gone, with gardens being
Gardens carry a rag-tag, end-of-summer air, and is almost gone. Only a few scraggly tomatoes and sweet peppers turning red remain. If you search through the dry, rustling cornstalks, you may find fat, yellow ground cherries growing close to the ground. I have a recipe here somewhere for a pie made
I always love going to the Maumee Valley Antique Steam and Gas Show. The quilt show is always my first stop where it is fun to hang out with fellow quilters and view this year’s entries. There is a constant stream of visitors with ballots in hand finding it a challenge to decide which one is their
When we walked into the buffet restaurant, the first thing that caught Jason’s eye was the chocolate fountain. It had three huge tiers with gallons of chocolate flowing over them.
“That’s just about the most amazing thing ever!” he said.
This buffet lunch was the last part of our scouting high
The days are still hot and humid as summer lingers on, but there is a change coming soon. August brings the tail end of summer as the gardens finish their work for another season. The ripe smell of corn tassels hang heavy in the air as the cornstalks turn brown and dry. The late crops have mostly
“Doctor’s office.”
“That you, Doc?”
“Sure is. How you doing, Windy?”
“Finer’n frog hair, Doc. Say, did you hear about ol’ Bob over at the junction?”
“Sure was a shame, Windy. I had no idea he was sick. Went pretty fast is what I heard.”
“Me, too. Say Doc, you remember Minnie
Every once in a while, a gem comes along via e-mail that is worth keeping and repeating. Here’s such a jewel titled: “A mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee.”
A professor stood before his philosophy class with some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large,
Scout camp was going pretty much as usual. Gordy had had an Oreo cookie stolen, and he was sure someone was taking his candy, too. He was determined to find a way to catch the bandit. That was when I suggested that he paint the candy wrappers with red paint acquired from the leather-working merit
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 retelling.
During this time of year, in the west,
I would like to send a great, big hug to all my friends who have missed me, and especially to those who have sent cards and letters telling me so. Most of you guessed the reason why—I fell again, and fractured my right arm, which kept me from writing or typing. Thank the Lord, I am almost back to
Most of us remember the Beanie Babies: Those small stuffed animals of the mid-1990’s stuffed with plastic pellets so you could shape them unlike typical animals stuffed with cotton/poly batting.
How big was the Beanie Baby craze? Back in 1995 it was the first Internet sensation. People couldn’t
“Ahhh! Coffee!” said our resident cowboy, Steve, raising his cup at the philosophy counter.
“Let’s raise our cups to whichever Brazilian came up with this stuff.”
Very slowly, Herb Collins stood with his cup of coffee there in the midst of culture and education at the Mule Barn truck stop.
“Actually,
Midsummer heat blankets our hills, as July slips away into the past. August is ready to enter, with her showy flowers and languid, sleepy days marked by misty mornings and hot, sunshiny days. Above the spotted Joe-Pye weed, the butterflies hover, anxious to draw all the sweetness of summer from its
Who’s the most famous person you’ve met?
Maybe it was a Hollywood celebrity, movie star or Broadway headliner. Perhaps it was a recording artist, television entertainer or sports star. Whoever it was, we’ll wager you were thrilled with the opportunity to shake the person’s hand, get an autograph,
“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. His pitches were incredibly fast, but they were
If you have ever had a dog as a pet that you loved, then you know that life is better with a dog.
My wife, Marty, and I love dogs, almost as much as dogs love people. We have our own beloved, 40-pound Golden Retriever/Briard mix named Taffy. We adopted her from Animal Care & Control. And, we have
Doc was just getting up to leave the philosophy counter as Herb walked in. Herb was grinning and flexing muscles and had the look of eagles in his eyes. We stared.
“Herb,” said Doc. “You know, you can overdo a good thing.”
“Why Doc … whatever do you mean?”
“I realize that getting 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 continued to see who could go the fastest
This spring my friend, Nancy Watts, and her husband, John, went on a small group trip to Uzbekistan, a Central Asian nation and former Soviet republic. They traveled there because Nancy, a quilter and textile enthusiast, wanted to learn first-hand about the history of the “Silk Road” the ancient
Down at the sale barn Saturday, the think tank had coagulated there with coffees to go to celebrate spring. Doc and Dud had their dogs with them, while Bert and Dewey and Steve went stag.
Dud tried to start a conversation, but the loudspeaker soon drove them outside, where they arrayed themselves on