Columns

When the lovely Catherine and I slipped out of steamy Illinois for a driving trip to New Mexico June 30, the last item I tossed into her car was a rain parka.

As I sat talking with a couple of friends one day last week, the subject of prisoners and prison life came up, somehow connected to all the media hype over poor little rich girl, Paris Hilton.

The ag world treats the cyclical years when the farm bill is written as The Years. As in "this could be The Year that meaningful reform streamlines ag programs" or "this could be The Year that environmental mandates include substantial financial assistance.

It was the use of the phrase "party circuit" that finally put me over the edge. The phrase was used in conjunction with the word "birthday" as in, "Are you doing the birthday party circuit?" The term used to explain that any self-respecting modern child must first have their "actual birthday day party" with cake and presents from immediate family followed by their "class party" whereby they take treats into class.

It's been said that ice cream has a vocabulary all its own. If words or phrases have any link to ice cream, most ears will prick up at the sound of them.

"You are bigger than milk," says Nestle dairy buyer Patty Stroup. Stroup, raised on a dairy farm and a former dairy producer, is solidly grounded in the world of dairy production.

Just after I completed the previous reader-mail column in late December, a Christmas card, carrying a festive stamp, arrived.

When my children were still quite young, one of our favorite episodes of Winnie The Pooh was the story of Cassie, the baby owl, growing old enough to take flight for the very first time.

"Take nine eggs, one-half pound of butter or a tea cup of olive oil, three cold cooked chickens or one medium-sized turkey, two or three bunches of celery .

The folly of youth is best demonstrated in all the instances when wise and well-meaning adults counseled me to "enjoy life, it goes so fast!" I, with the boundless wisdom of a teenage know-it-all, responded to this insight with a well-practiced eye roll and scoffing disdain.