As I was sitting here at my computer my mind seemed to want to head down that ole path called "memory lane." And for some reason I found myself back in Fort Scott and I was 16 years old. It is really hard for me to remember what it was like being 16 years old. ...

The following article was written by 90-year-old Regina Brett of Cleveland, Ohio. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. When in doubt, just take the next small step. Life is too short enjoy it. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick, your friends and family will. ...

Well, I had another adventure. Of course what I might think of as an adventure, some of you younger whippersnappers might think otherwise. For this ole grandma sometimes just getting out of bed seems to be an adventure. Now on with my story. The plans were made to spend Christmas down in Madison and Middleton and daughter Susie's mother-in-law Doris and I were to be picked up by son in law Mike on Thursday, December the 20th. ...

I found a booklet on flag etiquette and thought you all might enjoy reading it. All Americans should be given this lesson. Those who think that America is an arrogant nation should really reconsider that thought. Our founding fathers used God's word and teachings to establish our great nation and I think it's high time Americans get re-educated about this Nation's history...

While reading the other day I came across the life story of Robert May, the man who wrote Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I would like to share it with you. A man named Robert (Bob) May depressed and broken-hearted stared out the apartment window into the chilling December night...

This was a story sent to me email. I found it quite interesting and thought you all might enjoy it too. TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER 1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why? ANSWER: Twenty-one steps. It alludes to the 21 gun salute which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary...

Back to Thanksgiving, fast forward to 2012. Since we no longer own our farm house, the hunters used the new shack that Bob had built for them to assure them of a place to hunt. And so began a "new" chapter for the family of deer hunters. It worked just fine and Bob would be happy to know that "The Deer Hunt Tradition" continues. ...

I can remember a soap opera show on the radio called "As The World Turns." I can remember my mama listening to it every chance she got. I call this "As My World Turns." Nothing ever stays the same; it is always changing. There have been times in my life that I loved and wished that it would never change, but try as I might I couldn't stop time. So much has changed in my life in the past year and a half...

The annual whitetail deer season made its appearance on Saturday, Nov. 17 in Wisconsin. On Wednesday, Bob's brother, John, who lives on Hilton Head, S.C., arrived early to do a little turkey hunting before the deer season. On Thursday he asked if I had anything planned for Friday. ...

Well ... it is finally over, and I for one am glad. What might I be talking about? The election that seems to have been going on forever and ever. It was on the television night and day and my email box was full of political "stuff" every day. Plus I seemed to get dozens of political calls every day and my mailbox was full every day with political flyers. Enough is enough...

Well, it is time to bring this latest adventure to a close and get on with my life. I had an appointment at the University Hospital to get an X-ray of my ribs to see how they were healing. The X-rays showed that they were healing quite nicely. The doctor said I could drop my morphine to one pill a day and if I didn't have any pain, I could discontinue them. She also said I couldn't drive 'til I was off of the morphine...

The other day I was watching TV and they were televising the memorial service for Neil Armstrong. It was such a lovely memorial service, but one of the parts I liked best was when the lady played the piano and sang the song "Fly Me To The Moon." Her piano playing and also her singing were simply beautiful...

This is finally the last chapter in our Labor Day saga. After Tamara had an empty hole in her ear, she said she must go into Rapids and get a new earring for it. She took off with Kaitlynn, Lauren and Olivia to do some shopping. That left Doris, Susie, Tyler and me. ...

Continuing on with our Labor Day weekend at Susie and Mike's cottage, people continued to arrive, and by the time we headed for bed in the bedroom I slept in was Doris, me, my great-grandson Tyler (3 years old) and his sister Olivia, who is 7. I woke up during the night hearing Tyler wanting his dad. ...

I had a quite interesting time during the Labor Day holiday. Daughter Susie and husband Mike invited me and Mike's mom Doris down to their cottage on Lake Sherwood south of Wisconsin Rapids. This has become an annual event for probably the last four or five years for their growing family. They were anticipating at least 24 or 25 at various times to come and help them celebrate. They took some vacation days and arrived on Wednesday evening...

The other morning I woke up about 6 a.m. to go to the bathroom and looked out my front window and what was this? Two fellows were right out in front of my patio looking at my Ironquill sign, the porch, the apartment upstairs, back to my patio and then walked a ways down the sidewalk then back to looking at my porch...

It is so strange, not having to do anything unless I want to; eat whenever I want to, and what I want. Sometimes I even forget to eat. It may be 3 p.m. in the afternoon and I finally get around to fixing some lunch. Daughter Susie left notes all around the house saying "Mom don't forget to eat."...

This column is going to be about "leg cramps, Charlie horse, or any kind of body cramp." These cramps seem to be attracted to older people, better known as "senior citizens." Some younger people get them, but not very often. I can remember when I was younger, I would occasionally get a leg cramp, but it wasn't any thing that I couldn't handle...

I received the following story in my email. It reminded me so much of Bob, I decided to share it with you. Grandpa's Hands Grandpa, some 90-plus years old, sat feebly on the patio bench. He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands. When I sat down beside him, he didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat, I wondered if he was OK. Finally, not really wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him at the same time, I asked him if he was OK...

Dear friends and relatives, I am writing this to all of you at the present time. I hope in the coming weeks that I can write and answer each one of you personally. The letters and phone calls of love and support that I have received are overwhelming. Each letter has touched me very deeply...

There are so many things to write about, but my mind seems to draw me back to the terrible loss that I feel since my beloved husband Bob passed away on July 6. Since you all became acquainted with him through my column, I wanted to share this with you...

A letter from Papa (Robert W. Miller), Feb. 2, 1992: To my son, son-in-law and grandsons, These fine old guns of mine are now being turned over to you for safekeeping. In so doing, I wish I could convey to you, for your enjoyment, the memories that attach to these faithful old friends of mine which date back to my first .22 cal. at age 11...

Following is a story written several years ago by my beloved husband Bob, who died on July 6. It was written to his son and grandsons. Why I Hunt By Robert W. Miller I hunt because my Dad hunted. He took me with him and so we built a bond that I still cherish, and because his father hunted and his father's father and all of the fathers in my line and yours way back as far as those fathers who invented spears and axes and recorded their adventures with pictures on the walls of caves...

Finally ... I have been meeting some new friends since we moved. I was beginning to wonder if anyone lives here in these apartments. Early in the morning, I go out on the patio with a cup of coffee and sit on my mom's ole glider and watch the people here in our complex hop in their cars and head to work...

Another Father's Day has come and gone, one we thought would be just a "run of the mill" mundane day. Usually the family tries to get together, at least some of them, but this year they all seemed to be going in every which direction. So we hadn't really planned anything special -- thought we might go across the road to the supper club and have a fried chicken dinner...

I continue to be amazed at "city life." The people are different, the sounds are different, the sky looks different and the thunder and lightning sound different. Even the birds sound different. I love the sound of a train at night, and we can hear the train whistle way in the distance at night. ...

I received the following in an email and found it quite humorous. Why we love our children: 1) Nudity I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked!...

It has now been six weeks since we moved and it is beginning to look and feel like "home." I finally have hung most of my pictures and so it is really taking on the feel of home. I still have five boxes in the house that haven't been opened or put away. But hopefully this week that chore will finally be done. There are numerous boxes out in our garage, but I will do those as I feel like it...

After our supper at Emma Krumbee's, it was time to catch the bus out to the Central Wisconsin Airport to await the arrival of our "warriors." We arrived about 8:30 p.m., and the plane was supposed to arrive about 9:30 p.m. We were met at the door by members of the American Legion, Post No. 153, and escorted down to a special place just for the wives of our husbands to sit and wait for their arrival...

After all the veterans finished registering and receiving their "goody" bags, it was time for the banquet and program for the veterans and their wives. It was held in the Howard Johnson banquet room. A delicious meal was enjoyed by all and then it was time for the program, which was USO style...

This story will begin with a trip down memory lane. It begins back in 1941. Yes, that is when FDR was president of the United States. The country hadn't recovered from the Great Depression and our country was really hurting. And then arrived the day of Dec. ...

This was sent to me by a friend. A LICK AND A PROMISE "I'll just give this a lick and a promise," my mother said as she quickly mopped up a spill on the floor without moving any of the furniture. "What is that supposed to mean," I asked as in my young mind I envisioned someone licking the floor with his or her tongue...

The chapter in our lives known as "moving" has finally come to an end, and I for one am very grateful. As of last Friday, April 20, the movers moved us into Marshfield, Wis., in about five or six hours. We are now what is known as "city dwellers." I wouldn't recommend to anyone waiting as long as we did to finally decide to move. ...

When we went to the old City, we went through the Jaffa Gate and came out at the Dung Gate. Other attractions included the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Before going in, we had to remove our shoes and leave everything outside, and we also had to wear dresses. This Mosque can be identified by its black dome...

As our tour of Jerusalem continued, so did our history lessons. As the first of the many disasters which overwhelmed the holy places, in 614 A.D. the Persian Army, having conquered Jerusalem, sacked and demolished the churches and bore away the Cross itself into Persia...

Continuing on through Tiberius, there was found in the Sea of Galilee a boat from the time of Jesus; people called it the Jesus Boat. We took a ride on a boat that was a replica of the Jesus Boat. So many things happened on the Sea of Galilee during the time of Jesus, making it a very moving experience. It was absolutely awesome...

In 1999 we had the trip of a lifetime. Bob's brother John, who was a Presbyterian pastor at that time, asked us if we would like to go on a tour to Israel. He had led several of these tours over the years and thought we might like to join the tour, as he would be retiring soon and didn't know at that time if he would be leading any more tours...

The move is on ('scuse the pun). Again we had help from our son Rob and wife Catheryn. Bobkat arrived on Friday afternoon and left on Sunday afternoon. We went out for a fish fry at Laura's Café in Pittsville on Friday evening. From there 'til they left we worked ourselves silly...

The countdown is just about a month and we will be moving into our new apartment. in Marshfield. I do believe I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. My problem is trying to maneuver around the house, it is almost like a tunnel, what with the mountain of boxes that are beginning to pile up all over the house. The walls are bare, the shelves are bare, in fact it doesn't really look like our house anymore...

As I was sitting in the front room today and looking around at the inside of Ironquill, it was so different from before I started dismantling it. And it finally dawned on me that it isn't a house or place that makes it our home, but what we put in it: Things, treasures, antiques and just plain stuff. All of the things that we put in it was a part of us...

As I continue to pack for our upcoming move to Marshfield, I have trouble sitting down and doing my weekly column. So this is what I came up with, it was sent to me by an email friend. Hope you all get a good belly laugh; I did. Things I Owe My Parents...

As we continue to downsize our things in anticipation of our move in April, Bob has taken on the job of all of the folders, pictures, letters and anything else that inhabits our files. And let me tell you, that file was so full, it was hard to get the drawers open...

It's that time of the year, Valentine's Day, and it is time to wish my "sweetie" a "Happy Valentine's Day." I can't ever remember not receiving and giving him one each year. You would think after all these years the cards wouldn't be so mushy, but they are...

It's time to bring the "car series" to a finish. It's been a lot of fun remembering all of the cars over the years. Next was a 1962 Chevy Corvair and a 1964 Corvair and a 1966 Chevy. Over a period of years, the Western Insurance Company provided Bob with company cars...

In remembering past cars we have had, I began remembering some other cars that belonged to friends. Back in the late 40s, after the World War II, many returning veterans went to school on the G.I. Bill. Many of them came to Fort Scott and went to our junior college, which at that time was in the high school building. Our town was abuzz with returning vets. A friend of ours, Bobby Jack Gregg, was one of those veterans...

Last week I forgot to mention that our next vehicle was a "brand spankin' new Chevy" panel bread truck, and we paid $1,500 for it. But it wasn't long before Bob realized that he wasn't a "born" salesman (or, for that matter, any kind of a salesman), so he sold the new panel truck and we headed back to Fort Scott with our "over the hill" '37 Chevy car. It wasn't long before it "gave up the ghost" and died...

The other day Bob was cleaning out his desk drawers and was actually parting with some "treasures." He came across a folder that he had put all of the receipts of the cars that we have had over the years. I found them quite interesting and thought you all might enjoy them too...

As I continue to clean out closets, cupboards, boxes, the sun porch, pictures on the wall and all sorts of places where I have stashed away my many treasures, memories come flooding back of the woven stitches of that tapestry that becomes a crazy quilt of our lives. So many stitches, so many colors, some have become faded, some are quite worn, but it still remains what our lives have become. There is a strong family bond that binds us all together in many ways...

The Christmas season has arrived in all its glory. But it doesn't seem possible that a week from today we will be celebrating Jesus' birthday. The time seems to fly by. I have been playing my Christmas records off and on each day. They really get a person in the Christmas spirit. I even found an old Elvis Presley Christmas record. I had forgotten what a nice voice he had...

Christmas is such a special time of year to reflect back over the past year and truly thank God for His bountiful blessings. We have survived another year without any major setbacks. We have both arrived in our lives to the age of 80 and 81 and still have our mental facilities and, so far, can walk around without any help. Now, let me tell you folks, that is a big plus...

The second day of deer season arrived, and all of the hunters again trekked back to the woods to their tree houses. But the deer refused to cooperate. In fact, the does were probably bedded down in their doe beds, and the bucks were tired of chasing them, and hardly any deer were seen...

Another opening weekend of the deer season. This was a very memorable and even sad weekend. After 47 years, it was the very last time we would all be spending the deer season together at Ironquill. Bob's brother John, who lives on Hilton Head, S.C., was the first to arrive on Thursday. He brought us a peck of Pink Lady apples (yummy)...

I was going to get back to the Big Band Era, but decided to write about Veterans Day. It has been a busy week. On Thursday, we attended a free chicken dinner in honor of all veterans at a supper club called Pinecrest on the other side of Pittsvllle...

It's a "done deal." Hallelujah! We sold our house and 40 acres. We had just about given up for the winter when, low and behold, a neighbor down the road called and said he was interested. We made an appointment for a couple of days later, so many things had to fall into place before it could all come together. But within about an hour and half, we had signed the papers. It will be final in about 30 days. God is good...

I was going to run another series on the big band era, but after seeing the picture of the swimming pool on the front page of The Fort Scott Tribune, it brought back so many memories that I decided to write about the pool. More about the big band next week...

And the big band era plays on. The "Readers Digest" pamphlet continues . . . It began in 1936 and came to an end in 1945. All in all, there were 37 famous bands and 120 top tunes during that time. Huge ballrooms, often lavishly designed, were an essential part of the big band era. Two of the most famous were the Aragon and the Trianon in Chicago, Ill...

As you all might know, I am a big fan of the big (great) band era. I have an album of big band music, and as I was playing it this weekend, I noticed a leaflet in the album telling all about how the big bands started. The following column was taken from this leaflet by "Readers Digest."...

It is still the summer of 1938, school is out and it is glorious. I am wandering around looking for something to do when I hear my Mama holler and say, "Marilyn, would you like some black walnuts to crack and eat?" Boy would I. I love those dudes. Black walnuts have a hard green hull on them, and they have to turn brown and black and get real soft and mushy, then begin to dry, before you can hull them. ...

As Paul Harvey would say, "and now for the rest of the story." On that path of 1938, I told you that there were three things that almost always destroys kids' shoes, the second one being taking an old tin can and placing your shoe very carefully right in the middle of the can and stomping down on it. (Of course, doing this with both shoes.) And now the fun would begin...

As I sit in my favorite recliner in the living roomthinking about what I will write for my column this week, I find myself going down that road that at one time or another we all travel. It is Memory Lane. As I take this road I finally find myself in the year of 1938. I am in the second grade. We live on the east side of Fort Scott on Hill Street...

There is an old hotel/pub in Marble Arch, London, which used to have a gallows adjacent to it. Prisoners were taken to the gallows (after a fair trial, of course) to be hung. The horse drawn dray carting the prisoner was accompanied by an armed guard, who would stop the dray outside the pub and ask the prisoner if he would like "one last drink."...

It's time I come clean and admit I have an addiction. Some people are addicted to booze, drugs and gambling (there are lots of addictions). Folks, mine is garage sales. As you know, we are in the process of trying to sell our house, which means that for the past few months I have been cleaning out closets, rooms, drawers, every place I can think of to begin downsizing, so that if we ever do sell our house, it won't be such a big job at the last minute...

It doesn't seem possible that it is Labor Day weekend, but several tell-tale signs have crept in that fall is arriving. The trees are beginning to turn, the birds are beginning their arrangements for flying south for the winter. The days are getting shorter and the nights longer. There is a crispness in the air. There is a feeling in the air that only fall can give...

I received the following email from a friend. After some of the comments, I will give my own comment. Comments made in the year of 1955. l. I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $10. (That was back in the early years of our marriage, and we were in a great recession. And yes, that is what we spent a week for groceries. We had a budget, and $10 was all we had.)...