While on my regular trip to drop off items at the Polk County Recycling Center one day last week, I had the chance to visit with Ben Lee. In case you didn’t realize it, Ben keeps the recycling center organized and operational. He is a good-natured fellow with a great sense of humor, but the other day, he was a little out of sorts. Not the cranky, grumpy kind of out of sorts, and it actually wasn’t him who was out of sorts at all — it’s those of us who use the center! more

It’s weird when a super-low-budget cult movie like 1981’s “The Evil Dead” gets a well-funded... more

In Missouri, any snake found near the water or swimming in it is presumed to be a venomous cottonmouth. more

My dad wouldn’t let me take a typing class in high school. more

When I first heard that there was a movie called “The Pope’s Exorcist,” I thought maybe it was about a guy that performs an exorcism on The Pope. That could be... more

When a person is harmless, people say things like “Oh, she wouldn’t hurt a fly!” Around here, no one says that about me. They’ve seen me in action, and they know – I’m a stone-cold fly killer. more

I last talked to Angela 32 years ago. It was the evening of April 20, 1991. She called to let us know she would be coming home the next day from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg. more

God makes promises. They are all throughout His word. He speaks His promises through His written word. To some, He speaks through other believers. He may weave them in our dreams or plant a seed in our gut. He finds a way to reveal promises to each of us. When I believe God has promised something or I am praying and seeking something specific, I often struggle with do I pursue it (or Him) fervently or do I wait for it (or Him) patiently? more

For many waterfowl hunters and nature viewers, the wood duck is Missouri’s – and, to a larger extent, North America’s – forgotten conservation success story. more

Last week, I wrote in my review of “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” that I wasn’t really familiar with the “Dungeons & Dragons” game, and that may have affected my enjoyment of the movie. There will be no such disclaimer for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” more

A politician friend justifiably took me to task last week about my comments on politicians on April 5. I went back to that previously written column and concluded... more

Dear Editor, HB1169 is a bill that is being considered in Jefferson City designed to protect Missourians against... more