Last week, my daughter Julia and I caught fireflies. Magical little beings, fireflies communicate with bioluminescence. It’s easy to learn why they glow. But, I’m not interested. Their enchanting lights shine for Julia and me to chase. We giggle catching them and smile releasing them. Our backyard becomes a magical oasis from the world. It’s not always possible to play: I’m busy! Yet I looked at my calendar last week and felt lost. All my commitments had ended. No longer did they dictate every

One cold November morning, I watched from our kitchen as tractor after tractor drove up our driveway. Pick-up trucks pulling wagons followed. About 12 neighboring farmers were coming to harvest our corn, because my father was ill and could not work in the fields that fall. My father did not ask for their help. The neighbors knew about his health problems, and they just organized the rescue harvest on their own. Without their caring, our crop -- and our income for the entire year -- would have

When it comes to art, I'm a sucker for ambition. When I heard there was a film shot entirely in various rooms of the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, it didn't have much impact on me. But when I found out the film, Russian Ark, was done in one 96-minute camera shot, I was all in. Likewise in 2000, when Mike Figgis announced a film about movie executives, I couldn't have cared less. But when I learned it was going to have four stories being told simultaneously in quarters on the screen and

It’s time to breathe a sigh of relief. A budget’s been passed, the Fourth of July has come and gone, and the older generation’s always complained that taxes were going up, up, up! Let them gloat awhile. It’s still summer, so let’s celebrate the laziest season of all. Kids are deeply immersed in the timeless freedom of summer by now. It’s like that first day during a week of vacation when we finally get through a day without a fleeting thought of things left undone back in the “real world.” We

Some things in society are best part of the private sector, that is, not part of the government. Things like manufacturing, retail, construction, agriculture, financial institutions. It's a long list. Other areas of our lives are best managed if they are part of our government. These are important to everyone equally, such as the military, the police, clean air and clean water, and publicly owned lands and waterways. Where does our healthcare belong? Should your level of healthcare be based on

One thing loving our neighbor means is watching out for the other guy. It doesn’t have to be as dramatic as the Good Samaritan stopping to tend an injured man’s wounds. It can be as simple and significant as making a phone call. I was sitting on my couch on one of those tired mornings when my phone was more interesting than doing chores. I’d left the gate open, sure the mares would stay in the pasture. I’d come in the house to use the bathroom and sat down to read some Facebook. The phone rang.

Hyperpartisanship is an awkward, unpleasant term for an awkward, unpleasant affliction infecting our political system. We are riven by deep and bitter disputes that prevent us from addressing pressing problems. In both Washington and Springfield, straight party voting is routine. Legislation is rammed through solely with the votes‎ of the majority party, which means that the other party's only interest is to regain power and reverse what was done to them. Compromise is disdained as cowardice and

I like to say I’m a country boy. That means I like swimming in the small pond. I like small towns. For years, I struggled when asked: “Where ya from?” We moved so much when I was growing up, my response was, “Northern Illinois.” Now I have an answer — Ottawa. That’s in LaSalle County … Starved Rock Country. Since moving here I’ve discovered family roots and relatives I never knew. I came to Ottawa in 1984 to be managing editor of the small town daily. I stayed 30 years … and counting. In a small

I wonder what it will take? Really, don’t you wonder what it will take for members of Congress to hold the president accountable for making choices and decision that could dramatically impact this country? My mother used to say, “I promise I will never threaten you.” So, guess what: When she said something would happen — it did. My mother did not believe in false exaggerations of anything, a down-to-earth woman who did not appreciate grandstanding. How about some accountability in the White

Are we a country that respects life, or do we cheer about killing? At a recent Memorial Day celebration, high school bands, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, veterans and civilians gathered at the local cemetery around the civil war soldier statue. Patriotic songs were sung, there was an invocation, wreaths laid, etc. Then -- the guest speaker. A Naval Captain in camouflage gear. Near the beginning of his speech, he said something like: “For the past 15 years we have been conducting the War on