Off The Hook

When many people buy a home, they are looking for trees on the property. Some even have an adjacent small woods like we do. We enjoy our trees in the spring. They bloom beautifully and give us shade a...

We are now in week three of this - take a knee thing. I suppose you are as sick of it as I am. I’m not usually political in this column, and in fact, in my life. But right now, I’m pretty sick of poli...

I know God gave us a sense of humor. Granted, some of us have more of that than others, but He surely wouldn’t mind if we laugh a little at life. Here’s one adult’s view: He said, “I am not afraid of ...

For more than 40 years our family has owned a condominium in Naples, Florida. It’s a beautiful town and we’re lucky to spend some time there, especially during the cold weather in Ohio. In all those y...

Don’t do it in a car Recently I’ve seen a list of things you shouldn’t do in the car. I found them very interesting and of course, some are obvious. The first one might really surprise you - don’t put...

John and Sharon Merriman have been married for 54 years, even after their minister who counseled them just before their wedding said that maybe they shouldn’t get married. Their approaches to everythi...

Her story began 100 years ago. Avis Hudson was born Aug. 14, 1917. She lived in the little village of 0riville located near Watkins, just outside Marysville. At that time there were two churches, a sc...

My friends have recently supplied me with more tips for living … you know, how to get along with those around you and to make the world a better place. Don’t we all want to do that every once in a whi...

When you are able to gather more than 20,000 people in one place over a period of three days, you’re bound to have some good stories. Here is one involving the All Ohio Balloon Fest. This good story i...

Sometimes I have found it is just hard to live in this world with other people. Many are so considerate, but others worry only about their own well-being. In order to make our lives more harmonious, I...

During my quest to keep this column relevant, I came across a list of thoughts that are purported to be important to living a good life. I believe some of them will start a debate in your mind. See wh...

When I came across this information, the first of which is supposed to help save your life, I decided we needed to talk about these things. Maybe some of this would fit into your life or maybe not. Yo...

This was a special trip. It was one to celebrate a special anniversary and some members of our family went along with us. Where could you go in July where it would be the hottest place in the country?...

This week I’m here to test your brain or maybe really your memory. These are questions from the past, which you should be able to answer. Some of the answers will come to you immediately and others mi...

Since I work with words nearly every day, a friend sent me this about the word “up.” The word up can be a noun, verb, adjective, adverb and also a preposition. What a versatile word. It’s easy to unde...

Rosella Chandler Renz (MHS class of ‘64) sent me a scrapbook full of the memories of her mother, Grace, about the tornado that hit Marysville in 1971. Her mother had amassed pictures and stories from ...

Our world has changed tremendously even in the last 20 years. We have survived a lot of things in our lives and when I came across this list, I realized they all were part of my life and I’m still her...

Whether you are a golfer or not I’ll bet you know that the Memorial Tournament was played last week at Muirfield, the course Jack Nicklaus built and owns in Dublin. You may have followed the daily act...

It was just a few days ago that the Journal-Tribune was invaded with bees. All of a sudden there they were flying around making a lot of noise and scaring everyone back in the print shop, especially t...

Last week we discussed “the rules” that some men live by. That caused a lot of reaction from the men who read this column, so I thought I would continue, since I’m on a roll. In case you didn’t know, ...

At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down. We always hear “the rules” from the female side. Now here are “the rules” from the male side. I have found it necessary to comment on some of t...

We are approaching another Mother’s Day. Of course, I consider it an important time because I am a mother and we spend our lives raising our children. For most mothers, children are everything and yet...

We have discussed, several times in this column, that laughter is the best medicine. I love to laugh and who doesn’t feel better after an evening of smiling and being happy. Researchers aren’t sure if...

Recently I came across this list of things purporting to be true. We all know that everything we read on the Internet isn’t true, but sometimes that same Internet can be so helpful when trying to answ...

Last week we began our discussion of 10 things that might disappear in our lifetime. The first five were, telephone landlines, the post office, books, bank checks and the music industry. Now we contin...

I recently came across this list of Ten Things That Will Disappear In Our (or our children’s) Lifetime! Whether these changes are good or bad depends in part on how we adapt to them. I’m not sure if I...

Friends sometime share the craziest things with me. This week is an example of that. We have some interesting facts or should we say some of them are useless facts. You be the judge. You never know wh...

Locking keys in the car used to be big business for tow truck type people. They would come to the car with some magic utensil that would break into it and get you out of your car-key problem. Most new...

If you read this column regularly, you may remember my friend, Jill. She has been the source of some wonderful stories over the years and now she’s at it again. It seems she had packed her car for sev...

Today is St. Patrick’s Day! You know what they say - everyone’s a little bit Irish on this day. The charming Irish are known for their appreciation of alcohol, their religion and their wonderful sense...