Too many irons in the fire or just stringing around?
One of the things I like best about the Internet is its capacity to surprise and entertain. You just never know what the next click will unveil.Many of those entertaining surprises circulate widely through cyberspace via e-mail or myriad forms of social media. That’s how I stumbled across an e-mail titled “A Lick & A Promise” from a cousin, Bob Cody.The female author (unknown to me) related the story of how a young clerk didn’t understand what she meant when she used the phrase “the bottom fell out” to explain a sudden downpour. “Then I started thinking of other things that I say all the time, which these young folks might not know anything about,

Uh, Dad, are you sure this is supposed to taste like this?
For many of us, kitchens are wondrous places, full of aromatic memories. Fresh bread right out of the oven, cinnamon rolls cooling in the pan, beef stew bubbling in a cast iron pot.Coming up with those memories is easy. It’s the darker underbelly of the cooking experience that is sometimes missing from our family histories.I offer as Exhibit A my dinner experience of last evening. I love to cook and like to think I do a p

Busted! Do you know the lawbreakers in your family tree?
When I was in junior high, I came down with a severe case of, shall we say, sticky fingers. As I understand it, this was a common malady, though I don’t recall any of my friends being afflicted with it. I don’t remember the circumstances surrounding my first heist, but I certainly remember those of my last.I started out with the small stuff – little gr

‘Old Home Day’ gives a colorful peek into U.S. rural roots
As a writer, I’m partial to books. Oh, I dink around in cyberspace, contributing my fair share of binarian musings and pixels, but I strongly believe that the printed word will transcend whatever electronic challenges may pop up in the foreseeable future.As you might guess, my home is full of books. Overflowing would be too strong a word, but my wife and I are making

Sign of the times: Obituaries rotating with pizza, tire ads
Think billboards are dead? If so, you’re half-right.Here in central Iowa, it’s possible for your loved ones to see your name up in lights one last time after you’re gone. The Iles Funeral Homes of Des Moines and Clear Channel Outdoor have teamed up to offer