Stuff in the Basement

Sits out there rather comfortably, not in the least ostentatious or showy, not a bit of arrogance in style or positioning or size. I can...

The Risk of Returning came out several years ago, and when it did I sent out a review of the novel to Goodreads, this review. I'm bring...

As harrowing as it has been to be a Democrat in Sioux County, Iowa, things got worse last week with the leak of a Supreme Court document by ...

It's not that Patton was a good man--that's not why his troops loved him. He wasn't. It's not that he was even all that succ...

“He restores my soul” Psalm 23:3 My wife claims she inadvertently got some laughs a week or so ago, when, at a Bible study on Revelation, s...

Like St. Mary's, right here in Alton, it's a magnificent house of worship that is far more than just that--not as if that isn't ...

Once upon a time just outside of Doon, Iowa, a large sign stood proudly along Hwy 75, heralding the town and bellowing proudly, “Home of the...

The Secret Place is only partially about Jennie Van Engen (in all his books, "Engleking"). It's all about the wild boy she mar...

That Saturday morning what I wanted to get was a couple of fine shots of gravestones adorned in long, early morning shadows. I headed out to...

Poor guy. To this day, I don't know what it was, but a tiny mound of flesh, a fat little chimney maybe sat up there atop Abe's bald ...

“His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man;. . .” Psalm 147:10 The athlete in me i...

Rows empty out toward the center aisle every Sunday in our church. Then, people turn towards the communion table at the front, where we rece...

Mysticism is where religions start. Moses with his flocks in Median, Buddha under the Bo tree, Jesus up to his knees in the waters of Jordan...

On this score, my judgement can be trusted. Here's why. First, like it or not, I am 100% Dutch-American, fourth and fifth generation per...

The day lilies planted around the little frame church are mostly a weed patch. The dried-up front door begs paint, the cross at the peak jus...

During my college days--what now seems eons into the past--troubled kids seemed as clearly understood as they were recognizable. If you want...