Community
-
A Mother's Ingenuity: Day of the Diaper (5/11/24)1Believe it or not, there was a time not so long ago when there was no such thing as a disposable diaper. In those days, parents relied on safety pins and cotton cloth to contain the dirty doings of young children. That, of course, made changing from one such cloth to the next rather onerous...
-
Rennie Phillips: A blank page (5/11/24)A little over seven decades ago, I arrived in a hospital in Nebraska as the son of two proud parents. When I arrived, I had two older sisters to dote over me and to spoil me. But when I arrived I was virtually a blank page. I had some characteristics of both of my parents. Both of them had blue eyes and were just over 5 feet tall and relatively chubby as I am to this day. Dad was bald, but I still have my hair even though it’s a little lighter than it used to be. Dad had really small feet and so do I. I can wear a 7eee but normally settle for an 8ee. Mom and Dad were good in math and so are all their kids.
-
Club news 5-11-24 (5/11/24)John Guild Chapter, NSDAR Members of the John Guild Chapter, NSDAR of Jackson attended the 125th Missouri State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (MSSDAR) State Conference in St. Louis, April 12 through 14.
-
Robert Hurtgen: Embracing the wisdom of Psalm 20:4 (5/11/24)At some point last fall, I came across Psalm 20:4, which reads, “May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans.” Psalm 20:4 is a prayer of blessing, invoking God’s name, character, and sovereignty to bless another. Immediately upon reading, I thought, if given the opportunity, this would be the verse to share with graduates and others celebrating significant milestones in their lives.
-
Shawn Wasson: The cost of quitting church (5/11/24)A pastor friend, Andrew Green of FBC Marble Hill, brought an article to my attention. Derek Thompson, an agnostic, wrote an opinion piece in The Atlantic titled "The True Cost of the Churchgoing Bust". It is an interesting read.
-
Senior Center Menus for May 12-14 (5/11/24)Cape Girardeau/Scott City Monday: Breakfast lunch egg muffin sandwich or chicken tenders with hot roll, potatoes with onions, sliced tomatoes, orange juice or tropical fruit or cinnamon swirl cake.
-
Aaron Horrell: Made by man or beast? (5/11/24)This is a strange sight. It is hard to imagine what might have made these things that look like baskets with rocks in them. They are not man made and were not made by any animal.
-
Denise Lincoln: In the Spirit — Rev. Ben E. Cannon (5/11/24)Ben E. Cannon, born in 1886 in Cedarbluff, Mississippi, learned building trades as a young boy, working alongside his father. As a young teen, Cannon moved to eastern Arkansas, following bricklaying and carpentry jobs, hired to repair and restore old plantation houses. He learned to fashion wood into functional chairs, tables, benches and baby cradles. His grandfather taught him blacksmithing.
-
Faces of Southeast Missouri: Amy Loomis-McDonald (5/10/24)1Amy Loomis-McDonald, program director of Thrive Birth to Five, says her children are the reason she does what she does. She has been a foster parent since 1996 and has four adopted children, guardianship of two children and a current long-term foster placement. Because she “loves meeting people [whose] vision of family is so open,” she is also a foster parent trainer...
-
Rebecca LaClair: Naruto-run your way to the Cheesecake Ninja with no regrets (5/9/24)1On yet another dreary, rainy, wish-I-could-just-stay-in-bed morning, I found myself with a wee bit of time on my hands. It was time to travel to the Cheesecake Ninja and check out the food. I wish I could say that I Naruto-ran there with gusto, but I didn’t. I drove and sang along weakly with the radio in an attempt to fully awaken and clear my brain. ...
-
Susan McClanahan: Enjoy these sweet treat desserts (5/9/24)It has been a while since I’ve done a recipe column specifically featuring all sweet treats and desserts, and I think today is the day to do just that. I have come across a few recipes over the past few weeks that seem worthy of making. ...
-
Pop Culture Happenings: May (5/4/24)Pop culture in the month of May 50, 40 and 25 years ago saw Steely Dan give Rikki his number, Molly Ringwald have the worst Sweet 16 and George Lucas give the world Jar-Jar. 1974 50 years ago On May 11, 1974, rock-jazz band Steely Dan released their single “Rikki Don't Lose That Number,” the opening track from the album “Pretzel Logic,” which peaked at No. ...
-
Spirituality Column: Salty Life (5/4/24)I don’t remember where I first saw one, 15 years ago or more. No reason to recall; some impressions have to add up before they draw interest. By the hundredth or so, I wondered what the scrawly decals on rear windows said. So, I walked up to an SUV for a squint...
-
Staying Safe Online in the Age of AI (5/4/24)Generative artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer algorithms that can create realistic text, images and videos from scratch. There are plenty of fun and practical reasons for people to use AI. In fact, you’ve probably bumped into it before — customer service chat boxes that pop up on websites are based on AI, as are voice assistants like Siri and Alexa...
-
The Best Books Club: "Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff" (5/4/24)You’ve probably seen the meme showing a beaming parent standing in front of an open garage filled to the brim with stuff, exclaiming to his or her obviously-dismayed offspring, “Just think — someday all of this will be yours!” Some prime-timers chuckle ruefully, thinking of the Herculean task they have already faced with their own parents; others become concerned about what is awaiting them...
-
Community Cookbook: Fried Chicken Wings by Leni Santoro from Brooklyn, New York (5/4/24)Fried chicken wings remind Leni Santoro of childhood and the three years her family spent living in a barn in upstate New York. She says the house they planned to live in burned down six months after they moved to the remote part of Madison County in New York, where not even the roads and nearby towns were printed on maps. Santoro was 8 years old at the time, and to make their barn livable, she says her family put rugs on the floor and placed cardboard around the walls as insulation...
-
Column: Looking Beyond the Headlines (5/4/24)If you were to hear someone talk about your hometown, what would they say about it? Would they talk about the attractions around town? Or maybe the food and nightlife that fuels the place? Whether or not you thought of something like this, your mind most likely filled with all of the positive things about where you grew up. ...
-
Poem: Poem For A Good Mother (5/4/24)For it is from your dear womb from which I came Your dear sweet love became the best breath of life Through your courage I could be somebody now I would be a known. If your love for me had gone away and hid I would not have lived to see this very day...
-
Rennie Phillips: The little things (5/4/24)I was awake early the other morning and was kind of turning and tossing in bed. Restless! BB, our indoor cat, decided that I needed some company, so she left the foot of the bed, where she normally sleeps, and came up between Marge’s pillow and mine. She found a comfortable position, so she settled in. Totally out of character for her. I wear a C-PAP, machine and normally she doesn’t want any part of it. But she chose to lie down by my pillow, so of course I petted her. And of course she enjoyed it. But what it did was allow me to relax and go back to sleep. It was such a little thing, but it seemed like a big deal to me at that moment.
-
Ellen Shuck: Being poor without feeling poor (5/4/24)As I sat, gazing out my family room window, I reminisced, somewhat, about my childhood and adolescent years. I am not one that looks back on, or lives in the past, but I meditate on people’s attitudes — and, mine — to see the connections between what happens in in those lives, ultimately.
-
Adopt Axel 5-4-24 (5/4/24)
-
Senior Center Menus for May 6-10 (5/4/24)Cape Girardeau/Scott City Monday: Chicken Parmesan with pasta and sauce or cabbage casserole with mashed potatoes, Italian-blend veggies, garden salad, garlic bread and chilled pears or fresh baked cookies
-
Aaron Horrell: Is this a trumpet vine? (5/4/24)The quick answer is “no”. Shown is the flower of a vine called crossvine. This plant is native to Missouri and places south and east in southeastern United States.
-
Marybeth Niederkorn: Cards from the wall (5/4/24)One of my favorite aspects of my job as director of the Cape Girardeau County Archive Center in Jackson is what I call the “show and tell” of it. So often, we’ll get a phone call or visit from someone who found “some neat old thing”, and they want us to see it. We love this. We can’t always take it as a donation, but we can usually suggest a more appropriate facility for it.
-
Column: Exercise is Medicine (5/4/24)My goal and passion as the fitness and wellness specialist for the City of Cape Girardeau is to help people improve their health and quality of life. Although we all have different goals and are at different stages in life, we still have the same end goal: To be able to enjoy the life we have, because let’s be honest, our time on Earth isn’t promised for tomorrow. ...
-
Mary Ann Castillo: Welcome to the neighborhood, URBAN Kitchen & Bar! (5/2/24)3In mid-March, the location formally occupied by Bella Italia in downtown Cape Girardeau welcomed a new resident: URBAN Kitchen & Bar. The hip sounding name piqued my interest while social media posts lauding their soft opening mid-March had me juggling my calendar to squeeze in a visit before a work trip. ..
-
Susan McClanahan: Try these slider recipes for Derby day or other spring party (5/2/24)In planning for recipes for this week, I thought about the Kentucky Derby, wedding shower season, graduation parties and Mother’s Day, among just a few of the events coming up. I was thinking about making Kentucky Hot Browns for Derby Day, but then I came across a recipe for a slider hot browns. I will plan to have these for the afternoon of the Derby and might add a thin slice of ham to the slider recipe. ...
-
Aaron Horrell: Not your average butterfly (4/27/24)The butterfly in this photo has a wingspan of about 1 inch. The wildflower it is sitting on is a daisy fleabane, which has several small flowers when it blooms. This little butterfly is called a red-banded hairstreak. It is easy to see the red or orange diagonal streak on the underside of its wings. Many kinds of butterflies have fake eyes on the underside of their wings. The red-banded hairstreak goes one better and shows off a fake head. It even has small fake antennas on the back end of its wings. When the butterfly dips its head to sip nectar it may appear to a bird that the butterfly’s tail is its head. The bird gets a mouthful of nothing and the red-banded hairstreak gets to live another day. You may find the red-banded hairstreak in southern Missouri near wet or muddy areas. I found this one Sunday, April 21, in a grassy field near a pond. Once you spot this butterfly, it may be difficult to get close enough to get a good photo. Approach it very slowly. Horrell is an artist and outdoorsman. He lives in Chaffee. He owns Painted Wren Art Gallery in Cape Girardeau.
-
Robert Hurtgen: An ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ moment (4/27/24)I have had an "It’s A Wonderful Life" moment. If you are unfamiliar with the movie, let me briefly recap it. George Bailey dreams of traveling the world and building majestic structures. However, after his father’s sudden death, he reluctantly embraces his family and community responsibilities by remaining in his hometown of Bedford Falls, managing the family business, the Baily Brothers Building & Loan.
-
Shawn Wasson: Confusing correction (4/27/24)If you follow social media, you may have heard about a Christian men’s conference that had a shirtless male sword swallower entertain the audience by climbing a stripper pole on center stage. Yes, that is correct, a homoerotic performance at a Christian men’s conference.
-
On yet another dreary, rainy, wish-I-could-just-stay-in-bed morning, I found myself with a wee bit...
-
In mid-March, the location formally occupied by Bella Italia in downtown Cape Girardeau welcomed a...
-
I categorize soft-serve ice cream in my head as a treat, a sweet I can’t make at home that I must...