Diversity: mostly irregular…..

…all manner of different original variable distinct contrasted nuanced shades of mixed bag = fun ~a column by Colleen O’Brien Thanksgiving is a week gone, but I will remember this one for a long time; it was one Turkey Day that was about immigrants, just like the first one. I was not taking notes, but the conversation, without the many…

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Ernst reflects on 99-county tour

~by Senator Joni Ernst, Nov. 28, 2016 Born and raised in southwest Iowa, I grew up on our family hog, soybean and corn farm. As a child, I was taught by my parents the values many Iowans share: hard work, service and sacrifice. From Day One, I made a commitment to you to bring our shared values to Washington, and…

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It’s thankful time

~a column by Colleen O’Brien It is two weeks after the general election, and lo and behold, it’s Thanksgiving; happens every four years. Every four years some of us get to be thankful. The rest of us look on in consternation — not a lot of thankfulness going on — because our candidate didn’t make it. It’s such a pendulum,…

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Tales of a traveler

~a column by Colleen O’Brien The following is a story told to me recently by an American who lived with her mother and father in Salzburg, Germany after World War Two, where Shelly D’s father, a U.S. Army officer, was stationed with the Allied occupation forces. The small wiry woman with barely a gray hair is 85. She is a hiker,…

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An addiction to well-honed quotes

~a column by Colleen O’Brien I’m visiting in a home in which the hostess placed a book beside my bed: Witty Words from Wise Women, compiled by a woman, B.J. Gallagher. Instead of listening to politics today, I thought I’d read something far removed to lighten the election fatigue I’m beginning to suffer from, as is most of the United…

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