The art of pumpkin etching

Just as popular culture personifies the new year as a baby filled with potential about what is new, it also portrays the old year as a grizzled old man, bent with the woes and burdens of the past. Every new year brings with it new challenges, new hopes and new fears. Before stepping boldly into the new year, it is important to pause and look back at the past year. As we start 2026, it is import...

It has been said that good fences make good neighbors. I think this is good sense and hence the state of Wisconsin should erect a fence around several of our adjoining Midwest neighbors. Let’s start with Michigan where the football coach at the University of Michigan stands accused of an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. Meanwhile down in Illinois, Governor JB Pritzker has si...

A can of Diet Coke is sitting on my desk. It has been there since early November. I brought it from home with the intention of having it with my lunch that day. Things got busy and I ended up skipping lunch. The uneaten lunch eventually got tossed, but the Diet Coke remained. Every day I look at it. Sometimes I even pick it up, imagining the sharp bite of the carbonation and cola and how a s...