Independently Speaking

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FireMy hometown is kind of a mess. Over the weekend, our grain elevator, by far the biggest structure in town, suffered a major fire. The part that …
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Grief at the Wrongness in the World...I started work on this book about seven years ago. I think I should get points for being ahead of the curve… https://www.amazon.com/ANGR-When-ca…
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CriticalMy Great Uncle Carl, the guy who lived in our house before we did, twice spent time in a state institution being treated with electroshock thera…
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IvanI was driving between farms the other day and noticed that the wild roses were bloo…
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CoachingA baseball game. Eleven and twelve-year-olds. Roughly one third of the team bursts into tears at some point, many of them after talking to their…
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Early MorningSometimes I wish I could remember her name. It was 5:21 a.m. and my wife’s cat clawed my toes to get me up, because he wanted to go outside. I h…
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Christmas, 2021It was very early. I sat at the kitchen table looking out the north window into the darkness. To the right, I saw the soft glow of light from th…
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And the winner is...AMERICAN AGRICULTURAL EDITORS ASSOCIATION 2021 NATIONAL WRITING AWARDS Editorial Opinion - 1st Place - Brent Olson
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Confidently IncorrectMy wife’s cat doesn’t understand color. That dawned on me one day when I was at my desk and instead of working, I was watching the cat. He had c…
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I'm on empty, fill 'er up.My sister stayed with us for a few days, so on a pass through the grocery store I picked up some breakfast sausages, a brand new to me. So, arti…
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BirthdayIt’s my birthday this week. Sixty-seven years old. Yeah, I know. Time flies. It seems like a long time and in a way, it is. The first few years …
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ErasedI just found out I haven’t existed since 2018. That’s embarrassing. With a new book out, I’ve been doing humiliating amounts of shameless self-p…
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