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The Smithsonian Institution turns 177 years old today. With its inventory of more than 154 million items in dozens of collections, it has been dubbed “the nation’s attic.” Its roster of 19 museums and 21 libraries lends itself well to the image of a…
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“Where did the summer go!? I can’t believe it’s already August!” Over the last few days, I’ve heard these sentiments (or something similar) several times. There’s something about turning the calendar to August that signals the rapidly approaching end…
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I’m pretty sure that one of the better moves my wife and I made while raising our kids was to prohibit use of the word bored. We committed plenty of parenting mistakes, but banning the word bored was genius. Every time a child felt contempt for how t…
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This summer, I’ve attended several live music shows. Great outdoor weather mixed with an impulse to explore local events here in the Quad Cities has led me to discover the many great local musicians and music venues. The words that come to mind in li…
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Over the last two years, I enjoyed a perfect view of Vander Veer Park from my office window in the 129 House. No matter the time of year, whenever I’ve looked out across the street, I could count on spotting at least one jogger making the approximate…
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I recently spent about five months apartment shopping. With the end date of my lease looming, I could feel the pressure growing about where I would call home. I was prepared to settle for somewhere that was probably overpriced, in a location that was…
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While vacationing in Wisconsin last week, and out on a morning stroll, I spotted a large red tow truck beside a service garage. What caught my eye and prompted me to snap a photo was the advertising decal across its windshield: 23-Hr Towing. I didn’t…
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Despite a good rainstorm early this week, we are experiencing a bit of a drought here in southeastern Iowa. Its impact on the farmers is worrisome and they are grateful for any centimeter of water that falls on the shoots of corn growing. And while o…
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St. Paul is abuzz this week with Vacation Bible School. Upwards of 150 children are responding to the Hero Hotline. Inspired by SuperMeer – hardly a mere cat – and “The Professor,” they are learning to be God’s superheroes for the world. At the heart…
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The term “work/life balance” has become somewhat of a buzzword over the last few years, especially among the Millennial and Gen Z populations. In general, work/life balance seems to serve as a catchall phrase for how we ration the scarce commodity of…
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One of the most important things I think Dietrich Bonhoeffer ever said relates to human prosperity. In an autumn 1931 sermon, this German pastor and theologian told his congregation that seven million people in Germany would be without jobs that wint…
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I moved to Davenport nine months ago. Nine months of time this year feels shorter than nine months last year. It’s a wake-up call, really, how on one end, there’s an objective measurement of time; the speed of sand falling from the top to the bottom…