Highlighting special places for anyone thinking of visiting Costa Rica. We’re just north of the capital of San Jose near the Poas Volcan National Park and the nation’s central valley. This is Cathy and my second time to this Central American nation, which roughly equals Missouri in population, 5 million, but is one third smaller […]
From the Strawberry Capital of Costa Rica: Notes from five weeks travel. Read More »
Photo taken in James Turrell walk-in sculpture at Mass. Museum of Contemporary Art.
Instead of Sleep: Prayers around the Body Read More »
This mysterious sculpture exists along the Meramec River just upstream from confluence with the Mississippi, in Winter Park. A gravel and sand mining firm gave the land to create this awesome open space near Saint Louis many years ago.
Remembering Summer Read More »
Powered by sunlight and using rain for water, our cabin in Shannon County makes a fine solar home. Ozark renewable energy inspired the sustainable design.
Rise Up Ozarks! Rise Up Midwest! Read More »
Ozark ‘Tenore Assoluto’: From Mansfield, Missouri, to Montpellier, France. Opera has been a reach for many, especially us hillbillies. Seeing a world-class star in one of the great opera houses of Europe might just cause you goosebumps. An Ozark ‘baritenor’, as he calls himself, did that to a full house in southern France on
Ozark Singer Conquers Europe Read More »
The Saturday morning market along the Dordogne River in western France inspires me. It’s Pentecost weekend, lots of festivals nearby. In this ancient town enthusiastic crowds around the square in front of city hall meander, buy, eat, visit, hug, and kiss their friends. Booths spread into the narrow streets. Cathy and I have little trouble
Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Mon Amour Read More »
No, not my sisters, nieces and nephews, cousins or godchildren. It’s actually a real live squirrel! On our sixth-floor balcony! She must have taken up residence over the winter. I had no idea. Sometimes this squirrel would take naps on top of the trellis by the planter. No clue why. Now I know why. Cleaning
My Squirrelly Family Read More »
In early March I took an exhilarating yet exhausting drive across the Ozarks. Though Springfield and Salem lie nearly on the same latitude in Missouri, they’re about 75+ miles apart. The preferred routes on divided highways chosen by Google clocked in at about two and a half hours. The southern route followed US 60 to
At the Dent County Historical Society Read More »
Do you ever have trouble sleeping at night? Judging from ads on TV, this must be a common problem. Ambling toward the far side of seventy I occasional wake up and can’t fall back into the arms of Morpheus. Generally it’s not a problem thanks to a few meditations and prayers that usually bring calm.
Prayers Around the Body Read More »
What I remember from a local train show yesterday was the fleam. I hadn’t seen once since running the Ozark Agriculture Museum. It’s a simple device. They were used to induce bleeding in belief bad blood could be eliminated and health restored. The procedure almost cost the life of our first President. Luckily medicine has
Gun Show-Train Show Smack Down Read More »
I got to know Joan at the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Kentucky. To me and a lot of others, especially on the East coast, she’s one of the best playwrights around. More theaters need to produce her plays. Everyone, look for her work! I was never a theater goer until my
At Joan Ackermann’s in the Berkshires Read More »
Later Cameron Powers did well as a highway construction contractor, but his real love was playing music. He and his partner Kristina Sophia traveled in a big RV for several years sharing with various groups Middle Eastern music they’d learned on the road in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and elsewhere. “The secret is limiting stops for
Driving Advice from the Pros Read More »
In a murky thicket I’m finishing final edits and additions to Ozark Voices, my oral history book. Several chapters deal with the U.S. Forest Service. The head of this huge agency was supervisor for the 1.5 million-acre Mark Twain National Forest, headquartered in Rolla, for many years. Randy Moore has been in the news. He’s supporting a
Forest Fires, Naked Rainbows & a New Book Read More »
Has our poet of overgrown fields flown the coop to become some exotic creature? Maybe a crow? Lots of critters inhabit Robert Bly. Can his work have wings into the future? He died a few days ago, Nov. 21, 2021, at 94. I helped organize a reading for him way back in 1964. His first
Birdwatching from Madison, MN, to Subiaco, AR Read More »
Trouble sleeping. After sunset I walk in the woods where stars sparkle above soaring oak and hickories. What’s that noise? An armadillo, bear or ghost? I’m nervous in the dark with just a tiny flashlight. The state has recently opened a season on our Black Bear, the first ever. Forty be “harvested,” as they call
First Killing Frost Read More »
What a huge tent! Maybe this can be repurposed for an Old Time revival? A Trump rally? Or peddling fireworks? Maybe a wedding at the country club? “Beyond Van Gogh” may be a new style, high tech exhibit. Is this show totally sappy? Or totally a great trip? Certainly a marketing event par excellence!
‘Beyond Van Gogh’ Presides at a Mall Read More »
What drew us here, to this scruffy parking lot in a mid-American shopping mall on one of the last nights of summer warmth? Was it the magnificent tent? The luminary appellation? The possibility of something extraordinary right here in our usually sleepy Ozark city? I woke up at 4 a.m. today pondering our visit, but
Unmasking the Paranormal Circus: Meditation on the Dark Side Read More »
Best burger on the road: Kewpee Drive-inn, Lima, Ohio. A giant angelic baby stands atop the roof of the historic eatery. More dolls on the inside and a sign proclaiming, “Your grandparents probably ate here,” which may be true, as they were all frisky in the 1930s. This was near the end of our trip,
Selected Scenes from a Delta-Variant Summer Road Trip Read More »
This day of remembrance recalls twelve years ago when the Ozarks suffered a derecho. This squally system with dozens of tornadoes toppled millions of trees, smashed property, totaled our car and destroyed our solar collectors but thankfully took just one human life. In my forthcoming Ozark Voices: Oral Histories from the Heartland I write about
Biscuits & Gravy with Screaming Pope Read More »
