Staff Members and Writers

Thanksgiving 2020 may taste bittersweet for many of us who have been impacted by the pandemic or felt distressed by violence, racism, political tensions and what feels like a growing lack of civility.

When I was a young boy my grandfather Ralph told me a story — a story he had told my mother when she was young, which my mother also repeated to me on several occasions.

Kind Defined, whose mission motto is, “A small act of kindness can make a world of difference,” is bringing the quad-city community a whole new holiday festival from Nov. 13 through 22 — the Festival of Trees 2020.

When I was a young man, I joined the military a few years after high school.

Mortimer Farms Pumpkin Fest and Corn Maze has become a Halloween season tradition for many area families.

I recently came across a screenshot of a social media post that told of an interesting high school classroom teaching experience.

There’s something special about this symbol of the United States that swells far beyond our borders. Even when America may be the target of criticism and ridicule, the U.S. flag rises above the clamor.

A man feared his wife wasn’t hearing as well as she used to, and he thought she might need a hearing aid. Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family doctor to discuss the problem. The doctor told him there is a simple, informal test the husband could perform to give the doctor a better idea about her hearing loss.

During this election cycle there has been an increase in the propagation of conspiracy theories designed to embed doubt, spread fear and influence voters.

The story is told of Samuel Shapira, a distinguished rabbi who lived in the Polish village of Prochnik in the 1930s. Rabbi Shapira was in the habit of taking long walks into the countryside each morning. Throughout his life, the rabbi tried to be loving and compassionate. He made it a point to greet everyone he met with a kind “hello,” “good morning” or “good evening.”