Columnists
Ask Rusty – Did We Err by Starting Wife’s Benefit Now?
Dear Rusty: I hope we haven’t made a mistake! My wife just applied for her Social Security benefit. She was born in May 1962, and the estimated amount of her benefit is $1280 / month. Her work income last year was $5,616; however, mine was about $65,000. I do not plan on taking my benefit until…
Read MoreWhich Hoosier Hometown Wins Purdue Fantasy Bracketology?
Instead of filling out an NCAA tournament bracket this week and losing to someone who picked winners by school mascots, I decided on an eight-team fantasy tournament based on the hometowns of Purdue basketball players. The top seed as voted upon by me is Fort Wayne, which edged Indianapolis for the honor. Both cities have…
Read MoreThe Silence of God . . . Or Is It?
Many of us report from time to time that we can no longer hear God in our lives. He seems like a million miles away and is not listening to our pleas in times of trouble or sorrow. We feel disconnected, even angry, waning in our faith. We relate to the time during…
Read MoreScattershooting While Wandering (Or Is It Wondering) Around
Scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to Stanley Andrews . . . I READ an interesting story from our friends at the Indiana Capital Chronicle about how small towns are trying to revitalize themselves again. The regular eight or nine of you who read these scribbles won’t be surprised to know that I’m a big fan…
Read MoreBraden Smith Deserved Top Honors; Painter Shows Frustration
Sometimes it feels good to be wrong. When the Purdue men’s basketball team wilted down the stretch, falling from first place to a share of fourth, I figured Big Ten Player of the Year honors would go to someone whose team finished ahead of the Boilermakers and not preseason favorite Braden Smith. Credit the league…
Read MoreMorse Reservoir, World War II Aviation and a Popular Strawtown Restaurant
More reader responses this week! The column on Morse Reservoir’s beginnings sparked a couple of comments from Diane Nevitt, the former director of the Hamilton County Historical Society Museum. Diane noted that Sheriff Mark Passwater once told her that a number of Native Americans had worked on clearing the land for Morse. One of those…
Read MoreForgiveness is Like . . .
Originally written 10.8.2019, rev.2.19.25 Forgiveness is like money. It’s much easier to receive it than to give it, right? It’s much easier to ask for forgiveness than to extend forgiveness to others who hurt us, isn’t it? And then there is sin. It’s everywhere! It’s a fact of life. It won’t just magically disappear. So,…
Read MoreBubba Asking Tough Questions
I’m not usually a “headache” guy. Maybe I should rephrase that? I’ve been told on occasion that I can cause headaches. But me having one? Not so much. So, not sure what brought this one on. Could be the Indiana Legislature trying to run us out of business with their public notice campaign. Or maybe…
Read MoreRecords Made to be Broken . . . Maybe Not These
There’s really no such thing as an unbreakable record but some standards are more out of reach than others. In Major League Baseball there’s Cy Young’s 511 victories and Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game hasn’t been approached by another NBA player. No NFL team has come close to the 73 points…
Read MoreAsk Rusty – Can I Get Extra Social Security for my Military Service?
Dear Rusty: Please help. I served from 1964 to 1966 in the US Army. I have been trying to contact Social Security in order to request extra benefits for veterans. The telephone is a recording, and you never get to speak to anyone. The web site at www.ssa.gov is useless to me. I went to…
Read More