Columnists
BETTER THAN THIS
I am now beginning my 26th year of writing this humor column. It seems like yesterday I was floundering for ideas, unable to put together a coherent sentence, and making bad puns. Wait, that was yesterday. You were way ahead of me on the joke, weren’t you? This insight has made me realize that there are…
Read MoreAsk Rusty – Why Won’t Social Security Give me my Benefits?
Dear Rusty: I called the Social Security office, as well as went with my husband when he went to collect his Social Security. Because I work full-time (at about $800/week), they said I could not file for my Social Security. Yet I seem to read articles all the time about people doing so. My husband just…
Read MoreKen Thompson Takes Point With Best of Boilermaker Hoopsters
Today begins a five-week series where I rank the best point guards, shooting guards, small forwards, power forwards and centers in Purdue men’s basketball history. I don’t want to pretend that I’m an expert on Boilermaker basketball before 1970, when I first saw Rick Mount play in Mackey Arena thanks to WLFI. But since I…
Read MorePolitics and Printer’s Ink
From Time to Thyme By Paula Dunn Former State Senator Luke Kenley recently tipped me off to an alumni profile of Anne Neal Petri in the current issue of Harvard Magazine. When Senator Kenley mentioned that Petri was Jim Neal’s daughter, I drew a blank for a moment. Then, it hit me that he was…
Read MoreBranna Shares Idioms – C’mon, The More the Merrier
“I’m just going to “run this one up the flag pole,” in hopes I don’t come across as “not playing with a full deck.” However, I am going to “kick up my heels” and “go the whole nine yards” because that’s me… always having “a bee in my bonnet!” If you are a word nerd like me,…
Read MoreRichard Nixon, Hoosier President?
When I ask about US Presidents who have ties to the Hoosier state, the obvious come to mind: Harrison 9, Harrison 23, Lincoln and Nixon. Tricky Dick Nixon? No, that was not a typo. Nixon. A few years ago, I was catching up with a friend, a park ranger at the Herbert Hoover National Historic site in West Branch,…
Read MoreAsk Rusty – What About Benefits from an Ex-spouse?
Dear Rusty: I am almost 57, divorced after a 14-year marriage. My former spouse is 15 years older than I and made significantly more money than me. I am required to retire from my job at age 60 but expect to keep working in some capacity. I have a girlfriend of a similar age to…
Read MoreSIGNS OF TROUBLE
Do Mary Ellen and I have some marital issues? There are certainly signs. You see, I have several bad habits. But Mary Ellen has been unsuccessful in convincing me of the importance of changing some of my usual routines. She decided to place notes around the house to remind me to correct some of my…
Read MoreDay So Wrong Turned Out Oh, So Right
As you may have noticed, my column has a name now! Last week, my mind was in wander mode once again, wondering what to write. My goal each week is to share something to inspire, lead to a yearning for learning or simply leave you smiling. My topics may be as random as the wind,…
Read MoreSeries Starts With Trip to Plains, Ga. and Carter’s Final Resting Place
“The People choose their president from among themselves and to the people that person will return.” Calvin Coolidge. It seems unusual to start a column on U.S. History with one of its most recent events. I feel it appropriate since it was only a year ago that flags were at half-staff for a president who served before most of us were…
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