Paper to plastic

I can still remember thinking — “What are they crazy?” — when just hours after the birth of our firstborn the hospital staff began blanketing me in what seemed an endless stack of papers. Forms Medical forms, insurance forms, social security forms and birth certificate information. I gave birth to a 7 pound baby, and

Will we go the route of Racine County?

My parents were born and raised in “America’s Dairyland.” As a child, we drove back and forth to Racine County, Wis., at least twice a year. Racine County was home to gazillions of small dairy farms with “Golden Guernsey” or “Registered Holstein” signs at the end of farm lanes. The farms and barns were fascinating.

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, a young boy decided he wanted to pursue higher education in order to emulate the physician who cared for him. There were no visions of bags filled with gold along his path, only the simple thought, “I can help.”

Farm bill clears Senate Ag Committee with bipartisan support

Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act now goes to the full Senate.

Surviving progress: Let there be light

Remember when you didn’t need an advanced degree to buy a light bulb? All you really needed was to know your wattage and you were, quite literally, golden. Now, there is such a vast array of lighting choices (or lack of choice where LED and CFL bulbs have been declared mandatory) that it’s difficult to

From Adam’s housecat to Zydeco: Dictionary of American regional English completed

MADISON, Wis. — What is a Maine-born doctor to do when a patient in Pennsylvania complains, “I’ve been riftin’ and I’ve got jags in my leaders?” Consult the Dictionary of American Regional English to learn that the patient has been belching and experiencing sharp pains in his neck. After nearly five decades of work at

Here is heaven on Earth for animals

There is a sweet 1834 painting by Edward Hicks titled The Peaceable Kingdom showing animals of every description relaxing together, and I have a book by the same title, which is about the various animals at the Philadelphia Zoo. In the preface to that book, a noted author wrote, “In a world older and more

Life is full of surprises: Enjoy the good ones

I have always prided myself on being the smart, savvy sort. The type that no one can “put one over on.” The type to be on top of all the “little things” in my midst. Imagine my surprise, then, to discover that Mr. Wonderful, with the endless cooperation of a myriad of my family and