God will never quit on us Sheryl Boldt My daughter Wendy stood in her wedding gown before the full-length mirror. She and her bridesmaids chatted excitedly as they prepared for the very important day. I wanted to join in. As the mother-of-the-bride, I should – should what? I panicked. I didn’t feel ready for this…
Slim Randles Leona was a good mule. She was in a fabled minority in the pack station realm of mules, as she was a riding mule as well as a pack mule. She was also … well … somewhat notional in nature. There was how Leona pictured her world, and there were the rest of…
A Bad Day With My New Walking StickJudy Conlin Somehow the continuation of this story got in the paper before the beginning of the story. So here is how it all began: My doctor kept asking me why I didn’t use a cane since I was constantly walking like a duck. I bought eight of…
Slim Randles It’s a rare treat to have old Jasper Blankenship come down from the diggin’s to stock up on supplies. And he favored us with stories at the Mule Barn this bright morning over coffee, too. “Well, Doc,” Jasper said, “you’re right. I wasn’t always a miner. Back during The War I had a…
Judy Conlin Giving up stuff I don’t like to think I’m old despite the number of candles on my birthday cake having become huge. My mother was born on the first day of spring, so she always said she would never be old. She would always be a spring chicken. I was born in May,…
Nancy Kennedy I still have a black dress in the back of my closet. I bought it years ago for a funeral I was sure was coming. I’ve never worn it. I don’t even know if it fits anymore — I’ve been afraid to try it on. I don’t remember buying it, but I remember…
Is lying worth the price? Sheryl Boldt What do you call a piece of spaghetti wearing a false mustache? An impasta! All levity aside, there’s nothing funny about someone deceiving or lying to us. In fact, there’s no better way to sabotage a relationship. Lying – any form of deception – kills relationships. Being an…
ExchangesJudy Conlin I bought all those new gowns for Nurse Judy for our country’s big birthday celebration, and she promised she would return the ones she didn’t use. I knew that wasn’t going to happen at the time, but I remained hopeful and have been nagging her to return some. “Oh, I will,” she says…
Until it was found Nancy Kennedy Some years ago, I took an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. with a plane load of World War II veterans, covering the trip for the newspaper.For the assignment, my editor gave me a camera to use for the day.I had two jobs: Take a decent photo to go on…
Slim Randles Steve, the cowboy on the board of directors of the Mule Barn truck stop’s philosophy counter and world dilemma think tank, swears on his coffee it happened. “Tourist guy got off the train the other day when I was down there picking up a friend,” Steve said. “He asked me if I was…
