I frequently talk with the troops in Kansas City and often Katrina is the one who initiates the call. Last week, when Alec called, I knew it was a matter of great importance.
    "Jim" he said, "when you come down next week can you bring your fishing pole?" I assured him I would be happy to comply. He went on to explain the entire fourth grade was going on a fishing field trip and each student was to be accompanied by an adult.
    Everyone was to provide needed bait so Thursday night Alec, Katrina and I visited "Wallyworld" to get night crawlers and a fishing license for me. I was pleasantly surprised when the clerk told me at my advanced age (over 65) the State of Missouri did not require a license. It was particularly gratifying since last year I laid out 50 bucks for a lifetime Iowa license in lieu of the annual 17 dollar fee.

     Over the past nine years of semi-retirement, I had the pleasure and good fortune to spend a great deal of time with my mother before she went blind and died. During this time, we had many memorable moments, some good and some bad. I was fortunate enough to know both my parents as a youngster growing up living under their guidance and wisdom and as an adult trying to make my way in the real world.

    I used to joke about becoming a Wal-Mart greeter in my retirement. Today, that is the grim reality for most seniors. Since our politicians were conveniently asleep while Wall Street fat cats stole everything, retirement has become a cruel hoax for everyone but those very politicians and Wall Street fat cats. Are they deserving or what?

    Unless it’s the Federal Government or a bankrupt corporation, a billion (with a “B”) dollars is a large chunk of change. That is the amount Prairie Meadows Race Track and Casino in Des Moines has dispensed to the state, Polk County, area cities and charities since it opened 20 years ago.
    At one point during that period, Prairie Meadows was a white elephant, deeply in debt and under bankruptcy protection. That all changed when the legislature allowed the addition of slot machines to the operation. In 1995 it became the first horse track to add casino type gambling. Since then, over 40 tracks in North America have added casino venues.

    April 15 should be a national holiday. That’s the day the government gets our taxes to run the government another year. It’s also the mythical date we stop giving everything we make to the government and start keeping what we make the rest of the year for ourselves.
    Our total income from those first 105 days of every year has been roughly what the government needs in tax revenues to run this country for the remainder of the year. If we give them everything we make the first 105 days, we get to keep all our income for the remaining 260 days. That breaks down to a total average tax rate of just under 29 percent.

    I have frequently referred to my lack of competence in the electronic and communication procedures that are second nature to younger generations.

    When Gene Hall announced last week that he and his wife Cathy had purchased the Charles City Press and New Hampton Tribune from GateHouse Media, I was pleased and excited. After nine years of corporate ownership and management, both local newspapers were once again going to be locally owned and locally managed.

    The annual battle between winter and spring is in full force. We know spring will be the ultimate winner, usually by the time the flight is settled, summer is here and the temperature is 90-plus and nobody cares.
    Everyone who has lived in Iowa for more than 10 minutes has heard the old wives tale about robins enduring three snowstorms before spring arrives. By now, the robins’ tutus should have been dusted at least three times so the new season can arrive.

    I’ve moved again, back to my old space in the second weekly edition on Friday. With Dan back in charge after nine years accumulating topics in need of comment, his philosophy will appear in the Tuesday paper. We felt it was unfair to expose you to both diatribes in one edition.
    Since Eve and Adam with the forbidden apple in the Garden of Eden, scams have been an ongoing danger in the world. The public is constantly warned about new schemes designed to separate them from their money.

    On April 1, 1974, I became one of the youngest new publishers in the state of Iowa. Last week, I became the oldest new publisher in the history of the state of Iowa. I think I can hear my parents laughing from above.
    After the first full week of “Round 2”, my knees are a little wobbly, but I’m still standing. I can’t work as hard as I could way back then, but I’ve learned how to work smarter.
    For those of you who offered kind words of encouragement last week, I thank you. For those of you who just bit your lip and looked away, I also thank you.

    Last month I wrote about a turkey business located in West Liberty that employed mentally challenged men and housed them in an old abandoned school house in Atalissa. The business is owned and operated by Henry's Turkey Service based in Texas. Most of the 21 employees were moved to Iowa from Texas.
    The men were paid about $68 a month with the balance of their earnings retained for room and board at the "Bunkhouse"– the nickname for the school house. Living conditions were deplorable with heat provided by space heaters that substituted for the furnace which had not functioned for years.

    Death is not easy to deal with. Laying a loved one in the grave is one of the most difficult things we must do. Facing our own death can be painful and scary, too.
    But as Christians, we take comfort in God’s promise that we will rise to eternal life in heaven with our Savior: “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).

    Just when you thought I either died or moved away, I’mmm Baaaack!
    After a nine-year retirement of getting old, fat and extremely bored, my old job was looking better everyday. When I saw the opening, I applied for the job and the current owners were nice enough to give me another chance.
    And, if you thought I was obnoxious and outspoken before, you are really going to love the older me. Age has a way of sharpening your tongue while it dulls your senses. That is the reason I am changing my column name from “Common Sense” to “Senior Moment”. It just seemed more appropriate.

    As you go through life, you see many 180 degree changes; for example, somewhat like being highly favorable for a proposal and completely change and lobby against it. That type of reversal happens in many different facets of life.
    Conversely, there are few occasions when a 360 degree takes place. The staff at the paper, including yours truly, were privy to a 360 degree full circle a week ago.
    Gene Hall from Charles City and executive vice president of Gatehouse Media, the company that owns the Tribune, called a staff meeting for March 16. None of us had any knowledge of the purpose, but speculation centered on the paper's future. Hall assured us the paper was not for sale and there were no plans to change the situation.

      The No. 1 surprise of the 2009 high school athletic season happened last week when the New Hampton boys’ basketball team qualified for the state tournament.
    It is always gratifying to make it to the state tournament in any sport, but more so to get there when it is not expected. With a middle finish in the Northeast Iowa Conference, qualifying is truly rewarding.
    The boys ran into a buzzsaw when they played Sioux City Heelan in Des Moines, but the loss does not diminish the glow from getting there.