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Local Columns

Magic Mike 6XL: Un-luck of the Irish

Last year was my first year with the paper. I didn't have any schoolin' on bein' a reporter nor much trainin'. All of my learnin' was boiled down into two things, helpful tips from my newspaper brethren and black and white movies where the reporter talks out of the side of his mouth and solves ...

You’ll Figure It Out: Random thoughts and surprises!

Just to be clear, when I say "random thoughts," they can be closely tied to delusion. My mind is an open book filled with empty pages. But here are a few of my thoughts and maybe a couple of surprises along the way. Next week, our oldest daughter, Sarah will be turning 47 years old! Deb and ...

Magic Mike 6XL: The Battle of the Jon Voight

Car shopping is not often fun, but necessary. It is not a sport or a pastime. No. Car shopping is all out warfare between two lifelong enemies, the salesman, and the customer. This here, this is the story of the battle of the Jon Voight. A few years ago, it was decided that I would get a ...

You’ll Figure It Out: Random thoughts and surprises!

Just to be clear, when I say "random thoughts," they can be closely tied to delusion. My mind is an open book filled with empty pages. But here are a few of my thoughts and maybe a couple of surprises along the way. Next week, our oldest daughter, Sarah will be turning 47 years old! Deb and ...

Magic Mike 6XL: A person person

He stood before me with a confidence and ease that hadn't been seen since the likes of Humphrey Bogart or Paul Newman. He didn't wear pants. He didn't need pants. He touched my nose and said, "Tickle, tickle." It was in that instant that I realized, even though I was in a room with about 10 ...

Magic Mike 6XL: Don’t know much about technology

My father would be explainin' the inner workings of the camshaft as I glanced at all of the tubes and wires, the slabs of metal, and pools of multicolored liquid that made up the inner workings of the car. The old man would go on for a while and then ask me if I understood. I'd look at him, ...

You’ll Figure it Out: Dictator of the world!

In the doldrums of the middle of winter, my simple mind begins to wander all over the place. I think if the "I wonder what would happen if......," took place. And once again, (it's happened before), what would happen if yours truly became "Dictator of the World," for a couple of years or ...

Magic Mike 6XL: A year in review

Last February, I received an email. It was from the North Tama reporter, Ruby McAllister. She told me the current editor of the News Chronicle gave her two weeks' notice, and they didn't have anyone to cover the weekly Supervisor's meetings. She asked if I could cover for a few weeks and go ...

Magic Mike 6XL: Hair today, gone tomorrow

You can call it loyalty or insanity, or a combination of the two, but I've only ever had two people cut my hair. My first barber was Pat, a tall man who was ironically bald. As far back as I can remember, the man never had a scrap of hair on top of his head, just some that clung to the sides ...

You’ll Figure it Out: Notes From The “Important Book”

Does anyone remember Dr. Max & his "Important Book" he would send to us kids way back in the late 50's & early 60s? Probably not, huh? But I needed some kind of title for today's column and that's the best this old cranium could do. So here are my "notes." Kudos to the ...