Personal expressions of the world around us through text, sight and sound.


Filter Article list:
Article Scope:  

The Author, Category and Topic selectors will reflect the Article Scope setting.

Date range:    
Current: articles posted within the last 30 Days
Recent: articles posted within the last 3 Months
Sort Order:    

Hints on searching Articles

Some articles may be restricted—viewable only to logged-in users with the appropriate Security Level.

You can narrow your search using one or all of six criteria:

  1. Article Scope:
    • This Collection Only (default) limits search results to this article "home page."
    • All includes all articles (including blog entries) on the site.
  2. Date range:
    • Current shows articles posted within the past 30 Days
    • Recent shows articles posted within the past 3 Months
    • All includes all articles within the Collection Scope.
    • NOTE: Based on the number of articles found and other filter settings, the Date Scope may be adjusted automatically. However, in most cases you can still use the form to choose a specific range.
  3. Author--regular contributors are listed by name; "special" is used for ocassional or one-time authors. (They are idenitified by name in the article list using a "byline" field in the database).
  4. Category—each article is assigned to one category ( a master category list is used for Articles, Blog Entries, Resources, and similar features on the site).
  5. Topic—each article can be assigned to multiple topics (also uses a master list). You can narrow the search by one topic at a time.
    Even though we try to keep the number of topics limited and as general as possible, the list of topics is long and constantly growing simply because of the wide scope of content covered by aritcles on the site. A good alternative to using the drop-down list is to click on a topic from the Summary View of the Article List, or the category and topic summary at the top of an Article.
    NOTE: Because topics are added over time, some topics may not be associated with earlier articles to which they could apply. From time to time, we update category and topic links.
  6. Keywords
    Looks for a word, phrase or part of a word in the component parts of the article.

Viewing the Results

In addition to the "Most Recent" and "Top Articles" lists, there are three Views of the searchable Article List: (where you are now):

  1. Quick. Shows Categories in alphabetical order, with a list of articles by post date (most recent first), title, author. This is the default view. Return to it anytime by selecting "Clear Filter" in the Article Filter.
  2. Minimal. Shows a list of Categories in which articles for this collection appear, including the number of articles in each category. Activate this view by clicking on "View Category names only" under the gray view description bar.
  3. Summary. Expands a single Category to include a brief description of each article, the primary category, and any topics assigned to it.

Actions from the Article List

  • Click on an Article title to view it.
    • A link at the bottom of the article will bring you back to this page.
    • If you have expanded the Collection Scope to All, and view an article or blog entry outside this collection, the return link will take you to the corresponding "home" page. To return to this page, use the Back button in your browser or use the Site Menu.
  • Click on a Category name to expand the list into Summary View, which will include more detals about the articles within that Category, including the topics associated with it.
    • If you have selected "All" in the Article Scope, the initial Summary View will reset the Article Scope to "This Collection only." From there, you can go back to "All" if desired.
  • Click on a Topic name (Summary View) to see recent articles associated with that topic. From there you can expand to "All" articles or narrow the search using the Filter.
    • There are some categories that also appear as topics. In this case, the filter will set the topic, since that will return the greatest number of results. From there, you can modify the Search Filter to narrow your search.

Actions from the Article (listing of Categories and Topics at top of Article)

  • Click on the Category or a Topic and you will be taken to the Article List page with the search filter set accordingly. (The notes under Article List also apply here).

Printing the List or individual Articles

Using Print this page at the upper left will print the content displayed in the Articles List or an individual Article, without any of the surrounding page elements. The filter form in the list view is replaced with a summary of the filter settings.

Please note: Using the "Print this page" option is highly recommended over the print options available through the Share utility (described below).

Additional Hint: On some smaller devices you may find it helpful to use the Print option to display a simpler content-only view. Depending on the device, you may not actually be able to print, but it may produce a view that is easier to read. You will need to close the print window to get back to the site navigation.

Sharing and Commenting on Article Lists and Individual Articles

There is a lot of discussion about the merits of commenting within a site. At this time we have decided not to integrate it into the site. The AddThis Share utility that appears at the upper left on the page as well as at the end of articles allows you to share the selected page through Facebook, Twitter, and more than 200 other social media services. Most of these options allow you to add comments.

You can also comment through the site's own social media connections, which are linked through the icons in the site masthead (only active social media accounts are shown).


380 articles found. You can use the search filter form above to narrow your search

QUICK VIEW  Sorted by category, post date (newest to oldest) and title
Click on Category name to expand details within category, or on item title to view article

View category names only View most recent View top articles

Aging, General

 7 records found

A New Day Dawns and We Rise Cheerfully to Meet It by Garrison Keillor

Suddendly It's Clear Why I Want to Be Old by Garrison Keillor

An Ode to Being Old by Brad Stulllberg / Outside

Agers Anonymous by James N. Watkins

Purpose! Passion! Pep! by Barbara Greenleaf

'It is what it is' by Ken Potts

Top Ten Wishes for My 50th Birthday by James N. Watkins


Arts & Entertainment

 6 records found

Bringing People Along with Me 101 by Garrison Keillor

A Bad Play Let's You See You Have a Good Day by Garrison Keillor

Forget About Songwriting: Try Fiction by Garrison Keillor

The Future of Escapism As I See It by Garrison Keillor

Two Views of My World by Howard Whitaker

Lessons from Back to the Future by James N. Watkins


Citizenship

 6 records found

Were You Part of History? by U.S. Census Bureau staff

What Matters More: The White House or Our House? by Greg Asimakoupoulos

'Twas the Night Before Voting by James N. Watkins

Election Eve Expectations by Stu Johnson

Mail-In Voting Update by Stu Johnson

How Should I Vote? by Stu Johnson


Communication

 6 records found

In Georgia, Taking Shelter from the Storm by Garrison Keillor

When Did Americans Lose Their British Accents? by Matt Soniak / Pocket

English Spelling is Ridiculous by Sally Davies / Aeon

The Facebook Threat by Stu Johnson

Express Yourself Submitted by Stu Johnson

Foul-Mouthed Minions?What our brains do with gibberish by Stu Johnson


Education

 1 record found

Narrowing One Gap by Stu Johnson


Faith, Religion & Spirituality

 25 records found

Walking to Church on a Cold Day by Garrison Keillor

WWJE: Who Would Jesus Elect? by James N. Watkins

Top Ten Bible Verses Donald Trump (and Other Contenders) May Want to Read by James N. Watkins

Thanks to Lutherans I Skipped Ballet by Garrison Keillor

Please Breathe On Me by George Garrison

There are 20 more items in the category Faith, Religion & Spirituality...See the whole list


General

 34 records found

Seven Bad Housekeeping Habits by Birttney Morgan / Apartment Therapy

We Must Become Children So Our Kids Can Survive by Garrison Keillor

Standing at 86th, Waiting for a Train by Garrison Keillor

Why I'm Looking Forward to November by Garrison Keillor

Many States Moving Away from Embosed License Plates by Rob Stump / TheDrive

There are 29 more items in the category General...See the whole list


Government & Politics

 27 records found

What It's All About, I Think by Garrison Keillor

A Fine Night in York Pennsylvanie by Garrison Keillor

What Would Jesus Say to a Church Divided by Politics? by James N. Watkins

Looking Ahead Down the Road a Ways by Garrison Keillor

The Week We Drifted Down the Niagra River by Garrison Keillor

There are 22 more items in the category Government & Politics...See the whole list


Health & Wellness

 6 records found

A Noble Idea That Hit Me Last Tuesday by Garrison Keillor

Use Your Calendar as a Reminder to Make Your Days Count by Greg Asimakoupoulos

Normal? by Leona Bergstrom

Dreading a Dark Winter Lockdown by David Robson / The Guardian

Where Did You Grow Up? by Emma Betuel / Inverse

Managing Your Coronavirus Fears by Rusty Wright


History

 17 records found

God is On Our Side...and Theirs by James N. Watkins

6 Misconceptions About World War II by Jake Rossen / Mental Floss

6 Myths About the History of Black People in America by Jessica Machado and Karen Turner / VOX

From Landlines to Tamagotchis by Special

A Few Minutes on a Hilltop in Concord by Garrison Keillor

There are 12 more items in the category History...See the whole list


Hobbies

 1 record found

Hobby Therapy by Connie Schultz


Holidays

 75 records found

Thanks for What? by James N. Watkins

Thank You for Reading This by Garrison Keillor

Thanksgiving Turkey Trivia by James N. Watkins

This is Not a Time to Panic, America by James N. Watkins

A Father Speaks, After the Day Has Passed by Garrison Keillor

There are 70 more items in the category Holidays...See the whole list


Humor

 8 records found

Confesstions of a Chocoholic by Barbara Greenleaf

Olympic Office Events by James N. Watkins

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures by Barbara Greenleaf

Welcome Summer by James N. Watkins

COVID and the Cone by George Garrison

There are 3 more items in the category Humor...See the whole list


Inspiration

 5 records found

The Astonishment of Mornings on the River Last Week by Garrison Keillor

What Mozart Did for Me Last Week, Thanks, Amadeus by Garrison Keillor

Dare to be Ordinary by James N. Watkins

Sam the Olympic Eagle and You by Leona Bergstrom

Happy 8/28 Day! by James N. Watkins


Life Events

 75 records found

Happiness and the Price of Groceries by Garrison Keillor

My Life Story (Short Version) by Garrison Keillor

Waiting for a Cab One Night by Garrison Keillor

A Report on My Trip to Fargo by Garrison Keillor

My Most Important Message in Forty Years by James N. Watkins

There are 70 more items in the category Life Events...See the whole list


Media

 1 record found

My View on Journalism if Your're Interested by Garrison Keillor


Nature

 2 records found

True Colors Shining Through by James N. Watkins

Imagine . . . then Consider by Stu Johnson


News & Current Events

 47 records found

Finally, Democrats Have a Good Week by Garrison Keillor

Open the Doors, Let the Young Mingle Among the Treasures by Garrison Keillor

My Position on Congestion Pricing, Plainily States by Garrison Keillor

Pull Up Your Socks, People, Let's Get Going! by Garrison Keillor

Last Wedneday, Stuck in a Traffic Jam by Garrison Keillor

There are 42 more items in the category News & Current Events...See the whole list


Relationships

 10 records found

Hugging is a Habit in the Apple Capital by Garrison Keillor

A Little Talk About Close Neighbors by Garrison Keillor

A Close Call and then the Creation by Garrison Keillor

On the Phone with My People by Garrison Keillor

The Old Man's Lecture: Manners (Boring) by Garrison Keillor

There are 5 more items in the category Relationships...See the whole list


Retirement

 1 record found

The Four Phases of Retirement by Richard Bergstrom


Sports & Recreation

 1 record found

Hoops Cancellation Withdrawal Disorder by Rusty Wright


Technology

 3 records found

Adventures in ECO Land by Barbara Greenleaf

The Lost History of the Electric Car from The Guardian

Coping with Technology by Barbara Greenleaf


Travel

 9 records found

Flying West for a Look See by Garrison Keillor

A Letter from Greenville S.C. by Garrison Keillor

The Winter Blues Has Got Me Bad, Mama by Garrison Keillor

O What a Beautiful Evening by Garrison Keillor

Crossing the Flats, Looking for Mountans by Garrison Keillor

There are 4 more items in the category Travel...See the whole list


Trends

 4 records found

The Great Chicken Conspiracy by Stu Johnson

Fly Me to the Moon by Barbara Greenleaf

So Much is Known but Mystery Remains by Garrison Keillor

New Storm Rising by Richard Bergstrom


Volunteer

 1 record found

Happy May Day! by James N. Watkins


Work, Employment

 2 records found

What if My Grandchild is Not College Material? by Barbara Greenleaf

Am I a 'Feminist'? Yes and no! by James N. Watkins