Choosing a college took an unexpected turn

Horizons

Written by Bailey Kaufman Tuesday, 26 February 2013 11:52

In Septem­ber, I wrote a column that promised I would someday write about my final college decision. In that column, I listed three options for my future education: Kansas State University, Indiana University and John Brown University.

The purpose of this column is to fulfill that promise. But here’s the twist: I’m not attending any of those three colleges next year.

When my family and I visited Indiana University last summer, we ate lunch on the road at a cute diner in Columbia, Mo. That happens to be the town where the main campus for the University of Missouri is located. Since we knew MU was supposed to have one of the best journalism schools in the country, we decided to drive past the campus.

At the time, I really had no...

Read more: Choosing a college took an unexpected turn

Yin and yang of cats and cleaning

Parts of Speech

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 09 April 2013 12:47

“Yikes! She’s a guy!” —Fly, from “A Bug’s Life”

 

quirrel!”

I am guessing that at least 90 percent of the general population imagines the same picture when seeing that word with an exclamation point. That picture would be Doug from the movie “Up.”

Now that spring is basically here, our similar phrase at home has been “fat robin.” Big-bellied birds are everywhere and it seems like anytime we are outside or driving, one of us is yelling, “fat robin.” My youngest daughter asked me if they were pregnant. I told her, sure, probably. I didn’t know actually, and after researching that, it appears I’m probably wrong.

But, no matter. As we, along with our very interested cat Casey, watched the birds from...

Read more: Yin and yang of cats and cleaning

Some TP ads given a bum wrap

Don\'t Ask Why

Written by David Vogel Tuesday, 30 April 2013 11:58

Lately I’ve become increasingly alarmed by the explicitness of TV commercials for toilet paper. For example, the other day I Old-Faithfulled the soda I was drinking when this ad played: “This is one way to keep your underwear clean. This is another: Ta-da!”

That’s a recent plug for Charmin, the TP brand that uses animated bears to discuss bathroom tissue issues. The subjects range anywhere from needing less squares to the amount of tissue fragments get left behind on the bear’s bottoms.

It’s cute—until you start to think about the real-life implications the scenarios set up. And then it’s disturbing.

Whatever happened to the old-fashioned ads that simply spilled a blue fluid on a few squares, stacked a bunch of coins...

Read more: Some TP ads given a bum wrap

Looking ahead

Editorials

Written by Hillsboro Free Press Tuesday, 07 May 2013 14:10

With the graduation season upon us, we add a word of congratulations to the high school and college students who will be receiving their diplomas and are beginning the next stage of their life journey.

We have no sage advice or insight to offer that they won’t have heard, thought or read over these next few weeks. But most of us, whether we were there 10, 30 or 50 years ago, can recall that mix of excitement and dread as one very familiar stage ends and the next one looms before us with no clear understanding or defined expectations.

If we look too deeply into the future, the outlook can be foreboding because even the familiar earth beneath our feet shifts from week to week with the undulating tremors of change. Graduates have...

Read more: Looking ahead