I woke up today and was thinking about our good friend Dick Varenhorst of Marion who died much too young at the age of 70 in 2014 of cancer at his home in Marion.
He worked for the Free Press and the Buyer’s Edge, retiring in 2009.
His laugh was infectious and he wrote the column, “Thoughts of a Cluttered Mind,” which gave his perspective on how things used to be and should be.
He was instrumental in the books we published Marion Memories, Vols. 1 & 2. And he came out of retirement to help with the veterans book, Our Nation Called, Marion County Answered.
We couldn’t have done those books without his knowledge and help.
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Speaking of books, a special lady from Wichita has just released her third edition of If You’re Not Laughing, You’re Dying which now includes all of her blogs through the end of 2019 as she battled through Stage 4 Cancer.
I am happy to report that Michele Longabaugh just returned from MD Anderson in Houston and she is still clean after eight years. She used to write a column in the Free Press, “The Way I ‘C’ It.”
She is now a grandma and has one of the cutest little granddaughters I have seen on social media. Go to the Free Press home page and click on the online store link to check it out and buy it.
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I cranked up my probably 40 plus year-old Rockwell Delta turning lathe to make a few billy clubs. One was from an old walnut tree stump that was in the box of Walnut wood I inherited from my dad.
As I started turning it, I noticed that it is full of wormholes which I thought would go away after I turned it further They were still there.
As of now, I don’t know if the wormholes will ever be gone because the stupid electric motor quit on me. What could possibly be wrong with it as it is nearly 40 years old?
I have tried everything I can do to make it go, but all it does is hum.
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These types of jokes were popular in the 1920s through the end of WWII:
She was only…
an artist’s daughter, but she could draw a crowd
blacksmith’s daughter but she knew how to forge ahead.
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I thought I would be perfectly safe using the turning lathe with my neurological conditions and less than stellar vision. I do not think it is possible to cut off fingers with a lathe. Stay tuned as I am going to fix it.
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The Big 12 almost owned Division I college basketball this year as it was down to Texas Tech in the Men’s NCAA final game for the National Champion–
ship. They battled hard coming back from down ten points twice in both halves only to let it slip away at the end. Baylor Women and Texas Men had already captured the Women’s NCAA -title and the NIT titles respectively.
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If you wish to share your comments or ideas, my e-mail address is joel@
hillsborofreepress.com.
