Back in the days before journalism went out of style, I occasionally assigned a writer to do a feature we called “Whatever Happened To.” One day the assignment was to find Johnny Paycheck, the country singer who had a big hit with “Take This Job and Shove It.” Whatever happened…

In my spam folder the other day, there was this: “Are you looking to accelerate your nursing career and shape the future of healthcare?” I’ve had a career in nursing? Hey, I’m 85 and don’t remember things as well as I used to. I seem to recall I spent more…

(First, a bit of book news. “I Should Have Married My World History Teacher (Confessions of a Hoosier Class Clown)” should be published by the end of the year. It’s about how much fun I had growing up in Frankfort, Indiana, and how much trouble I got into.) MORE QUESTIONS…

I made a living for 45 years writing and editing news copy or supervising those who did. I used to think the hardest thing to write was a national weather summary because the source information available back when at United Press International was so vague. I was wrong, so wrong…

If you have a grandkid 16 years old or younger, you should never visit an ice cream parlor without them. Trust me. Your chances of having an “adventure” skyrocket with them along. We took our youngest granddaughter, Cristiana, to lunch recently, one of the last days of her school break…

(The List Keeps Growing) I discovered a few days ago that a university not far from me offers courses in “pre-early childhood.” Would that be when the mother is pregnant? Do the courses include the proper technique to speak directly into a woman’s belly so the little one inside also…

There are days when I head upstairs planning to write, but, after turning on my computer, I just sit there listening to country music. Song after song. Before I’m through. I usually have clicked on something by Vern or Emmylou (as in Gosdin and Harris) or both. The other day…

MEMO TO NEW MEMBERS OF THE WAIT STAFF As should be obvious to all of you now, Kathy’s Café is popular with the older crowd. Frankly, the much, much older crowd. You will make mistakes in serving these folks but that’s expected, you’re human. Well, most of you are. Kathy…

“Welcome again to ‘Talking to the Author.’ Today’s guest is Larry McCoy who recently celebrated his 85th birthday. Hi, Larry. You’re looking for a publisher for your latest manuscript? Tell us about this new book.” “What new book?” “You sent us an email a few weeks back saying you had…