Mt. Pleasant News

To the editor:Last August, my brother, Gary Sammons, passed away unexpectedly. My family lost a husband, brother, son, father, uncle and grandfather. We, of course, miss him dearly. We relied on him for many things.This became more evident this past Monday morning. Mom, who is almost 90 and still living in the family home, called wanting advice on who to contact to reattach the cap of her security light. It was ...

If you?re going to be a sports fan, you might as well be an optimistic one, especially if your team is doing well. Growing up a Cubs and Hawkeyes fan, I?ve learned that it?s actually better to be optimistic, and set yourself up for disappointment, than be pessimistic and look like a band wagoner when your team wins.Tomorrow night (Fri.), the Hawkeyes will be in their second Rose Bowl of my lifetime. The first ...

Well, it?s here once again. Although we have gotten off lucky with a tame winter before Monday, Mother Nature has finally decided to show us just how cold hearted she can be ? literally.Sleet, snow, ice, freezing temperatures ? it has people like me wondering why in the world I have chosen to continue living in Iowa year after year and not sunny Florida. But since I am here, and I have 24 years of observations ...

Mayor Ed King wanted to submit Barb Welander?s name to the Mt. Pleasant City Council as his choice for the position of Building and Zoning Administrator.There had been many applicants for the 32-hour per week position and, of course, Welander was the only female. Welander asked Mayor King if she needed to attend the council meeting. He said it wasn?t necessary.Mt. Pleasant would make national news that day. A ...

Last night, I was snuggled up under a blanket, reading my new book by the glow of the Christmas tree. It was the first time all season I started to feel excited for the upcoming holiday.I had just finished the last of my Christmas crafts and all of my gifts were finally wrapped. Mom and I had spent the afternoon baking and the aroma of cookies and bread still lingered in the air.Yes, I was finally excited, but ...

What are we doing? What are we, as a human race, doing? That?s the question I keep asking myself.Wednesday afternoon I was all set to write my column about putting up my Christmas tree and decorating it. I was going to write about this insane desire I have to make a wreath, the burlap kind that peppers my Pinterest feed. Or the ornaments I talked myself into decorating, despite how much anxiety crafting gives ...

DEAR ABBY: When I was 19 and played bass in a rock band, I fell in love with a guy I?ll call ?Brian.? He was three years older and also a musician. We had the best times together -- we were young and wild without a care in the world.But the years rolled on and we got older. After six years together, I got pregnant. I thought Brian would be thrilled, but he wasn?t. It changed how I felt about him. I was heartbroke...

Ginnie had to work on Thanksgiving, so I said I would prepare the turkey and have it ready for her when she got home. No big deal. I?ve fixed turkey before, with stuffing?put the bird in a roaster, throw it in the oven, take it out. How hard is that? I would even fix the trimmings?mashed potatoes, gravy (I?m the gravy king), cranberry sauce, and a vegetable. Ginnie would make a pumpkin dessert the night before, ...

DEAR ABBY: I have dated a lot of women over the years - including actresses, beauty contest winners and models. Every one of them, except my current live-in, "Amanda," would dress up in lingerie when I asked them to.Amanda refuses. She says if I love her, I should be turned on whether she's nude or in lingerie. Part of the problem is she's not in the best shape, and lingerie would hide that.I have tried ...

It was Thanksgiving Day, 1944. Petty Officer Dean Dixon, from Bloomfield, was on duty aboard the submarine, USS Hammerhead, in the South China Sea.They were trying to evade depth charges dropped by a Japanese Destroyer after they had sunk a Japanese freighter delivering munitions. It was a deadly, stressful game of cat-and-mouse.As a machinist mate, it was Dean Dixon?s job to seal off compartments, put out ...

To the editor:When I moved to Wayland three years ago, one of the first holidays in my new home was Thanksgiving.Living 12 hours from my family meant that I was going to spend this important day for food and fellowship eating a frozen meal alone in my recliner. Thankfully, that was not how I spent that first Thanksgiving separated from my family. Instead, I went to WACO High School and joined a hundred other ...

I called Columbia, Mo., my home for a year. The University of Missouri-Columbia (Mizzou, MU) was my beat when I worked for the Columbia Tribune.I?d go to Coffee Zone on 9th St., for my turtle latte for an afternoon work break and to McNally?s afterwards for a pint with my friends and fellow writers.To say I?ve been following the unfolding events at Mizzou would be an understatement. And as you can imagine, I?ve ...