Mike Nelson: runner extraordinaire – Empty Nest by Curt Swarm
A lot of runners, myself included, are happy if they place in their age group….
A lot of runners, myself included, are happy if they place in their age group….
Thursday, December 31, New Year’s Eve Day: The Vintage Raven in Mt. Pleasant posted on…
What would you do if FEAR was eliminated from your life? If it weren’t for…
During a blizzard in the late 70’s a city worker in Mt. Pleasant was driving…
Every once-in-a-while a writer comes along who stands head and shoulders above the rest. This…
Lori and Roger Griswold were hiking along. They saw a man coming toward them over…
On a summer afternoon you might see a 49-year old man running through the streets…
It’s just 12 pages a day for 90 days. Anyone can read 12 pages a…
I was welding away on the last sculpture for my art show in Fort Madison….
BY BRIAN RIGGSFort Madison Area Arts Association FORT MADISON – Fort Madison Area Arts Association…
I had the shingles 10 years ago, plus the shingles’ vaccination. I should be good…
Okay, folks, here’s your chance to get some genuine Curt Swarm junk, I mean art….
Jane and Mark McConeghey of Monroe, Iowa have always been innovative farmers, caring for their…
“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” Dr. Seuss It’s the people she…
Noble, friendly, protector, dog rescuer, ready smile, popular, motivated, giving, outgoing, receptive to feedback, empathetic,…
Northeast of Bloomfield or Southeast of Floris is what might be considered an outdoor museum…
You may have noticed the big, beautiful, red barn beside the highway. It’s just west…
On August 27, the night before Ginnie’s birthday, the moon and Mars lined up side-by-side,…
“Nurtured and pampered by parents who didn’t want to make the mistakes of the previous…
Families gotta start back getting together for Sunday dinner and family reunions…not just funerals. –…
Except when I was 13 and got a Winchester single shot, .22 rifle, this may…
Dog park, grooming, boarding, training, world class Yorkies, pigeons for dog training, wildlife habitat and…
Ironically, I may have brought this on myself. Being an artist, I see beauty in…
My only goal was to keep up with Ray in the row beside me and…
I made an uncanny observation the other day while watering our garden. Hose water tastes…
He’s 6’9” tall. When Bobby Quayle (pronounced “Quail”) was in grade school in Mt. Pleasant,…
I did not know that chipmunks, also known as “squinneys,” can destroy a garden. They’re…
It’s worth a road trip to see. Located in Traer, Iowa, north of Tama, the…
It was the spring of 1995 when my family and I decided to return to…
There was an explosion, followed by a crackling. The hair on the back of my…
Leave it to an artist. Artists usually have many talents, not just one art form….
He was eight years old when he came west in a covered wagon from Ohio…
I tilled a pick-up load of composted sheep manure into our garden. I know I…
Outside his apartment in Keosauqua sits his 1961 Chrysler Imperial, waiting. The Chrysler is in…
The Skunk River is a little quieter today. It lost one of its arch rivals,…
Instead of gaining pounds while sheltering in place, use this home-bound time to achieve that…
Mt. Pleasant beauty salon owner, Judy Williamson, took in stride the governor’s order to close…
We might think we have it rough with restaurants closed, “shelter in place” (fancy words…
Diego knew he was on the right path, that God had spoken to him. Coming…
The uneven stone steps going down were damp. Her heel caught on the edge of…
The Dead Sea Scrolls were written on parchment that was bound in leather. When the…
Contributing author Curt Swarm offer this week’s submission from the Holy Lands On a pilgrimage…
Little Johnny was a bad boy. In the third grade at Elm Grove District Number…
My wife and I mark our time together by Colonoscopies. Yup. You see, we had…
At 101 years of age, Quentin Fackler still remembers his dog tag number: 37047361. A…
He wants to be an astronaut or a flight director, the person who leads the…
I’m often asked, by aspiring writers, how I got my column into so many newspapers….
Empty Nest – by Curt Swarm “If you have one friend, you’re a wealthy person.”…
Larry stuck the yardstick under the laundromat washer and scraped around. He pulled out a…
But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 The snow was wet and…