In my humble opinion - by Deb Bently

The calendar months and their names

Thanks to some reading I’ve been doing, I’ve come across the information that indigenous people named the “months” by what happened at the particular time of year. The Hopi of the Southwest call October the “Wind Moon.” The Ojibwe of the north call September “Changing Leaves Moon” and October “...

What if driving is causing the distraction?

I recently came across a problem of semantics. Should it be called “distracted driving” if the matter distracting me IS the driving? I have owned my current vehicle for five years or more, but in all that time, I have never let the fuel gauge touch the “empty” mark–until the other...

My time volunteering at Farmamerica

Two weeks ago, I wrote an article about how Farmamerica is looking for volunteers to fill various roles during the facility’s round of fall school field trips. I had the chance to speak with volunteers Ron Wood and Rita and Jerry Janish about the sense of personal fulfillment it brings them to...

Socially responsible thrift shopping

I’ve mentioned before that I like going to thrift stores. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the socially responsible way to shop. Rather than contributing to the excessive trend of “out with the old, in with the new,” it’s a way to “reduce, re-use, recycle.” As I’m sure nearly everyone has, I...

An unexpected tap on the shoulder

Except maybe to notice whether it’s cloudy or not, it’s funny how seldom we look at the sky. It’s easy to take it for granted, especially since it’s always up there. Sure, the moon changes, but it changes in such consistent ways we barely notice. I’m sure a good share of us, at any time, are...

MARVELING - This is one of the thunderstorm pictures Deb Bently has taken this summer. Pioneer photo by Deb Bently

Transfixed by thunderstorms

I am transfixed by thunderstorms. That means that this stormy summer, I have spent a fair amount of time marveling at the sky. I acknowledge they are dangerous and that the strongest of them can do horrendous damage, but since they are an unremovable feature of nature, I am doing no...

Adventures at Six Flags: Wrath of Rakshasa

After my very enjoyable ride on an Amtrak passenger train a week ago, it wasn’t long before I was taking the ride I had been looking forward to all summer. A roller coaster named “Wrath of Rakshasa” opened at the Six Flags Great America theme park in Gurnee, Ill., in June: I had been...

TRAIN VIEWS - A view of the Mississippi River taken from a railroad bridge during a recent train ride.

Amtrak train and rollercoasters

Last weekend, I rode an Amtrak train from Winona to a suburb north of Chicago. A major objective of the trip was to meet up with my sister-in-law so that we could go ride rollercoasters at Six Flags Great America. The rollercoasters were exciting, of course, but here I want to tell about my...

CAPTURED BEAUTY - A moment of illumination during a Waseca County sunset. Pioneer photo by Deb Bently

Illuminating photos

This afternoon I was driving westward toward a sun that could only just be blocked by my vehicle’s visor. I topped a hill and found myself doing a doubletake because the two-mile line of sight ahead of me appeared to be decorated with a lacy lit garland which scalloped up and down more neatly and...

Speculations surrounding feathers, fins, and fantasy

This afternoon I watched some large birds, probably vultures, riding an updraft above a four-lane highway. They were probably at least 100 feet in the air, their wings apparently motionless as they made lazy circles in the sky. Since it was not windy, I was led to speculate about the nature...