Stargazing - by Eli Lutgens

A whole lot of health updates

I don’t have a whole lot of life updates or happenings to share this week. Last week I did not write a column as it was simply too painful of a week. I aggravated my back/leg/sciatic nerve and spent the entire week, continuing to today, nursing a spasm in my calf muscle. Quite painful...

Prayers, baseball and a gut feeling

This week I have health updates, a Braves baseball update and a little local news. Locally The bakery in New Richland is for sale/has been for sale. Nancy Jane and company plan to retire when they sell. As long as I have been alive, New Richland has had a bakery. During my youth my...

Just more food for thought

Last week my dad told me about falling in love with my mother. It took me completely by surprise when he said it was “love at first sight.” It’s such an odd thing. I told my dad last week that I love him more than any other person. He told me I was his best friend. In previous...

Considering the path to happiness, success

My friend Madi reports she had an excellent time on the trip we planned together, but then I could not attend due to my back injury. She visited four monasteries and aside from the “freaky African and Indian Masks” at the cabin, everything was “fantastic.” Madi also visited a museum of dinosaurs...

Painful loss: I am not on vacation

I was supposed to be on vacation this week. My plans were undone when I realized my health would neither let me sit in a car for extended periods nor go on any extended walks. At 28 years old I’m not supposed to have this much pain. I threw out my back picking up a frying pan last...

Cribbage, guts and a fundraiser

The impossible happened this week. I skunked my dad at cribbage. Two times. On the week, I tallied seven wins to his six. Dad took the first two bouts of the week before I rattled off four straight wins on round two (the next day) including a skunk. We started round two intending to...

Only two aces left in the deck

The cribbage faceoffs with my dad continue. This week I took home the majority, 11-6. Dad registered one skunk, which decreased my lead and gave us even totals. Prior to Monday evening, I was up 7-3 in games. That evening, up three to one in games, we were playing our final game. The difference...

A memorable final sermon at Wilton Church

As I sat in church Sunday morning the bells of Wilton Church rang, and to me, felt as if they were doing so for the final time. Saturday evening Deb invited me to join her for Pastor Larry Sipe’s final service in Wilton. His actual last service for the parishes will be Sunday at First Lutheran in...

Nightly cribbage bouts continue

The nightly cribbage games with my father continue. Lately we have nearly split our games, with the slight edge going my way. Over the weekend my father thanked me for not bragging about beating him in my column. Thursday evening, he got to the table a few minutes before me. When I walked...

Happy, belated, Father's Day, Dad

I am more than two months through twice-a-week physical therapy sessions, which meant it was time to ‘reassess’ prior to my most recent session. There had been something of a setback during the previous week; I hurt myself during one of the exercises. It was a very simple resistance...