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The Gift of Loss

As 2020 wanes and a new year rests just under the horizon, there’s been much said about the uniqueness of this year. While 2020 winds down, and families settle in for whatever Christmas celebrations they’ll have, I find myself wondering how people really feel about the year, and the way it’s all unfolded.  And I don’t mean the feelings that … Read more

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A lifelong a-Fair

On the way to fair Sunday, I decided I’d be a little ornery with Lila.  “I thought you didn’t like the fair very much,” I said, as she gathered up her hair for a “ready-to-do-some-serious-work” ponytail.   She looked over at me, incredulous, as she let her hair drop.  “What!!? I LOVE the fair!”     That exchange left me thinking … Read more

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Biking Across Kansas

BAK 2019 – An (br) easy day

I went to bed last night looking forward to an easy day of riding – with relatively flat roads, little to no wind, that, if it blew it all, would serve as a tailwind. When I woke up, it was clear that wouldn’t be the case. Instead, we spent most of the day battling a fierce headwind that sometimes gave … Read more

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BAK 2019 – Goodland to Hill City, by way of Col(d)by…and beyond

One of the struggles of trying to write and publish from the road on BAK is access to, or lack thereof, of good internet service. So I had to miss a night when I couldn’t get on the school’s internet. Oh, and the evening was also interrupted by tornado warnings. Then, when I had good internet at Hill City, I … Read more

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BAK 2019 – The Good Land

I’m writing this in the back seat of the car. Life the past two years has been….full. And it seems to be getting more full every month, and week, after signing up to be a member of the Kansas House of Representatives. But right now, I’m riding in a car, bikes strapped on a trunk rack, headed for Goodland, Kansas … Read more

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A recovered memory

Not unlike a lot of people, I get particularly reflective at the close of one year and the introduction of another. And in that window of transition, I’ve developed, or at least tried to develop, the habit of cleaning out old things. I’ll toss files I haven’t looked at in a long time. Dig through boxes that contain paperwork and … Read more

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Here’s to you, 2017

This time a year ago I stood on the edge of 2017, reflecting on the year 2016. I didn’t like all that I saw. It was a year of transition. A year of learning lessons. A year of finding who my friends where, and who, unquestionably, were not. It was a year of more downs than ups, and of not … Read more

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