World War II prisoner of war Joe Koenig of Cedar Rapids recalls the 500-mile march in the dead of winter across northern Germany in 1945 in my Ramblin’ column in today’s Gazette. It was a gruesome march through deep snow and sometimes blizzard conditions with little food, threats of all sorts of diseases and guards who [...]
If fellow Gazette columnist and blogger Todd Dorman likes golf jokes, here’s one for him.
As a young man, Frank was an exceptional golfer. Before he turned 25, however, he decided to become a priest. He took the usual vows of poverty, chastity, and even promised never to play golf on Sunday.
One Sunday morning, Father Frank awoke to a wonderful, sunny [...]
With the Beatles “Good Day Sunshine” playing on the car’s CD - “I’m in love and it’s a sunny day” - I ran into a detour north of Washington, Iowa, on County Road G36.
Oh well, it’s a sunny mid-Friday afternoon and I’m in no hurry to get back to the office. It’s a good day to [...]
Today’s Ramblin’ about a diorama of the Fourth Street tracks running through Cedar Rapids in 1954 didn’t really bring back memories for me, since I was born in 1953. But maybe it brings back memories for you or at least some reflection.
It certainly did for me, since I’ve written about the brightly lighted green and yellow ear [...]
After a long cold and snowy winter, word has come that Cedar Rapids will open its city golf courses by Monday. That has to mean other courses in Eastern Iowa are either already open or will soon let us duffers line up at the No. 1 tee box.
If you’re like me, you can’t wait. But first, [...]
As the snow melts and springtime breezes pick up, it just might be time to fly a kite.
I came upon today’s Ramblin’ column in The Gazette when Bob Royer of Lisbon and his lifelong friend, Darrell Langan of Cedar Rapids, stopped in with Bob’s story about building kites in 1948. I set it aside at the time, waiting [...]
In Monday’s Ramblin’ column I introduced Gazette readers to my blog and, since I’m new to this form of communication, am curious to hear from experienced and successful Eastern Iowa bloggers.
How many years have you been blogging? Do you blog every day? Do you receive a lot of comments about what you blog or hardly any at all?
If you [...]
Describing your life in six words isn’t impossible, but it’s tough. Especially if, like life on Earth, you only get one shot at it.
If you read today’s Ramblin’ column in The Gazette, you see I gave it three shots: “Crawler, walker, jogger. Writer, Rambler, blogger” and “Born and raised a Ramblin’ man” and “Late, lost. [...]
I may be a new kid on the block when it comes to blogging, but I began writing my Ramblin’ with Rasdal column in 1982 in The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It’s now simply called Ramblin’.
That’s not to say you might not enjoy checking out some other “Ramblin’ ” blogs. You can do your [...]
Robert Ingalls, who recently moved to Keystone Place in Cedar Rapids, writes:
“We just moved to Cedar Rapids from Saint Louis. Our guide to the area was Bill McClelland, in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
“How would you suggest is the best and quickest way to learn about our new home.”
Robert — and anyone else new to [...]
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