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Limiting how we are treated

What are our personal rules that determine how we want other people to interact with us, and to treat us? What are the boundaries that we expect other people to recognize, accept, and respect? We all have those personal rules but we do not always think about them or put them into words. These rules are a big part of who we are, and they determine what we want and expect from other people. They determine what we will accept and tolerate from the people we encounter in our life. We tend to react when the boundaries we set are violated. There are also internal boundaries, or rules, ...

Passing on chance of glory

I recently stopped at the post office to mail a few packets. This is something that would normally take only a few minutes, but it consumed nearly half an hour and caused my wife to suffer some undue alarm. It wasn’t the post office’s fault. As I approached its exit, a vaguely familiar face hovered before me. It took a moment for the memory synapses to click. “Mr. Schrader?” I asked. “Is that you?” It was. Mel Schrader taught science class when I was in seventh grade. We chatted amiably for several minutes when a particular memory percolated up. “I remember in ...

No garbage found on this trip — just smiles

We spent a weekend in the Cities in December. Pam’s family was celebrating Christmas at her niece’s house. We found a VRBO in Bloomington where we stayed. It was an apartment we rented in a larger building with mostly permanent residents. We had two evenings and mornings to lounge about. There was a large central area where people came and went. There were cookies and coffee available. We were in and out often, so I had a lot of those little experiences crossing paths with other people. I enjoy those small connections. I smile and engage in short conversations. I hold a door ...

NU Film Society strolls through the park with a screening of ‘Jurassic Park’

NEW ULM – The New Ulm Film Society will continue its Steven Spielberg director series with a screening of his top film in terms of financial success. Or maybe that should be tricera-Top film. The screening is at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13 at the New Ulm Public Library. Released in 1993 and based on a novel by Michael Crichton, “Jurassic Park” is science-fiction thriller about the chaotic breakdown of a theme park featuring cloned dinosaurs. The film would become a massive blockbuster success and to this day is Spielberg’s most profitable film. The movie also helped usher in a ...

What is insomnia?

It’s not uncommon for people to have issues with sleep. Most will get back to regular sleep patterns sooner rather than later. What if the difficulty with sleep does not stop? What if sleep problems go on and on? Impaired sleep is a threat to a person’s general well-being and ability to function. The typical name for this problem is insomnia. Sleep disturbance is so important that it really should be addressed sooner rather than later. Impaired sleep, at a minimum, can impact your memory, your ability to think, your job performance, how you interact and socialize with ...

My Cororna

It started out as an ordinary, run-of-the mill winter cold. It’s been a few years since I’ve had a cold, so I thought OK, I’m due. Generally, my colds are simply an annoyance. Seldom do I take anything for it. Besides, the syrups that are commonly used to treat the symptoms of a cold taste so horrible that you want to scrub your tongue with soap and water. My cold journeys usually go like this: I develop a slight case of the sniffles. This is followed a day to later by some light to moderate coughing. A week later, it’s all over; the symptoms resolve, and life goes on. Not ...