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Don’t sign the check

Dear Heloise: I read a recent column of yours, and it reminded me of this story: Two older women who were friends for a long time ran into each other at the grocery store. They hadn’t seen each other for several months. The first woman told her friend that she was so disappointed with her grandchildren. Every year for their birthdays and Christmas, she sends cards and checks but never hears back from them. Her friend said that she does exactly the same with cards and checks, but her grandchildren usually show up at her front door within a week to visit. The first woman says, “You ...

Midwinter chores

During our long, chilly winters – when it’s so cold outside that you wish you had stored your brass monkey someplace warm – a guy has no excuses and no choice but to tackle those indoor chores that he’d put off last summer. Numerous such chores present themselves. Chief among mine recently were replacing our bathroom and kitchen faucets. Both were still functioning, but both had, over the years, acquired unsightly surface deposits of whitish minerals. Professional plumbers call these deposits “hard water crud.” I tried to remove the deposits with vinegar and with powerful ...

NU Film Society remembers “The Alamo”

NEW ULM — The New Ulm Film Society’s America at War film series takes a stand with a screening of 2004 film “The Alamo.” The screening is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 12 at the New Ulm Public Library. “The Alamo” was released in 2004 and tells the true story the Battle of the Alamo during Texas’ revolution from Mexico in 1835. The film makes the reasonable assumption that most audiences remember what happened at the Alamo, or at least are aware of the battle’s legacy of defiance in the face of certain defeat. The movie opens by making it clear the Texas defenders at ...

Handling unexpected guests

Dear Annie: I have mobility issues and use a walker, so I’m mostly confined to my home. My son helps by taking me to the beauty salon and occasionally to the bank or pharmacy, but I spend most of my time at home. Today, two ladies showed up at my door unexpectedly. I hadn’t been up long and wasn’t dressed for visitors, and my house was far from presentable. There were Christmas boxes scattered everywhere, and I had just dropped a coffee cup, leaving broken pieces all over the kitchen floor. Needless to say, I wasn’t in a state to entertain anyone. When they rang the doorbell, ...

Ringing in the New Year

Call us wild and crazy, but my wife and I opted to ring in the new year by spending it with our toddler grandson and his parents, who live in Kansas City. We got a late start on the six-hour journey, so we decided to break it up by spending a night in a hotel at the halfway point. This option became imperative when we ran into an impenetrable wall of fog which, combined with the nighttime darkness, reduced visibility to approximately two feet beyond our headlights. “I can barely see two feet ahead of us!” muttered my wife who was at the wheel and has a penchant for stating the ...

When father’s vision doesn’t match your own

Dear Annie: I am 36 years old, and I recently spoke to my dad. He raised me, and we have always been like best friends until I moved to Virginia, just because of the distance. I have an older sister who lives at home and doesn’t care to work, and my dad basically raises her son. I told my dad my future ambitions to adopt a child, and his response was so incredibly negative. I asked him why he treats me so harshly, and he said, “Because you’re the only daughter I have left to do something good with her life.” I understand where he’s coming from, but I don’t want the ...