Tomorrow is OUR day! Look around this Correspondence page of The Prospect-News to understand. April 18 is National Columnists Day. Readers of this weekly publication can count on regular submissions from these same individuals in every issue...

Visits to Ripley County to visit grandparents were adventures with a couple of distinct variations. Momo and Popo Pearson lived on A highway deep in snipe country. There were clusters of woods and lots of fields, tons of gardens and lots of pigs. And ponds...

Impulsivity is a trait often frowned upon by those with structured, organized lives. I realize creatives can be organized and structured souls can be spontaneous, to cover my seemingly-always-at-loose-ends self. But, if fate has paired you, a spontaneous creature, with a heart on the other end of the habits spectrum, that could serve you both well if you find yourself in or near Ripley County, Missouri for the Total Eclipse on the Current...

At dawn recently, I delayed turning on the radio and starting coffee, postponing the rustle of usual morning routines that would interfere with nature’s melodies filtering through the slightly open windows. To escape the roaring fridge and the whining cat fountain, I tiptoed to the door, avoiding the creaky spots in the floor. ...

Writer’s block…unrelated focus…oversleeping…lost calendar…Pick one to partially explain why my column is late and rushed. Course, if you’re reading this on March 20, you won’t know it was late, though you might sense it being hastily written...

There are a lot of us around, folks who tend to see their glasses half full, with replenishment pending. Part of my personal optimism is the perhaps naive belief that there are tons of jobs requiring the education and training of experts who know more about their particular fields than I do. Consequently, I trust those experts and their products and services...

It’s a complicated-looking term - grapheme-color synesthesia. Those with this diagnosis perceive numbers and/or letters with colors. I’m troubled by numbers. Period. Seeing numbers in color would not help me understand them any better, I bet. The confusion would still be there, but with less stress...

It’s odd, having lived all but one year of my adult life in rural areas, that my longest experience with chickens was as a St. Louis kid. The adventure started in Doniphan on spring break from school. Mom stayed with us kids and Dad went back to work. We shuttled between grandparents - Robert and Cecilia Pearson on A highway and Tom and Ardieth Bizzell on 160E...

Once upon a time Mom and Dad took us to Arkansas. In my early life, we lived on A highway close to the state line. We visited nearby friends, attended church at Mt. Pleasant, went to the big ol’ Supply store, used the ferry. I even rode a school bus to Maynard just for fun, way before school age...

Surprise your Valentine with some creative twists to the usual celebrations. Keep your partner's preferences in mind with a little extra planning and thought to create special memories. Consider these ten creative ideas and add your own romantic touches...

I came across a fun new word: imponderabilia. It identifies those things we cannot evaluate exactly. My mind applies it to aspects of life I find confounding. Thinking on imponderabilia doesn’t clear up confusion or provide profound insight. It stacks up, hanging around waiting for purpose, just as memorabilia does. ...

I’ve had an exasperating night due to perceived temperature fluctuations. A peek at Mother Nature’s thermometer would reveal a steady above-freezing record. The thermostat inside didn’t show much change, either. My physical reaction to the damp cool weather, however, was all over the place. ...

My nose is cold, as are my toes, Layers reign, with robe over clothes. When will the thaw come? No one knows. Many saying, “My water froze.” ***...

At this writing, a wintry blast with a variety of precipitation and frigid wind chills driven by fearsome bone-chilling breezes is forecast. By the time this PN issue hits the newsstands, I might not get to hold the actual newspaper. I’ll gratefully read it online if I choose to remain indoors...

When my life seems ho-hum, I rifle through a stockpile of scribbles searching for column ideas. That backfired today. I grabbed the seed catalogue instead. Have you seen one lately? The Whole Seed Catalog is a compilation of art and almanac, dream book and planning guide. It might seem a procrastination tactic, especially since when it comes to gardening - flower or otherwise - I’m in the appreciation/dreaming category...

Anticipating 2024 is … *Peeking through cracks in a door still closed. I recall questions for 2023 I posed...

As I ponder this magical holiday season, memories of isolation during the peak of the pandemic - and changes in protocol in so many arenas in the aftermath - haunt me. Masked faces with wary, weary eyes met me everywhere. Muffled words obstructed craved communication. I sensed a sad and scary season...

Remember Dr. Leo Buscaglia? You may, but not for his Navy stint or his three degrees - but for his moniker, the Love Doctor. That title pushed the popularity of his books (five of them NYT bestsellers at the same time), the waiting list for his seminars at the University of Southern California and his glorious appearances on PBS specials...

AUTHENTIC is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2023. Checking its definition surged as a lot of us, apparently, looked for assurance that it hasn’t become an archaic adjective. As we barrel into 2024, our dictionaries will gain more words before the year's end. That makes me think about words and phrases from a century ago - this one in particular: ‘Do you know your onions?’...

‘Tis the season of list-making, reminder-posting, recipe-finding, party-going, secret-keeping (or sharing, as situations warrant, like in searching for gifts), hiding-place securing and shopping-trip scheduling. Black Friday ushers in frenzied and rushed days, even for those of us not working and raising families...