I recently stumbled upon a random “rest easy” postmortem on Facebook. A friend was mourning a gone-too-soon colleague and mentor,...

On my nightstand growing up, I kept a series of trophies that I hoped might serve as conversation pieces at sleepovers – a few from...

In the summer of 1989, a birthday party was thrown for my dad. But this wasn’t just any birthday party; the reverend was turning 40, so...

Over a recent trip to the Sjostrom homestead, I sequestered myself in a storage room with a few boxes of keepsakes that had accumulated...

“I’m sorry, but the person you are calling has a mailbox that has not been set up yet. Please try your call again later. Goodbye.” I sigh...

Let me tell you about the time I accidentally unveiled 75% of my bare butt to 100% of a capacity crowd at the Erb Park pool. The waning...

My wife is a teacher. Among many remarkable things her body can do (created two great boys, throws a decent spiral, etc.), it also senses...

It’s become a bit of a ritual at this point, and one that I will only watch from a safe distance: our family rents a woodsy cottage for a...

On a recent weekday morning while running through the routine where I transform from slovenly caveperson to preening dandy in eleven...

You’ll sometimes hear a lazy and reductive knock against Mexican food that can essentially be boiled down like this: Anyone can do it,...

As familiar idioms go, “like riding a bike” is so universal and randomly ascribed that its value can be easily ignored. Think you can...

What do you know about coleslaw? Probably not a ton. You’re aware that it’s essentially a cabbage salad, and that it always appears on...

On the whole, the bulk of us agree that technological advancement is a good thing. For every societal ill that we can lay at the feet of...

In 1988, an early Julia Roberts romantic comedy called Mystic Pizza adorably ambled into theaters, depicting an idyllic Connecticut...

Maybe, as you read this vacation-themed issue of Appleton Monthly, you yourself are considering a getaway of some kind. Perhaps you saw a...

Quick, off the top of your head, who are the most influential people to hail from our area? There’s certainly Sen. Joseph “Red Scare”...

On an otherwise-nondescript July morning while preparing for work, I noticed that my cat -- name of Boo, seven years old, inveterate...

During last year’s Mile of Music, one of my favorite performers during the whole festival -- and one returning this year, so check your...

Do you have a personal photo that you wish could not only be erased from the physical plane, but from the memories of all your...

When my wife and I are on one of our many Sunday drives, we do a fair bit of vocal observation on the various items that cross our line...