Category: Commentary

“The silent pictures were the purest form of cinema.”

Alfred Hitchcock

In the early days of filmmaking before movies came with sound and Hollywood took over, something big was happening in Texas. Many of the first silent films were being made. Mostly westerns, they were set among the mesquite plains and scrub oak of the Hill Country and filmed with real cowboys. And some of those cowboys were girls – cowboy girls.
The silent movies were a unique art form. The absence of dialogue elevated their visual storytelling. Emotion had to be conveyed through physical movement and graphic imagery. It could be said that silent films gave us a more pristine cinema. And some of the best early cinematic work was done in Texas.
In 1910 a pioneering crew of actors and technicians from the Star Film Company in New York City made their way south to a rented ranch in what is now the Padre Park area of San Antonio with the intention of making movies. And make movies they did. From early 1910 through the spring of 1911, they made more than 70 short silent films, most of them westerns. They worked non-stop, only taking a break in late summer of that first year when the Texas heat started melting their camera film. They returned to work when the weather cooled in December.
The talking heads and tech geniuses at Star Film Company were drawn to San Antonio because they wanted to make authentic westerns, shot in realistic and picturesque settings. Working at what became known as the Star Film Ranch, they were successful. Audiences loved these Texas-made westerns. And the movies were praised for their authenticity and action.
Much of the filming was done along the San Antonio River. Other scenes were often shot in the barrio neighborhoods downtown and around the missions (Missions San Jose, San Juan, Concepcion, and Espada). Because of lighting challenges, all scenes were shot outdoors, with most staged at midday to avoid shadows. Interior shots were improvised, with bed sheets hung to soften the light and create indoor settings.
Movie stories were packed with action and included threatened heroines, last-minute rescues, chases on horseback, and plenty of fistfights and shootouts. And women played a prominent role. Every film required a country girl, daring damsel of the plains, or rugged ranch wife ready to fight the bad guys of every stripe. The list of rough and ready silent film leading ladies who worked for Star and other movie companies during this era is long. Among them were Jehanne D’Alcy, Dolly Larkin, Helen Holmes, Marie Walcamp, Olive Carey, Ruth Roland, Victoria Ford, Fritzi Ridgeway, Hazel Keener, Louise Lester, and many more. But of all the silent film female stars, one stood out. She was the lovely and talented 17-year-old Edith Storey.
Edith Storey was born on March 18, 1892, in New York City, and began acting as a child. She was onstage at the age of eight and made her motion picture debut at 13. By the time she was 21 she had 75 film roles under her belt. Many of those films were westerns. Working in Texas, she won the respect and admiration of the cowboys on set for her good temper, grit, and equestrian abilities. She performed her own stunts and was at home on horseback with excellent riding skills. It was said that she could ride “anything with hair on it.”
Besides being a good hand with her horses, Edith Storey was a marvelous and sensitive emotional actress and deft comedienne. Her fresh and unmannered acting lit up the screen. People loved her. And despite her fame, Edith was a down-to-earth girl. She loved her little fluffy white dog “Sooner.” And she liked to knit. In her down time on set, she could often be found knitting sweaters for her brother in the Navy. He served on a torpedo boat, and she knew he got cold at sea. She would knit several for him every year.
During her career, Edith Storey made over 150 films. Known for her historic contributions in the silent film era, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Her star is located at 1523 Vine Street in Hollywood.
Edith Storey retired from acting at the early age of 29 and moved to a small farm on Long Island. After retirement she served as a clerk for the village of Asharoken in Huntington, Suffolk County, Long Island. She died in the neighboring village of Northport on October 9, 1967, at the age of 75.
The silent westerns were pure and golden cinema. And stars like Edith Storey made them live. She gave us a taste of the wild and wooly west, and we loved it.
Thank you Edith Storey – you were a real cowboy girl…

“A father carries pictures where his money used to be.”

-Steve Martin

Settled on our calendars and marked the third summer Sunday in June comes the most humble of all our holidays. More socks, ties, and crayon-covered cards are awarded on this day than on any other in the year. Some call the day “Dad’s Second Christmas.” No matter our age, if we are still blessed with a living father, we celebrate. If Dad has passed, we remember him. Dad’s day is, of course, Father’s Day. How did it start? I wanted to know…
While it seems that some forms of father remembrances were practiced even in ancient times and at various places, as it turns out, two intrepid women deserve credit for launching our American version of Father’s Day.
We know that Mother’s Day gained traction first (originally organized in 1908 and then recognized as a national holiday in 1914). Perhaps inspired by the success of Mother’s Day, the first Father’s Day service occurred in Fairmont, Virginia in July of 1908. But the seed of this first Father’s Day was birthed from tragedy.
The Monongah mining disaster was the result of a coal mine explosion that happened on December 6, 1907, in Monongah, West Virginia. It has been described as “the worst mining disaster in American history.” The official death toll was 361, but it is believed that the actual number was much higher. The disaster widowed 250 and left over 1,000 children fatherless. Overwhelming grief permeated the entire state.
Six months later, in the summer of 1908, Grace Golden Clayton was mourning the loss of her own father. Prompted by her grief and considering the recent and incalculable loss of fathers in the mine disaster, she organized a special memorial service, held on July 5, 1908. This observance was well received, but did not, however, become an annual event, in part because of its date. They tried to continue the practice every year, but the day was always overshadowed by the 4th of July. But Father’s Day was to catch on in a different place, on the other side of the country. The next year, in 1909, a woman in Washington State would take up the cause.
The practical origins of Father’s Day as we celebrate it here in America are primarily the work of Sonora Louise Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington. She initially proposed the idea of a Father’s Day to honor her father, William Jackson Smart.
William Smart was a farmer and Civil War veteran. Born in 1842 in Arkansas, he had the unusual experience of fighting on both sides during the war. As an Arkansas native, he first fought for the Confederacy. But in 1863 he switched sides to fight for the Union. When the war ended, William married his first wife Elizabeth. In 1878, she died and William was left to care for his three children – an infant daughter, a five-year-old son, and a six-year-old son.
After two years of single fatherhood, William remarried in 1880. His second wife Ellen had three children of her own. William and Ellen, apparently determined to be fruitful and multiply, added seven more children to their family and moved from Arkansas to a farm in the Pacific Northwest.
William was widowed again in 1898 when Ellen died. His older children were grown, but he was left to raise his 16-year-old daughter Sonora, and five sons, ages 7-15. Sonora said in later years that her dad performed the role of father “with courage and selflessness until we were all in homes of our own.” William Smart was a good dad.
While attending a Mother’s Day service in 1909, Sonora Dodd was inspired. She thought we needed a holiday for fathers. Soon she convinced the Spokane Ministerial Association and the YMCA to set aside a Sunday in June to celebrate fathers. On June 19, 1910, the first Father’s Day events were held in Spokane. These popular and publicized events struck a chord with the rest of the country, soon reaching all the way to Washington, D.C.
In 1913 a Father’s Day bill was introduced in Congress. In spite of an endorsement from President Woodrow Wilson, it did not pass. Eight years later, President Calvin Coolidge signed a resolution in favor of Father’s Day, but nothing more happened. Later, in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed an executive order proposing that Father’s Day be celebrated the third Sunday in June. But it wasn’t until 1972 during Richard Nixon’s administration that Congress passed an act establishing Father’s Day as a national holiday.
This Father’s Day, if you are still blessed to have your dad, consider doing these three things. Forgive his failures. Being a dad is hard work and it’s easy to make mistakes. Then give him a good, hard hug. Dads need these too. And tell him you love him. That’s all he needs. And maybe just one more pair of socks…

“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.”
-Rogers Hornsby

My true affection for baseball began in 4th grade. After a solid school day and long walk home from the bus stop, most afternoons I would retire to our “shop” – a corrugated tin shed that rested behind our house. There I tinkered with my bicycle – or I should say bicycles, plural, for I had a few. Smelling of WD-40, with a crescent wrench in my hands, I spent many afternoons working on my battered bikes while listening to Vin Scully broadcast Dodger games. Our sterling neighbor Mrs. Williams loved baseball and kept her radio positioned next to an outdoor PA system so she could hear games while she worked outside. The whole neighborhood got to listen, and that was a good thing. For me, the sound of baseball was intoxicating.
At about this same time in school we began to play baseball in earnest (we actually played softball – but we called it baseball). From early spring through the end of the school year, we played baseball with abandon, at P.E., during recess, and on weekends in the dirt fields at home. At school, I was the only kid who didn’t have a baseball glove of my own. I always had to borrow one when we played. One day, out on a shopping trip with my dear mom (we were prowling the aisles of what we used to call a “Dime Store”), I found a glove. I begged my mom to buy it for me. She did, reluctantly.
The next day my triumphant entry into the world of elementary school baseball glory was met with ridicule and shame. The other kids teased me mercilessly, for my new glove was nothing more than a cheap toy, unfit for the rigors of baseball in the 4th grade. I was crushed. But soon things changed…
A week later my dad came home from work with a surprise for me – a real baseball glove. The best baseball glove that I’d ever seen. It was a second-hand J. C. Higgins brand Bob Allison Signature Model 1646. I believe Dad got it from a friend of his at work. Well broken-in with an old-school leather patina, it looked like it had already caught a thousand fly balls. I loved it! At school it gained me instant respect from the other boys. When I took to the field with this seasoned glove on my hand, I looked like I’d been playing ball for years. And I was in heaven.
That glove became my most valued possession. With a black marker I wrote my name on it in large letters. All was good until my glove was stolen later when I was in 6th grade. I had left it at school, and during our annual Halloween Carnival some low-life yobs infiltrated our classroom and nabbed it along with some other baseball equipment. I was heartbroken. After the word went out that my precious glove had been stolen, another student saw my glove in his hooligan neighbor kid’s backyard, and he stole it back for me (I will always be grateful – thank you Raymond Laye).
In recent years I’ve done some research on my vintage glove. J. C. Higgins was a brand name used by the Sears & Roebuck Company beginning in 1908. The brand name was used on much of Sears sporting goods up until 1961. John Higgins was an actual Sears employee, working as a bookkeeping manager and company comptroller until retiring in 1930. For some reason Sears’ executives liked his name and asked to use it, adding the “C” since Higgins did not have a middle name.
My glove was a Bob Allison signature model. Bob Allison played 13 seasons in the Majors (from 1958 to 1970) with the Washington Senators and the Minnesota Twins. He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1959, and was named to the All-Star team three times, in 1959, 1963, and 1964. I believe my Bob Allison signature glove is a 1960 model.
I loved my old baseball glove. I used it playing ball all through elementary school, then in junior high, and finally in high school my sophomore and senior years. My daughter even used it for a time when she played ball. And she and I carried it to Texas Ranger’s games, always arriving early to watch batting practice while enjoying our hot dogs, with gloves at the ready just in case a fly ball flew our way.
That old glove sits on my desk right now as I type these words – loving leather soaked in warm personal history. The memories are so thick I have to brush them away from my face.
Thank you Dad – I love

“There’s no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one.”

Jill Churchill

Mother’s Day is important. Celebrated in the U.S. on the second Sunday in May, it’s a day when we honor those brave women who have born us and blessed us with love beyond measure. Most don’t know how we came to mark this special holiday. It’s forgotten history that we need to remember…
Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis was born in Culpepper, Virginia in 1832, the daughter of a Methodist minister. In 1850, at the age of 18, she married Granville Jarvis, a merchant. During the course of their marriage, Jarvis bore eleven children. Only four survived. The others succumbed to a laundry list of diseases, among them typhoid fever, diphtheria, and measles. Sadly, the infant mortality rate in the 19th century was nearly 30%. Throughout Appalachia, childhood illness and death was common.
Ann Maria Jarvis was a dynamic and determined woman who decided to channel her grief productively and meet the needs of her community. She had an idea and launched Mother’s Day Work Clubs in several neighboring towns to improve health and sanitary conditions. These became part of a growing public health movement in the U.S. The clubs provided assistance and education to families in Appalachia, with the goal of reducing disease and infant mortality.
These Mother’s Day Clubs provided vital services to their communities. Before there were state requirements, they developed programs to inspect bottled milk and food. They raised money to buy medicine and to aid families with health problems. Members offered home visits to educate mothers about health and sanitation.
During the Civil War, western Virginia became a hotbed for conflict, with both northern and southern sympathizers living in the region. Jarvis’ Mother’s Day Work Clubs altered their mission to meet new demands brought about by the war. Jarvis pledged neutrality, providing aid and comfort to both Union and Confederate soldiers. They fed and clothed soldiers stationed in the area from both the North and the South. When measles and typhoid fever epidemics broke out, Jarvis and her club members nursed suffering soldiers from both sides.
After the Civil War ended, Jarvis’ efforts to keep her community together continued. In 1868, with public officials in Taylor County seeking her help, she and her club members planned a Mother’s Friendship Day for soldiers and their families from both sides. They held the event on the grounds of the Taylor County Courthouse. Despite opposition, the event was a success. Jarvis shared a message of unity with the crowd. Bands played the Star-Spangled Banner and Dixie. The event ended with all singing Auld Lang Syne. Many in attendance were moved to tears.
Throughout her life, Jarvis continued her social activist work. She taught Sunday School and was very involved with her church. She gained popularity as a public speaker for audiences at schools, churches, and organizations, lecturing on subjects ranging from public health to literature to religion.
Throughout her life, Jarvis worked to honor and help mothers. After the death of her husband in 1902, she moved to Philadelphia to be near her two sons and two daughters. Her daughter Anna became her caretaker as her health declined. Ann Maria Jarvis died peacefully at home on May 8, 1905, surrounded by her four surviving children.
After Jarvis’ death, her daughter Anna recalled hearing her mother’s prayer during a Sunday School lesson in 1876, asking for someone to start a day to honor mothers.
On the first anniversary of her mother’s death, Anna announced plans for a memorial service the following year. On May 8, 1907, a private service was held in honor of Jarvis.
The following year, in 1908, Anna organized the first official observance of Mother’s Day. It was held on Sunday, May 10, 1908, at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. A donation of 500 white carnations, Jarvis’ favorite flower, was made for those in attendance. Another service was held that afternoon at the Wanamaker Store Auditorium in Philadelphia. 15,000 people attended.
In the years following the first celebrations, Anna’s Mother’s Day holiday gained recognition in several states and a few foreign countries. Intent on making Mother’s Day an official holiday in the U.S., Anna mounted a campaign to do just that. And she succeeded. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a congressional resolution making the second Sunday in May a national Mother’s Day. We love our moms – Happy Mother’s Day!

“A quiet mind cureth all.”
Robert Burton

In the turbulence of our modern world, many of us are often stressed beyond our limits. With the perils of daily life pounding our minds, we can be overstimulated and undone, like a horse that is ridden hard and put away wet. Is there any hope for peace and calm? Yes, I believe there is, and here is the key. Less is more. What follows are some concrete and practical tips on finding peace daily. For a better life, try them…
Stop Trying to Fill Every Moment. There is a great Seinfeld episode (perhaps the greatest sit-com ever made in TV history) where Elaine and her stoic boyfriend David Puddy are returning home to New York after a fight-filled European vacation. On the flight home, while Elaine uses her time in the air to read, Puddy chooses instead to stare at the back of the seat in front of him. He doesn’t want a book to read. He doesn’t need a pillow to nap. He is content to simply sit and stare, alone with his thoughts. Frustrated and thinking her boyfriend is a moron, Elaine breaks up with him on the plane. As it turns out, Puddy may have been on to something.
When we are constantly busy, we are training our brains to hate stillness. Unending stimulation and activity, filling every gap in our day with productivity, alters our mental state for the worse. When our brains are not directly focused on a task, something psychologists call our Default Mode Network kicks in. This resting state for the brain is crucial for self-reflection and problem solving. And it’s how we build our identity.
When we fill every gap in our day with phone scrolling, planning, or game playing, this default mode in our brains never switches on and we lose the deeper processing that our brain needs to maintain mental health. Pausing your constant productivity and stimulation gives you back presence and calm. Your pause is not wasted but is instead required for peace of mind. Give your brain a chance to catch up. Try being still.
Eliminate the Noise of Negative Self-Talk. The way you talk to yourself matters. Psychologists call this Self Perception Theory. Your mind will believe what you tell it. Instead of focusing on the negative, use positive self-talk and shift your identity for the better. For example, if you fail at something, instead of beating yourself up, tell yourself that this is what learning looks like. Endeavor to learn from your mistakes and move on positively. If you are working to improve yourself, also frame things positively. Shifting your identity is the key to positive growth, change, and healthy thinking.
Reduce or Eliminate the Background Noise in your Life. As mentioned previously, our brains need quiet and operate with something called the Default Mode Network. This process only turns on when the brain is not taking in information, when you are alone with your thoughts in a state of wakeful rest. During this process we make connections and process emotions. It is where we consolidate memories. It is where creativity and self-awareness live, in this good mental space. When we constantly have something playing all the time, we deny our brains that wakeful rest we need. Constant news and podcasts and music and more, piped into our heads every waking moment destroys our peace of mind and creativity. Outsourcing your quiet time can destroy your mental health. Constant connectivity and information consumption can be emotionally and mentally toxic. Your brain is craving quiet.
Capture Your Mornings for Daily Peace. Many of us wake up every morning and give away our peace of mind, embracing stress by immediately looking at our phones or turning on the morning news. Protect the first minutes, or better yet, the first hours of your day with some kind of peaceful routine. Enjoying a good cup of coffee or hot tea as you watch the sunrise fosters peace of mind. Many walk or exercise first thing in the morning. You may have a cozy nest in your living room with a comfortable chair where you can relax and breathe in the first hours of the day.
Some start their days journaling or reading. Mental health has been linked to solid spiritual grounding. For those so inclined, a wonderful way to start your day involves reading the Bible. Scripture can be settling. If there is a God, and I believe there is, He’s a good person to know. Go to Him each morning.
Less is more. Life will get better and more peaceful when you reduce the load on your weary mind. Consider cutting some of the junk out and find peace daily…

“Ray, people will come Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won’t mind if you look around…you’ll say it’s only $20 per person. They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it, for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they’ll walk out to the bleachers, sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come, Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, it’s a part of our past Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh…people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.” And people do come…
Perhaps the most iconic baseball movie ever made is Field of Dreams (1989). In the movie, the words above were spoken by James Earl Jones’ character writer Terrance Mann. What Terrance predicted has indeed come true. People do come. They come to Iowa to visit Ray’s ball field in the corn. I have been there. And it is wonderful.
Field of Dreams relates the story of Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner), an Iowa farmer who hears a mysterious voice one night coming from his cornfield. The voice keeps saying, “If you build it, he will come.” Ray decides to act. Despite taunts of lunacy, with the support of his wife Annie (played by Amy Madigan), Ray tills under a large part of his cornfield and builds a baseball diamond, believing this is what the voice is telling him to do. Soon after the field is finished, ghosts of great players start emerging from the corn to play ball. First to appear is White Sox star “Shoeless” Joe Jackson.
In the movie, Joe asks Ray, “Is this heaven?”
Ray answers, “No, it’s Iowa.”
For anyone who loves the game, this nostalgic baseball movie is golden. But it’s about more than baseball. It’s about fathers and sons. The deeper story centers on death, regret, and Ray’s strained relationship with his deceased father. Watching this movie makes me ache for my dad. In the end, one of the players that shows up to play is Ray’s father, giving them both the opportunity for needed reconciliation. And they have a game of catch on Ray’s ballfield. You can visit the Field of Dreams today. Recently, I had the opportunity to do just that.
Last October, my wife and I took a road trip, traveling from Texas to Michigan to attend a friend’s wedding. On the way home we detoured through Iowa to visit family, and at the prompting of a dear friend (thank you John Soto!) we decided to include a visit to the Field of Dreams.
The Field of Dreams baseball diamond has become a pop-culture tourist attraction. It was built by Universal Pictures in 1988 for the movie, and is located in a cornfield outside of Dyersville, Iowa (a good name for a town). When the movie production was completed, the field was left behind. Most of the field, along with the farmhouse seen in the movie, was owned by Don and Becky Lansing. Don’s grandparents bought the farm in 1906. The Lansing’s neighbors, the Ameskamp family, owned the adjacent property, covering left and center field. The ball field was built across two properties so that sunset shots in the movie would have a clear line-of-sight.
For several years, both families accepted visitors, even setting up small souvenir stands to accommodate the public.
In 1990, neighboring farmer and friend Keith Rahe, organized a baseball team dubbed the “Ghost Players” to entertain visitors once a month. These games drew thousands of fans to the ball field. In the years since, several celebrity and special MLB games have been played at the field, along with concerts and other events.
In 2007 the property was sold to Go the Distance Baseball, a private partnership committed to preserving the movie site. New events continue to be held at the venue, and the field is open to visitors year-round, sunrise to sunset, weather permitting.
Additional development is in progress nearby with a 24-field youth baseball and softball complex planned. The complex is known as All-Star Ballpark Heaven.
For 150 years baseball has been perhaps the most positive constant in American life. And one small ball field nestled among the cornfields in Iowa can remind us of that…

A guy like me is hard to find.” -Bigfoot

I have family in Ohio. The last time I visited there the scariest thing I saw, besides a Pileated woodpecker the size of a housecat, was a feral family shaving their back hair before breakfast in a Bob Evans restaurant parking lot. Ohio is a fun place. And it seems that recently for some residents there, the volume of excitement has been turned way up. Apparently, Bigfoot has come to visit.
For those who don’t often ponder strange and mysterious happenings in the world and need a Bigfoot refresher, these particular cryptids are unverified creatures, sometimes referred to as Sasquatch, said to inhabit the fields and forests of North America and beyond.
Bigfoot is most often described as a large, muscular, bipedal human or ape-like creature covered in black, dark brown, or dark reddish hair, standing between six and nine feet in height. Bigfoot is often said to emit a foul dead animal or skunk-like odor. Allegedly authentic footprint casts have been made showing feet as large as 24 inches long and eight inches wide, hence the name Bigfoot.
Many indigenous cultures across North America have shared stories of mysterious giant hair-covered wild men. And as early as the 16th century, European explorers in the New World related tales of giant hairy beings prowling the forests. These stories and reported sightings continue today, most recently in Ohio.
Last month there were eight reported sightings across northeastern Ohio within just four days. All described black-haired or brown-haired creatures walking upright with long arms making “grunting” noises and looking for trouble.
The first sighting occurred near Mantua, a small village in northern Portage County near the Cuyahoga River, 25 miles northeast of Akron. An unidentified researcher for the MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime) described seeing a nine-foot-tall male creature. He was hiking when he spotted the critter standing about 120 yards away. It appeared to know he was there. The man paused, and then calmly retreated back to his car to change his pants.
The next day, Mantua resident Dylan Obney reported seeing an eight-foot-tall brown creature about 11 p.m. While hiking a trail near the edge of the woods Obney heard heavy un-human like footsteps and deep vibrating grunts. He originally thought he was hearing a deer or another person walking. But he said the steps were slow, spaced out, and much heavier than a human would make. Obney noticed movement minutes later. About 50 yards from where he was standing, a tall figure stepped out from between two trees. He described the brute as seven to eight feet tall, with long arms dangling low at its sides, covered with dark brown hair. Obney said the creature walked upright and seemed aware of his presence.
“The craziest part was the sound it made, a deep grunt that echoed through the woods before it stepped back behind the trees and disappeared after that,” he said.
Two more intense sightings were reported to the Sheriff’s Department the next day in Garrettsville, Ohio. Jacob Taylor and his friend (who asked to remain anonymous) recounted their encounter while hiking Headwaters Trail. Just before noon, Taylor and his friend noticed movement in the trees approximately 30 feet ahead of them. Suddenly, they saw a giant figure covered in black hair standing and watching them. The duo froze and looked on in awe. They said the monster had broad shoulders and unusually long arms. It walked upright on two legs, and must have been heavy, because the ground shook slightly as it passed between the trees.
“We also noticed a strong, musky smell in the air. It turned its head toward us, let out a deep, grunt-like noise, and then quickly stepped back into the trees. We were both pretty shaken up and didn’t approach the area any closer. It all happened so quick,” Taylor’s companion said.
Garrettsville is in Portage County. Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski said they’d received reports from ten individuals in the area who had sighted the creature. Many reported smelling a musty odor before the animal scampered back into the woods.
Another incident occurred around 6 p.m. in the evening near the town of Windham. An elderly lady looking out her living room window saw something unusual running from the woods onto her neighbor’s property. She described a creature about six feet tall, completely brown, and moving with long strides.
“I know what I saw, but I don’t know what I saw,” the woman said.
Another encounter was reported the next day in Newton Township. In an emotional interview a man recounted that he’d let his German Shepherd out at 4 a.m. The dog immediately started “freaking out” and lunged towards some trees. In the commotion, the man described seeing a very large 9–10-foot shadow crashing away through the woods. When the man finally brought his dog inside, it was scared and shaking.
With all of these recent reported sightings in Ohio, Bigfoot enthusiasts have been flocking to the state. If you are so inclined and find yourself in the woods with a Bigfoot in sight, please grab your phone and take a picture. We would all love to see it…

“To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real.”
-Winston Churchill

A hobby is a gift you give yourself. In years past, most people enjoyed hobbies of some kind. As kids, we all had hobbies. We built model airplanes and cars, collected stamps and coins and baseball cards. Our parents, busy as they were, had hobbies as well. They enjoyed painting, gardening, and photography. They read real books, played cards and musical instruments, and donned matching outfits to go square dancing (seeing dad dressed as Slim Whitman had to be traumatic for some kids). My dad was a master woodcarver and enjoyed nothing more than time at his workbench with a knife and carving tools. Today, life seems different. I recently read an article lamenting this change in our culture. It seems that many humans today have replaced healthy organic hobbies with the digital hobby of doomscrolling. Their only hobby is scrolling on their phones, and this is not good for our brains.
It has been reported that the average person spends seven hours a day staring at screens. Consuming that much rapid and fragmented content (TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and more) steals your time and life, shortens your attention span, and literally re-wires your brain. Most folks reach for their phones like chain-smokers fumbling for another cigarette when bored. The internet, and especially demonic social media, has conditioned the world to crave quick dopamine hits. Our phones are like digital crack pipes demanding our full attention. This constant consumption leaves our brains overwhelmed and hyper- stimulated, and they begin to re-wire themselves.
In the brain we have receptors that receive signals when dopamine is released. Social media and online consumption cause a flood of dopamine in our brains, and this results in maximum stimulation on those receptors. To restore balance, our brain begins to down regulate these receptors, and they become less sensitive to dopamine. Over time, the same stimulation doesn’t give you the same feeling of reward. Your brain is essentially re-setting how enjoyment and rewards feel. So, when you do real-life things like reading a book, or going for a walk, dopamine release is minimal and these activities are not rewarding or enjoyable. In extreme cases this can result in digital anhedonia, the reduced ability to find any enjoyment in real-world and everyday experiences. Prolonged digital saturation and stimulation essentially rots your brain. Maybe this is why much of the world seems to be going crazy. But the good news is that your brain can re-set and heal itself, and old-fashioned hobbies can help in this process.
A 2023 meta-analysis found a direct association between hobbies and mental well-being. Researchers discovered that humans with one or more hobbies exhibited fewer depressive symptoms, and had higher levels of self-reported health, happiness, and life satisfaction. And it is believed that some types of hobbies, like playing an instrument or creating art, can increase the volume of your brain, fostering memory and reducing the chances of developing dementia. Hobbies can help re-train our brains to focus and enjoy life in the real world.
Engaging in an enjoyable hobby will trigger a dopamine release, just like scrolling on your phone, but it is a slow dopamine release. You get a slow burn of happiness from your hobby activity, along with an added dose of the feel-good chemical serotonin. Hobbies offer something similar to a healthy whole foods meal as compared to online screen hyper-stimulation which is more like junk food that tastes good while at the same time destroying your health.
If you are in the mood for some brain-healing, mind settling, real-world satisfaction, consider finding a hobby (if you don’t already have one or two). Start by considering what you might enjoy, or what you’ve always wanted to try. It is okay to try many things. Experiment with different options.
Hobbies can be loosely categorized into various categories. There are creative hobbies like art (painting, drawing, photography), music, cooking, gardening, and writing. Many prefer outdoor and active hobbies like hunting, fishing, running, hiking, biking, and dance. Intellectual hobbies like reading, learning, and traveling are especially helpful in healing your brain. Hobbies can also include social activities like joining clubs, taking classes, and hosting friendly gatherings.
Hobbies can foster a deeper meaning, purpose, and flow in your life, something the ancient Greeks called eudaimonia. This Aristotelian philosophy can be translated as “human flourishing and enjoyment.”
Consider cultivating a creative and mindful hobby to counteract the screen tension and stress that we live with in this modern world. A sound hobby will reduce your stress and help heal and settle your mind as you pursue the trajectory of a happy life. Be happy – find a hobby!
© 2026 Jody Dyer
typewriterweekly.com

Coffee is the one beverage consumed on planet Earth that carries with it a certain verve. There is a spirit and energy that accompanies our daily coffee consumption lacking in other beverages. While coffee is good consumed out of any container, whether from a Styrofoam cup as you navigate life from the front seat of your car, a metallic mug over a campfire in the woods, or something else, coffee is good no matter how you drink it. But for my money, nothing quite beats an old-fashioned diner-type mug when enjoying the world’s favorite brew. And I recently have stumbled upon what is now my absolute favorite coffee conveyance. I call it my new favorite coffee cup, but in truth, it is the heftier version that should properly be called a coffee mug. I am just fond of alliteration, so like saying coffee cup.
My coffee cup consideration began before Christmas as I searched for a small additional gift for my wife. She loves everything having to do with coffee, so there began my search point. Slumped over my computer, I began looking for unique coffee themed must have gifts, and I found one. We both were so pleased with this item that I thought it worth writing about. The gift was the perfect coffee cup, or mug. I ordered two. Now, settled at my desk with our little dog Mac at my feet as I write, I drink out of nothing else. A steaming cup of coffee next to my typewriter makes me feel like Raymond Chandler in the morning. (Chandler loved coffee, drank copious amounts every day, and once described it as “the life blood of tired men” – he would have loved this coffee cup gift.)
Until now, I was in the habit of using just any mug or cup for my morning coffee. We have a wide and varied assortment in our cupboards. Not counting the plethora of steel travel containers, we have heaps of regular ceramic coffee mugs in our kitchen. There are garage sale and gift shop finds, bad birthday gifts, flag waving, hand-painted, Texas themed, sports team, cactus plant shaped, advertising and merch mugs of every stripe (some I had made with my Typewriter Weekly logo on them). There are cracked mugs and joke mugs, movie-themed and broke mugs. There is even one lone Chewbacca mug I’ve lost after hiding it from my wife (correction on the Chewbacca mug – I just now remembered that I gave it to our slew-foot friend Stuart as a wedding gift six years ago – I am not making this up). I think we need to clean house and toss the old stock because we now use our new favorite mugs all the time.
These wonderful new mugs are handmade in Asheville, North Carolina by the East Fork Company. Crafted from iron-rich red-brown local clay, every mug is an object of practical beauty.
The mugs are available in seven enigmatic core colors (Heron, Blue Ridge, Eggshell, Panna Cotta, Morel, Amaro, Black Mountain), along with additional interesting seasonal shades sometimes available (Pollen, Celery, Utah, Big Sky, Thistle, Sepia, Malachite). Each mug is made using a 3/4 dip glaze which shows raw clay at the top and bottom. These mugs are both rustic and elegant.
The mugs are bottom weighted, so even when empty, they are heavy and secure in your hand. The oversized and full handle gives you a stable grip. The mug feels like a comfortable extension of your hand, like a favorite baseball glove at the ready as you await fly balls in centerfield. The chunky shape holds 12 ounces and feels cozy. Thick sides retain heat and are tapered towards the top edge, so agreeable to your lips. This gives a soothing skin to mug feel, making it easy to sip your coffee. These mugs are solid and sturdy, freshly fired and straight out of the kiln, ready to ship to your door.
All products from the East Fork Company are lead-free and dishwater and microwave safe (besides the world’s best mugs, they make all types of pottery and dinnerware and have developed something of a cult following – for good reason).
To upgrade your coffee game with a settling alternative to the worn-out cups and mugs you now use for your coffee, consider a mug from East Fork (go to eastfork.com). They are a bit expensive ($44 as of this writing), but in my warped opinion, they are worth the price. Buy one and you won’t drink your coffee from anything else…

© 2026 Jody Dyer
typewriterweekly.com

“We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry.”

-E. B. White

My attention to laundry first arose in high school after an embarrassing episode with pink socks in P.E. class. My mom, bless her heart, had neglected to extract one of my slew-foot brother’s red T-shirts from a load of whites, and I had to live with the humiliation for too long one semester. This experience prompted me to forever after do my own laundry. And I think this has been a good thing.
As a bachelor for many years, I continued this tradition, with the only questionable practice acquired being the habit of hanging my boxer shorts on doorknobs throughout the house (I refuse to shrink my underwear in the dryer). So, laundry has never been a problem for me (cleaning the bathroom is a different story). I actually enjoy doing laundry. And this love of laundry has carried over into married life. My wife, when she chooses, does not have to do laundry. I have sufficient laundry skills to handle our clothes with care.
Pondering the blessing of clean clothes this week, I thought laundry game might be a good topic to write about. For anyone needing to hone their laundry skills, consider these basics. Note – I will admit to sometimes being wrong about stuff. I could be washing wrong. If you know more and want to counter my instructions with a better way to wash, please do. I am just a regular guy drinking coffee at my typewriter as words spill from my twisted mind. You can probably do laundry better than me.
Step one is to sort. Drag your clothes from under your bed and all corners of your house and sort into organized piles as follows: Darks (all dark colors including black, red, dark blue) / Lights & Colors (all light colored clothes) / Whites (there are different classes of whites – wash kitchen towels and rags separately from sheets and bathroom towels – white shirts and blouses should also have their own pile). Check labels as necessary (you need to know what you are washing).
Consider fibers (don’t mix lint givers like towels and lint receivers like corduroy pants or sweaters) and fabric weights (heavies are separate from lights). Delicate articles go in a laundry bag (if cleaning items from your wife’s lingerie vault, be sure to use a bag).
Check pockets, zippers, and buttons. A stray Kleenex awash in your load will leave your clothes a mess, so always check pockets (sometimes you find money). Jackets and pants should be zipped and buttoned up. For shirts and blouses, make sure buttons are undone, otherwise they don’t hang right after washing. And dark clothing should be washed inside-out to preserve color. Special Tip – to set and preserve colors, especially new clothes with dark colors that tend to fade quickly, soak overnight in salt water (1/2 cup salt in tub of water or washer). The salt helps prevent color bleeding and will lock in the dye. You can also use white vinegar in rinse cycle to help keep colors vibrant.
Pre-treat any stains you find. Most of my shirts have beard oil residue on the collars, so I always use stain remover. Untreated stains will often remain after washing. If you do not have stain remover handy, a good substitute in a pinch is 7Up or club soda. Just scrub in well and you can fizz the stains out. Also, for bad stains on lights and whites you can use hydrogen peroxide along with a bit of dish soap. Apply with a Q-Tip, toothbrush, or boney finger.
Load your washer 2/3 or 3/4 full. Do not overload your washer.
Use a good quality laundry detergent (if High Efficiency HE washer, be sure to use HE detergent). Your clothes are valuable. If cleaned well, they will last longer and stay looking good. I like Persil liquid laundry detergent. It works great. And don’t use laundry pods. Pods are for lightweights and laundry losers (they sometimes don’t dissolve and psycho neighbor kids may try to eat them).
Be sure to use the correct amount of detergent – don’t overdose. Too much detergent leaves a soap buildup in your clothes. Use a laundry booster instead of more soap, if needed. Hot tip – for really clean and fresh clothes, add a fabric rinse to your load. This is not a fabric softener, but it does go in the softener cup. Downy Rinse & Refresh is a good one.
Set the appropriate cycle and temperature for your load. I prefer cold water for most laundry (exception – sheets and towels get hot water). Your clothes love cold water. They won’t shrink, and they will last longer and look better if you wash in cold water. Besides being gentler on your clothes, cold water will also keep colors from bleeding.
When load is finished take clothes out immediately and snap or shake out wrinkles. Do this even if your clothes are going straight into the dryer.
I don’t like to use the dryer for wearables. I prefer 100% cotton shirts for comfort and they will shrink. One trip through the dryer takes them from XL Tall to toddler size. I like to hang my clothes outside or indoors. For me, only towels, sheets, and sometimes socks, go in the dryer. When using your dryer, be sure to clean out your lint trap first. And once dryer is finished, again take clothes out immediately to prevent obnoxious wrinkle set.
One more tip – it is a good idea to clean your washer frequently (maybe once a month). This is simple to do – use 1/2 cup chlorine bleach and run a normal cycle with hot water. This will keep your washer sparkling clean and fresh. Happy cleaning – love your laundry!
© 2026 Jody Dyer
typewriterweekly.com