Kelly Learns
A compilation of my columns from the Sunday issues of the Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona.
I’ve been writing an every-other Sunday column for the Daily Courier in Prescott, AZ since late 2020, thanks to the kind encouragement of long-time columnist Ron Barnes, who spent over 30 years contributing his wisdom not only to the newspaper but to many other people and organizations in the Prescott area. He put in some good words to the publisher and editor for me when he decided to retire from column writing. It’s one of those gifts you never knew you wanted and then realize how grateful you are to have it.
The Daily Courier has exclusive rights to my column for 60 days after publication, which is why you might be reading a Christmas column in February. I love writing but seem to need a project and deadline to do it. Hopefully this blog will inspire me to write more. Thanks for stopping by to check out my site!
Always remember
The dusty smell of monsoon rain in the air this past week reminded me that we have reached another anniversary of the Yarnell Hill Fire and the tragic deaths of the 19 Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshots. Eleven years ago, we were still pretty new to Prescott. I had seen a few guys wearing Hotshots T-shirts as they worked out on the treadmills at the YMCA and figured it was related to firefighting, but that’s all I knew. I was about to get a much deeper education. It was the first time I realized the deep roots of this town, after the terrible news of their deaths spread and memorials grew along the fence outside Station 7. The community’s collective grief filled every minute of the days that followed. I have never heard so many people stand in silence as I did the day the endless...
The Great Ice Storm of ’98
I was happy to see the snow coming down last Sunday as I let the dogs out. They bolted down the porch stairs, ripping around the backyard like furry maniacs, kicking up frozen plumes behind them before skidding back up the porch stairs at full speed and staring at me...
A spare resolution
For the past few years, my friend Terri and I have written “Go bowling at Antelope Lanes” as one of our New Year’s resolutions. She is the official keeper of our resolutions from the previous years. When we get together on New Year’s Eve to make fresh ones, we unseal...
Alone together
I already knew the answer before I called my dad. “Just checking in on holiday plans,” I said as we talked on the phone. “I’m going to assume we are not getting together.” The answer was no, as I expected. It makes sense this year, with the pandemic numbers climbing,...
A stitch in time
I walk into the main room of the Marley House, our in-patient hospice facility, to find the clinical supervisor and volunteer coordinator sitting at a table, bent over a patchwork quilt, sewing brown satin edging around it by hand. I had seen the email earlier in the...