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!
How do you say…?
I saw something on the Internet the other day that a study found it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at new skill. After some quick math, that’s 27 years if you practiced your new skill for just an hour a day, which might explain why my childhood piano lessons never paid off. It made me think about my bedtime obsession with the Duolingo language app on my phone. A few years ago, I thought it might be fun to learn a second language and for some reason, I picked French. It made sense to me because I am married to an actual bilingual Canadian I could practice on, even though he claims his French skills have rusted away from lack of use. This could be true because when I’d say things like “où est ma valise” (where is my suitcase?) and other useful phrases, he’d shrug and say “I don’t...
Special Delivery
The Christmas cards are starting to trickle into our mailbox. I love to open them up and look at the photos of friends and family, but they also serve as a guilty reminder that I am terrible at sending our cards out on time, if at all. In early November I give myself...
Deep Freeze
I was cleaning out our basement freezer to see if I could make room for leftovers when I pulled out a bag from the bottom that said “Turkey 11/25.” I’m guessing these are not leftovers sent to us by the Ghost of Thanksgiving Future, but my Sharpie scribble didn’t give...
Living history
I dropped the small, white box into the mailbox at the post office and drove off, wondering what we would find out in a few weeks. After six decades of not knowing anything about his family history, Mike decided to do a DNA test. He was adopted from a French-Catholic...
Gift of time
I discovered at 6:30 a.m. on the day of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s that despite having read up online on all the steps to make percolator coffee, I had forgotten one critical element – the cups to pour it into. Luckily, we live in a town where early store hours are a...
Spinning back the years
We had a parking lot sale last week as a fundraiser for our Lions Club. As we sorted through all the donations, figuring out the best way to showcase the unique collection of donated treasures, I got distracted by four storage boxes filled with vinyl records and...
Kitchen table wisdom
My dad complimented me on my Sunday column last week about Prescott’s growth and I gave him a strange look. That wasn’t me, I said, and after a few minutes of back and forth, he fished it out of the recycling bin and handed his copy to me. He was right, and so was I....
An uphill climb
It’s hard to start over. I think we’ve all been there, where something we took for granted sneaks out the back door in a worn pair of running shoes when you aren’t paying attention. Something about the last few years made me forget I used to think working out was fun,...
Walk in their shoes
After 67 years, you would expect to build many good memories together, including stories about your life your kids still laugh about and share. Bob was a dentist and Peggy ran a health food store. Their son Mark remembers having carob cake instead of chocolate at his...
Shake, rattle and roll with it
I was standing by the washing machine, talking to my husband about the yard project we were attempting to pull off in the sweltering heat when the rumbling started. I figured our finicky front loader was shuddering from the weight of an off-kilter load of jeans and...
Exit row
When you’re tall like me, having a few extra inches on the plane can make the trip better. I rarely splurge for an exit row seat, but I figured a long flight to Dublin and the return trip from London might justify the extra money, just to be able to stand up and...
Across the pond
A few months ago, one of my college roommates invited me to spend some time with her in Ireland this summer. She would be co-teaching an Irish literature class in Dublin and guiding 11 students around on a multi-week tour. There was a spare bedroom in the campus house...