My summer semester is over – no telling students for a while not to begin sentences with the expletive pattern and to develop a thesis statement that will make their argument easy to follow. I have a few weeks before I start a fall class and begin those admonitions all over again. Somehow, I think God knows when I need a break, because a few of my complex law cases wound down about the same time I was grading finals. This means I have time to do . . . what? more

Long before Aug. 6 became synonymous with the bombing of Hiroshima, it was observed widely by Christians as the day commemorating Jesus’ transformed appearance from ordinary to extraordinary — "his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light” (Matthew 17:2)—as the Passover of his death and resurrection drew near. more

Adequate rainfall has resulted in lush growth in the flower and vegetable gardens which is much appreciated after two years of severe drought. more

In most homes, the kitchen is the family's nerve center, the party place, and the situation room. more

Sometimes, the choice of what wine to have with what foods can get to be a bit unnerving. more

I recently learned about the concept of dishonest harmony, which is a preference for pretending problems don’t exist in order to perpetuate a perfect image. more

There are hard and fast rules of what wines go with what foods that are centuries old, written in stone and to some, almost a religion. But what about our modern foods? more

If you've ever wanted to bite a baby's tiny foot or put a puppy in your pocket so you can squeeze it all day, you are not a monster. more

While the rosé wines seem to be everywhere this summer, we should not forget the white wines which also fit well with summer dining. more

I’ve been working – sporadically – on a project that one of my friends introduced me to. It’s called “Storyworth,” and the upshot is that each week, Storyworth asks me a question about my past, and I write an answer. Well, that is the way it’s supposed to work. For a while, I was doing my darnedest to answer the weekly question, but then things got out of hand. more

Telling the Truth. It’s one of the 10 Commandments! Evidently God takes the matter seriously. more

Despite what you may have heard on the playground, London Bridge is not falling down. In fact, it's quite sturdy. I know this because I rode over London Bridge in a taxi – one of many things I did last week during summer vacation. more

During June and July, newspapers across Missouri are publishing tens of thousands of names of people for whom the State Treasurer’s Office is holding unclaimed property totaling more than $1 billion. This is not the state’s money – it is Missourians’ money, and I am committed to returning it to its rightful owner. more

In spite of what the media may be saying or writing, wine sales are not going down and are suffering from what is plaguing everything else these days, inflation. more

Gardening this past month in mid-Missouri has simply been wonderful owing to plentiful rain and mild temperatures. more

Unless you have been away in Iceland, the south pole or living under a rock, you know that currently, the weather is hot. Very hot. more

I feel guilty. I’ve done a bad, bad thing. And yet, I can’t say I wouldn’t do it all over again, given the opportunity. more

Did you know that First Presbyterian Church in Warrensburg is a Matthew 25 Church? A Matthew 25 Church is a church committed to the ministry Jesus describes in the 25th chapter of Matthew’s gospel. more

It’s been two years since the Sedalia Democrat moved into its current office on West Fourth Street. I think we still catch ourselves saying it’s our “new office” from time to time, even though we’ve more than made ourselves at home. more

In 1977, when I was about 5 years old, my father bought a new Ford dump truck for his one-man landscaping business. It was big, green and loud. My 11-year-old brother Greg and I thought this was the greatest thing that could have ever happened to us. more