FRIDAY, JUNE 03, 2005 [first published] SLICK OUT "Here they come. You ever notice how kids and bovines travel in herds?" These were the last words I heard him say. Twenty minutes later the state of Missouri executed Richard Adrian Marsh. At 12:01 a.m. on December 1, 1997 he was pronounced dead. I met Richard Marsh when I was writing an article on the state's legal system for a Kansas City magazine. It had taken six months for him to agree to see me. What finally persuaded him was an article I'd written several years before while living in Florida. He was born in ...continued...

Our blog is full of lots of posts about how Mark and I joke around to pass time on the dogsled. Not today. Today was brutal. Coldest day yet. It was at least minus 30 Fahrenheit and the wind was howling. There was very little talking other than to confirm that all of our fingers and toes were working. The ice was flat but if you rode the sled, you frooze. Our boots are rated to negative 145 degrees. It did not help. The cold brought a cease fire to the war for limited space on the sled because we had to take turns running next to the sled all day to stay warm. We covered 12 miles. It ...continued...

11 is a very important number in my life. Let me tell you why. I was born at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year, the 11th child of the 12 that my mother and father had in total. Of the 10 that had been born before me, only four were still living when I was born; four of the six who had died had not reached their first birthday. Of the four then alive, only two survive to this day. So out of 12 children, only the last four , including me, are,as at the time of starting writing this story in 2013, still living. And, as with most births at that time a ...continued...

On a beutiful sunny day in March 1978, my husband, Charlie Gordon, left the RAF and we returned with two young daughters to his home town on the Northumberland coast, dominated by a large caravan site, local people so nice and friendly. The sun would soon go behind the gather storm clouds &nb ...continued...

Riding Life’s Rollercoaster by Carolyn Unruh as told to Sally Jadlow My husband, Dave, and I graduated from K-State in Manhattan, Kansas in June 1967. We married that same month. Dave had been a member of the ROTC program at KSU and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. Dave finished graduate school in 1968. He got a 1-year deferment from Uncle Sam. We moved to Kansas City so Dave could accept a marketing position with IBM. One year later, Dave received his papers to report for active duty. At the outset of our marriage, we wanted children. I knew from ...continued...

It was already New Year and I tried to find him... But there is no sign of him... I tried to cover my tears with a smile just to celebrate my New Year with a smile... I talk to my cousin and tell her that I will find him so that I can greet him and kiss him like we always do... But I found nothing so I go to bed early and cry without hesitation... I feel that I was been betrayed... He dont tell me where he going and I dont know also where he have been... I cried until I get tired of crying and I found myself sleeping... I woke up early in the morning and decided to fix myself and go ...continued...

The way I see it is if I am so unhappy with how I look on the outside then I need to seriously buckle down and deal with it, only I am so addicted to the chips and the pop that I feel it is my crutch. I end up at the store buying things I dont need without even giving The big blow out! Mom entered my room, I can only imagine after grilling my sibling about her weight, spending habits and other things. She was on the war path and it just so happened that I was the nect victim. I heard a knock which lead to her helping herself into my room as though she owned it. To be honest, she pays the ...continued...

i don't sing at birthdays I pedaled my Schwinn Autocycle along the gravel road beside the Waterman's south pasture. The rutted road rattled the front fender almost enough to drown out my rendition of Gloria in Excelsis Deo. Almost, but not quite. Four of Charlie Waterman's cows standing by the fence-line mooed in tune to my song. I switched to Christ the Lord Is Risen Today near the intersection of the gravel and paved roads. Two lanky, flop-eared, black-and-tan hounds crawled out from under the front porch and added their howls in accompaniment. They ...continued...

He is mysterious in every way, the boy I have yet to meet. Nick got my hopes up. He stated that George was coming to visit. As my day progressed, the communication between he and George changed. George wasn't coming to visit... He was coming to say goodbye. As a newly drafted marine, George sought it fit to say his goodbyes before being deployed. The news hit me like a ton of bricks. I had yet to meet him and the possible man of my dreams was going to be just that... a dream. I nearly cried over a boy I had never met. I've been alone for so long that possibilities of meeting peop ...continued...

For my cultural event I went to an event called Feed My Starving Children in Libertyville, Illionois. I attended this event on Tuesday April 11th. Feed My Starving Children was a cultural event that felt like a great fit. I volunteered and had a chance to learn about different cultures and what their struggle was like in terms of children lacking food sources. We first walked into the building where we were greeted and told to sign in, grab a hair net and gloves, and to take a seat. Once everyone was seated there was a speaker who greeted us. There was a large amount of volunteeers th ...continued...

I found two great resources that were very informative and related to cultural awareness as well as health professions. Shaya, Fadia T., and Confidence M. Gbarayor. "The Case for Cultural Competence in Health Professions Education." American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 15 Dec. 2006. Web. 03 Apr. 2017. This first resource explains how it is necessary for cultural competence to be taught in health professional curriculums. This resource stated how it is necessary to look at the true health issues among dif ...continued...

My Great Escape 4/20/15-email from agent after reading my whole The Color Eater manuscript. I’m super excited because I know an email like this means I’m getting close. There’s merit in my writing. Includes the phrase “I really liked a lot about it; the writing was excellent, the action was well-executed, and the different powers people had were super cool.” Followed by lengthy suggestions where the story could be fleshed out in addition to an invitation to resubmit once re-writes are done. 4/22/15-Panic attack at the ide ...continued...

To get these posts out every night is quite an ordeal. The cold saps battery power so quickly you can watch the meter tick away. Every piece of electronics needs to be warmed against the body to restore power, then used quickly. We generally collaborate on our posts then, just before dinner, we will hook up all the various devices and start the long process of uploading our posts. I have to admit it is a pain, but something we both look forward to every night in our tent. I believe Mike is going to write about the noise we heard last night so I won't go into great detail, but I will tel ...continued...

North Pole ...continued...

We are watching the entire United States, but particularly the border states of New York, Connecticut, Maine, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Washington, for any activity relative to banning pesticides. [Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment, 2005 (pesticide/fertilizer lobbying group)] What are the final pieces in America’s multi-billion dollar “grass” trade industry? Weed control ordinances started appearing in the mid-1940s, and over the next fifty plus years they arose in practically every metropolitan area of the U.S. Within a remarkable unif ...continued...