Personal expressions of the world around us through text, sight and sound.


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The Author, Category and Topic selectors will reflect the Article Scope setting.

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Hints on searching Articles

Some articles may be restricted—viewable only to logged-in users with the appropriate Security Level.

You can narrow your search using one or all of six criteria:

  1. Article Scope:
    • This Collection Only (default) limits search results to this article "home page."
    • All includes all articles (including blog entries) on the site.
  2. Date range:
    • Current shows articles posted within the past 30 Days
    • Recent shows articles posted within the past 3 Months
    • All includes all articles within the Collection Scope.
    • NOTE: Based on the number of articles found and other filter settings, the Date Scope may be adjusted automatically. However, in most cases you can still use the form to choose a specific range.
  3. Author--regular contributors are listed by name; "special" is used for ocassional or one-time authors. (They are idenitified by name in the article list using a "byline" field in the database).
  4. Category—each article is assigned to one category ( a master category list is used for Articles, Blog Entries, Resources, and similar features on the site).
  5. Topic—each article can be assigned to multiple topics (also uses a master list). You can narrow the search by one topic at a time.
    Even though we try to keep the number of topics limited and as general as possible, the list of topics is long and constantly growing simply because of the wide scope of content covered by aritcles on the site. A good alternative to using the drop-down list is to click on a topic from the Summary View of the Article List, or the category and topic summary at the top of an Article.
    NOTE: Because topics are added over time, some topics may not be associated with earlier articles to which they could apply. From time to time, we update category and topic links.
  6. Keywords
    Looks for a word, phrase or part of a word in the component parts of the article.

Viewing the Results

In addition to the "Most Recent" and "Top Articles" lists, there are three Views of the searchable Article List: (where you are now):

  1. Quick. Shows Categories in alphabetical order, with a list of articles by post date (most recent first), title, author. This is the default view. Return to it anytime by selecting "Clear Filter" in the Article Filter.
  2. Minimal. Shows a list of Categories in which articles for this collection appear, including the number of articles in each category. Activate this view by clicking on "View Category names only" under the gray view description bar.
  3. Summary. Expands a single Category to include a brief description of each article, the primary category, and any topics assigned to it.

Actions from the Article List

  • Click on an Article title to view it.
    • A link at the bottom of the article will bring you back to this page.
    • If you have expanded the Collection Scope to All, and view an article or blog entry outside this collection, the return link will take you to the corresponding "home" page. To return to this page, use the Back button in your browser or use the Site Menu.
  • Click on a Category name to expand the list into Summary View, which will include more detals about the articles within that Category, including the topics associated with it.
    • If you have selected "All" in the Article Scope, the initial Summary View will reset the Article Scope to "This Collection only." From there, you can go back to "All" if desired.
  • Click on a Topic name (Summary View) to see recent articles associated with that topic. From there you can expand to "All" articles or narrow the search using the Filter.
    • There are some categories that also appear as topics. In this case, the filter will set the topic, since that will return the greatest number of results. From there, you can modify the Search Filter to narrow your search.

Actions from the Article (listing of Categories and Topics at top of Article)

  • Click on the Category or a Topic and you will be taken to the Article List page with the search filter set accordingly. (The notes under Article List also apply here).

Printing the List or individual Articles

Using Print this page at the upper left will print the content displayed in the Articles List or an individual Article, without any of the surrounding page elements. The filter form in the list view is replaced with a summary of the filter settings.

Please note: Using the "Print this page" option is highly recommended over the print options available through the Share utility (described below).

Additional Hint: On some smaller devices you may find it helpful to use the Print option to display a simpler content-only view. Depending on the device, you may not actually be able to print, but it may produce a view that is easier to read. You will need to close the print window to get back to the site navigation.

Sharing and Commenting on Article Lists and Individual Articles

There is a lot of discussion about the merits of commenting within a site. At this time we have decided not to integrate it into the site. The AddThis Share utility that appears at the upper left on the page as well as at the end of articles allows you to share the selected page through Facebook, Twitter, and more than 200 other social media services. Most of these options allow you to add comments.

You can also comment through the site's own social media connections, which are linked through the icons in the site masthead (only active social media accounts are shown).


15 articles found.

SUMMARY VIEW  Expanded details within a Category. Click on article title, Category, or a listed Topic

To change sort order or make another search, modify the form above

Arts & Entertainment

 3 records found

Bringing People Along with Me 101 by Garrison Keillor


(December 7, 2023)
I am minding my own business. As James Thurber said, 'Let us not look back in anger or look forward in fear but let us look around us in awareness'…
Topics: Arts & Entertainment • Contemplation, Insight • Education • Language, Meaning • Learning • Media • Music • Popular Culture • Teaching • Writing


A Bad Play Let's You See You Have a Good Day by Garrison Keillor


(June 8, 2023)
Walking out of the theater, I thought to myself, “I could write a better play than that,” and maybe I will…
Topics: Arts & Entertainment • Contentment, Satsifaction • Drama • Memories • Optimal Aging • Writing


Forget About Songwriting: Try Fiction by Garrison Keillor


(August 19, 2022)
My ambition had been to write limericks, but thank goodness I gave that up. There’s no money in it, just misery.…
Topics: Arts & Entertainment • Communication • Media • Music • Writing



Communication

 2 records found

English Spelling is Ridiculous by Sally Davies / Aeon


(August 7, 2021)
Why is the English spelling system so weird and inconsistent? Yet, most people use it with surprising accuracy…
Topics: Communication • History • Language, Meaning • Technology • Writing


Express Yourself Submitted by Stu Johnson


(May 30, 2020)
Ageless Authors and its newest writing contest 'Coping with Crisis'…
Topics: Communication • Coping • COVID-19 • Crisis • Opportunity • Writing



Faith, Religion & Spirituality

 1 record found

Will You Get a Do-Over? by James N. Watkins


(August 6, 2021)
One slip and an Olympic athlete can be out of the competition. Is that how life treats you?
Topics: Circumstances, Life Events • Current Events, News • Faith • News • Sports • Writing



General

 1 record found

Why I'm Looking Forward to November by Garrison Keillor


(October 20, 2023)
It's hard to ignore reality for long. I don't see much hope for Congress in this regard—when you elect people who are anti-government to govern, you must reap the whirlwind—but I see it happening to Taylor Swift.
Topics: Baseball • Hopes & Dreams • Memories • Optimal Aging • Politics • Popular Culture • Seasons • Writing



History

 2 records found

A Few Minutes on a Hilltop in Concord by Garrison Keillor


(July 6, 2023)
The real Henry is in the journals, watching tall grass in an easterly wind rippling like waves on the sea; he loved grasses, the meadows and pastures, and going down to the pond . . . the great circle of life complete, the prospect of resurrection…
Topics: Contemplation, Insight • History • Inspiration • Nature • Values • Wisdom • Writing


Remembering the Men Who Went Ashore by Garrison Keillor


(June 15, 2023)
My first knowledge of D-Day came from A.J. Liebling's accounts in The New Yorker, which I read as a college kid and reread last week on the anniversary. Reading them the first time made me want to be a writer and the rereading was no less stunning…
Topics: Circumstances, Life Events • Courage • History • Media • Tribute, Testimony • War • Writing



Holidays

 1 record found

Twelve Sites of Christmas 2017 by James N. Watkins


(December 11, 2017)
Jim Watkins' annual list of cartoons and favorite Christmas columns…
Topics: Christian Life • Christmas • Faith • Holidays • Holiday Season • Humor • Inspiration • Writing



Life Events

 2 records found

Look Around, I Get the Drift by Garrison Keillor


(December 14, 2023)
I still feel loved. I tried to feel abandoned so I could be an important poet but it didn't work. LAUGHTER…
Topics: Attitudes • Personal Stories (Biography/Autobiography) • Contemplation, Insight • Humor • Writing


All I Know is What She Tells Me by Garrison Keillor


(September 28, 2023)
I get the news from my wife, who sits reading the paper across the breakfast table from me and tells me what I need to know, ignoring much of page 1…
Topics: Humor • News • Politics • Relationships • Writing



Nature

 1 record found

True Colors Shining Through by James N. Watkins


(September 25, 2020)
Thoughts for the autumn years as well as the season…
Topics: Arts & Entertainment • Inspiration • Nature • Optimal Aging • Photography • Seasons • Writing



News & Current Events

 2 records found

Why I Am Not Joining the Strike by Garrison Keillor


(May 11, 2023)
I salute the Hollywood writers who went out on strike this past week but I can tell you that we essayists won't be joining them…
Topics: Arts & Entertainment • Communication • Current Events, News • Language, Meaning • Media • News • Popular Culture • Writing


About Those Numbers by Stu Johnson


(May 19, 2020)
Putting COVID-19 numbers in perspective…
Topics: Communication • COVID-19 • Crisis • Dying and Death • Disease • Ethics & Morality • Media • News • Research • Social Issues • Trust • Writing