On The Fly

In this special episode, The Summer Surprise . . .   Well, howdy there! It's me, Huck Finn, and lemme tell ya, somethin' special happened just the other day. We called it "The Summer Surprise.” Phew-wee! That ol' post box, it coughed up somethin' good! Wasn't no bills, nor them pesky ads, and thankfully, no regular ol' rocks neither. Nope, this here was a letter, folded up neat as a pin, looked a bit like one o' them school lockers, just sittin' there waitin' to be opened. It was from young Sierra, a mighty fine friend, and she'd gone and made some pure, honest-to-goodness artwork with her own two hands. My fingers they was all thumbs, just itching to see what kind of wild wonder she'd whipped up this time. I unfolded that paper, careful-like, you know, and bless my bare feet, there it was! A picture of a whole gymnasium and a mini-soccer field, all done up in colors that just popped. She'd used crayons and pencils, and you could tel...

From The Desk Of Patrick Ball Cherished friends, During this COVID-19 lockdown, social distancing has allowed us to return to the basics; reading, writing, and arithmetic. Me, I'm learning to read music, write out chords, and work out the math ematical patterns to play guitar. Music is a very calming influence. It's also a lot of fun when you can recreate a recognizable tune. And now, to add to the confusion, I'm learning to play the ukulele. Check out Ukulele Mike on YouTube. What have you been up to lately? One primary skill that has gone by the wayside is writing a letter. The acceptance of email, text messaging, and Facetime videos has made it too easy to throw a few emojis or partially spelled words in a message and hit send. Being a valued friend, I'm using this ancient medium to close our social distance gap. There is something therapeutic about the process of putting your thoughts on paper. But the real question is this, Is it worth mailing a sin...