Category Archives: Writers and Writing

Scrub Your Teeth!

Posted on September 25, 2019 by Roger Walck

My grandmother always told my sister and I  to “scrub our teeth,” rather than the more common “brush our teeth.” I always liked the word, “scrub” in place of “brush” in this context. Not only is it more descriptive, it … Continue reading →

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Garrison Keillor On Old Men

Posted on August 11, 2019 by Roger Walck

I am, without shame, a big fan of Garrison Keillor. Even my style of writing is somewhat similar to his. That is no accident. I still read his weekly column (Wednesday), published on the Internet. He is only a little … Continue reading →

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Writing For a Living

Posted on June 28, 2019 by Roger Walck

Thank goodness I don’t have to write for a living. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Those that do often teach to pay the rent, to have a reliable income, or they spend a lot of time tooting their own … Continue reading →

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Train Didn’t Stop at Dundalk

Posted on June 23, 2019 by Roger Walck

I must have had a reputation for collecting odd stories for a long time. This is one of my favorites recently rediscovered as a clipping in my attic someone had sent me, but no indication of who sent it, or … Continue reading →

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The Saga of Dartos Tunic

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Roger Walck

“The Saga of Dartos Tunic,” by David A. Soskis, Yale Medical School, Class of 1968. “Smile A While,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 9/11/1967. (Clipping found in attic.) In the land of Genitalia, in another century Where the branches … Continue reading →

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Mike Royko On Leering

Posted on June 16, 2019 by Roger Walck

(Mike Royko, 1932-1997, was a syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune whose column was reprinted in our local newspaper. I found this yellow clipping saved from many years ago in my attic. Here it is in its entirety, as closely … Continue reading →

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Garrison Keillor On Death, Funerals, and Military Service

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Roger Walck

In his recent Online column, Garrison Keillor has a great quote: My goal is to live long enough so that nobody who comes to my funeral remembers me. Sounds like a good goal to me, and better than most. Then, … Continue reading →

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We All Need To Think Like Lawyers

Posted on May 11, 2019 by Roger Walck

“Low-carb diet linked to earlier death, study says,” by Ashley May.  USA Today, 8/18/2018. This study, called by its senior author of the original scientific publication,  “the most comprehensive study of carbohydrate intake.” The research compared data from over 15,400 … Continue reading →

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For the Love Of Books

Posted on March 29, 2019 by Roger Walck

“The Stack,” by Kathryn Schulz. The New Yorker, 3/25/2019. Schulz, one of my favorite New Yorker authors who I’ve quoted here before, describes how her parents stored books when she was growing up, and I immediately recognized similarities (and differences) … Continue reading →

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Vocabulary: Sandbag

Posted on March 27, 2019 by Roger Walck

(Vocabulary postings are words or phrases I recently came across in reading, did not fully understand, looked it up, and discovered something new.) Sandbag: A slang verb, to hit (or be hit) severely and unexpectedly. Garrison Keillor recently used it, … Continue reading →

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