From the category archives:

Sour Grapes

Sour Grapes, May 2, 2012

by jmagdefrau on May 2, 2012

My GPS was off by one block last week when I was talking about the Thursday night jam session in Marengo. The location is Only Motor, not Whitey’s Oil. So, please, don’t show up at Whitey’s with mandolins and guitars. It could be confusing. Thanks. *    *    * Appearances are important. In two [...]

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Sour Grapes, April 25, 2012

by jmagdefrau on April 25, 2012

Yes. It’s been over a month. We miss Dad. Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t mention how much they liked him, liked working with him, and share a story about him. The best story involves mowing the lawn. It’s something my mother is getting to learn how to do. She has the push [...]

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Sour Grapes, April 18, 2012

April 18, 2012 Journal Tribune

State Fair Our state fair is a great state fair. Don’t miss it. Don’t even be late. Not only is that a great song from a great movie, it’s the law … sort of. There’s been a big debate at the statehouse in Des Moines over the starting date for school. Yes, it’s tough to [...]

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Sour Grapes, April 11, 2012

April 11, 2012 Journal Tribune

Another concert Another week. Another concert. I see nothing wrong with that. Visiting Cedar Rapids again was singer/songwriter Karla Bonoff. She’s penned award-winning songs for Linda Ronstadt and had a hit with Wynnona Judd, or “Wy” as she refers to her. She sings the life she’s lived. She prefaced one song with the explanation that [...]

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Sour Grapes, April 4, 2012

April 4, 2012 Journal Tribune

I’m getting better about going to concerts. Being a sub-amateur hobbyist in music, I will listen to the concert, but a part of my brain is picking apart just how the song is played, the pick is held, fingers positioned and harmonies selected. Such was the case a few weeks ago when “Steel Wheels” played [...]

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Sour Grapes, March 28, 2012

March 27, 2012 Journal Tribune

The worst time to realize one should have trained for a run is in the middle of a run. But, that’s how I rolled on my annual visit to Kansas City, highlighted by the Westport St. Patrick’s Day Four-Mile Walk/Run. I took that title seriously, as I walked as much as I ran, and even [...]

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Sour Grapes, March 21, 2012

March 20, 2012 Journal Tribune

Hands on I’m not even going to try to sum up one person’s life in one column. I’m just going to tell a few stories about Dad. In the business, there was evidence that he was hands-on. When our operation was missing a press operator, Dad would walk down from his office in the old [...]

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Sour Grapes, March 7, 2012

March 14, 2012 Journal Tribune

We drove back from the state tournament last Tuesday night, with nephew Reese in charge of finding tunes. We listened to “Space Oddity.” After listening to the chorus, we concluded: Hey! Major Tom! You’re floating in a tin can. That should have been your first hint that there’s a good chance that something might go [...]

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Sour Grapes, Feb. 29, 2012

February 28, 2012 Journal Tribune

Sports and such Congratulations to the Benton Community Lady Bobcats on their second straight trip to the state tournament. When this paper comes out, the girls will have played their first-round game already. Last Tuesday’s regional final was a game to remember. Keokuk is a tough, fast team. Within the first six minutes, Benton’s leading [...]

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Sour Grapes, Feb. 15, 2012

February 15, 2012 Journal Tribune

It was time traveling for me a few weeks ago, as I traveled to Des Moines for the Iowa Newspaper Association’s annual convention. I was walking from the trade show at the Marriott to my makeshift office by the elevators, when a young person approached me and asked me where to register. It was one [...]

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