By CHUCK OFFENBURGER COOPER, Iowa, Feb. 16, 2021 — My wife Carla Offenburger, after six months of hospice care here at home for her cancer, glanced at her reflection in a mirror when she finished showering on a recent day and said to me, “In our wedding vows, when we said ‘in sickness and in…
By CHUCK OFFENBURGER SHENANDOAH, Iowa, Dec. 1, 2020 – Back in the 1960s here in my ol’ hometown, there surely must have been some wondering, “Whatever is going to become of the youngest Welty girl!” You want it short and sweet? In the late ’60s, Harriet Welty meandered half the world by herself, twice jumping…
By CARLA OFFENBURGER COOPER, Iowa, Feb. 6, 2021 – For at least 18 years, during which I’ve kept a log of the books I’ve read, my goal has always been at least 52 books in a year. In the earlier years, I didn’t come close. But for the last 10 years, I’ve almost always read…
By CHUCK OFFENBURGER COOPER, Iowa, Nov. 3, 2020 – I slid into bed the other night next to my wife Carla Offenburger, kissed her goodnight and, like I always do, told her I love her. She grabbed my hand, like she always does, then said something real different: “I’m afraid I’m slipping away from you.”…
By CHUCK OFFENBURGER COOPER, Iowa, July 12, 2020 — Three things happened this past week that put me in a reflective mood: 1) Lindsay Offenburger, oldest granddaughter, turned 13 and I was telling her what I was doing at that age; 2) after too many years of forgetting to re-subscribe, my new subscription started up for…