By MARY RICHE DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 4, 2023 — I’m happy that the seasons change in this state, and I have spring fever. It’s that time of the year. I’m full of anticipation, even excited. I was thinking about that on a recent sunny morning, but still a cold morning, and here’s what came…
By HOLLIE ROBERTS JEFFERSON, Iowa, Feb. 13, 2017 — A poem in honor of my friend Carla Offenburger, as she starts another round of cancer treatment. — Philippians, 4:13 My friend has cancer This is not the first time, sadly. Decisions have to be made: What kind of treatment is best? Should she enroll in a new…
By CARLA OFFENBURGER DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 2, 2017 – My mother Sue Burt’s pumpkin bread has always been a family favorite. We often pester her to make some. But let me just tell you the story in this poem. Cans of Pumpkin Laughter and giggles – galore. And cans of pumpkin. And my mom. …
By CARLA OFFENBURGER COOPER, Iowa, March 11, 2014 — When the winter weather starts to break every year, I always think back to a poem I learned about 40 years ago from Lillian Hildreth, my English teacher at Lincoln High School in Des Moines. She had the poem written on her blackboard. I memorized it,…
JEFFERSON, Iowa, May 7, 2014 — Carla Offenburger is an elder at the Central Christian Church here. At the Easter Sunday service in late April, she was one of the two elders who wrote and recited prayers just before communion. We thought her prayer listened like a poem, and so we asked her for a copy of it…