Since two new releases made about $11 million each at the domestic box office this past weekend, and since I don’t have much to say about either movie, I’ve decided to throw them both a quick review. more

In the quietness of the early morning, he sat staring out the window at the first winter snow. The thermometer out the window showed that the temperature was in the mid-teens again, as it had been for several mornings lately. At least it was not windy and causing single-digit wind chills. What happened to global warming? more

It’s an odd choice to do a sequel to the 2018 heist movie “Den of Thieves” in 2025. The first film made less than $50 million at the domestic box office and to my knowledge doesn’t have much of a cult following. I didn’t see that film at the time, but I did see it on Max to prepare for the sequel, and was unimpressed. There was some competent action, but the story and characters were unoriginal and unengaging. I would have given it a C-. For such a bland movie to get a sequel at all seems unlikely, let alone one that goes to theaters and isn’t dumped on streaming or Video on Demand. For all I know, that was the plan and then some studio executive noticed there were no wide releases scheduled for this past weekend, so they just threw in whatever they had. The tactic worked, the film took the #1 spot away from the fourth weekend of “Mufasa,” but this is not a movie that I could see succeeding through any means other than a lack of competition. more

This past December, in Looking Back we remembered the funeral of Charles Rush in December 1899. A veteran of the late war with Spain, Rush was working as a civilian clerk in the Philippines, when he became ill, dying while enroute home. Charles was the fourth son of Major James Laurence Rush and his wife Frances, who was killed in the cyclone, the Major dying suddenly in February of 1892. For whatever reason, I wasn't sure where Charles was buried and tramped off to the cemetery in search of his gravesite. The Rush plot is near the entrance and that's where he lay, beside his parents and little sister. It occurred to me this is where the unidentified picture was taken. Let me explain. more

Matthew 27: 24-25 “When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.” more

Like many critics, I despised the 2019 CGI version of “The Lion King.” The new animation was ugly and the rehashing of the story from the 1994 classic without many changes made the whole thing seem unnecessary. But unlike many critics, I’m not ready to throw prequel “Mufasa: The Lion King” away just because of the sins of its predecessor. I’m not saying that it’s not still inextricably tied to the 2019 film, especially with its still-terrible CGI animation, but the story and characters can do some roaming on their own that makes for a breath of fresh air. more

As in seasons past, our home was a family gathering place for kids and kin this holiday season. Putting on the mantle of grandpa, I again cooked the turkey, dressing and sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner, while our daughters provided desserts, salads and other fare. more

It was Christmas morning. The kids were still in bed. They had all been to their church Christmas Eve service the night before. Mom and Dan were drinking their coffee and admiring the decorated real Christmas tree they and the kids had picked out and cut down at a local tree farm. There were a few lights on it, ornaments, things the kids had made, and family pictures. They both agreed they liked it much better than their old artificial tree. more

I like old things. more

Genesis 2: 2-3 “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” more

Dear Grandkids, more

“For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) more

In the Ozarks, when folks die, friends still bring in food and neighbors do what they can to assist the family. These beautiful acts of compassion have not changed in our communities -however a 150 years ago you may have been a tad more involved. In today’s world, calling on your neighbors to prepare a dead body for burial, may sound as foreign as embalming did to the Ozark mountaineers of long ago. Modern undertaking didn’t really take off as an industry until after the Civil War, when better techniques and chemicals became produced on a large scale making it more affordable. The process gained wider acceptance when President Lincoln was embalmed and viewed by thousands after being transported halfway across the country. In remote areas where transportation was difficult and money scarce, folk customs and techniques carried on well into the twentieth century. Superstitions treated as absolute law told what must take place, the penalty resulting in another death within a year.  more

Being a booster of a hometown requires one sometimes to make do with what we have. Local history is frequently more disappointing and less dramatic than we envision it. In grade school I became obsessed with the Marshfield Fort. Dad had read me the juicier parts of FWG’s blue centennial book, which mentions little beyond its plundering and destruction. Dissatisfied that no photo or drawing existed I set out to correct this insufficiency. Needing little else beyond hubris and art supplies, the stockade timbers of construction paper came to life, -it did look eerily similar to my Fort West playset. In my version of local history, a desperate crayola struggle ensued betwixt a blue command holding out against a gray horde who’d apparently taken up a position between Citizens State Bank and the post office. A determined stick figurish Col. Hampton stood atop the works, sword in hand encouraging his brave men to hold out, as the rebel lines maneuvered around the courthouse. All seemed lost till Captains Butts and Bodenhammer with 200 horsemen, concealed behind Beckerdite Music, attacked the rebel rear joining battle. Blood ran down Marshall Street. My masterpiece was first presented at show and tell, which truthfully should have included a parental warning, as no gore was spared in relating the imaginary Battle of Marshfield. Afterwards I was quietly informed “it probably didn't happen that way and had to write sentences. The following is an attempt at academic honesty on the topic” -CCH more

It is the first day of December as I take pen and paper in hand. more

With Saint Nick’s annual visit approaching and winter’s cold starting to settle in, I can imagine some folks hoping to find warm fur caps, gloves or coats under the Christmas tree. more

The deer hunter sits in his stand waiting. He has done that many times in his life. Many times, he has wondered why he hunts. Why, he goes into the wild. It is not nearly so important to get wild meat as it once was to feed his family. Is this deer hunting, that important to him? Is that why he keeps doing it? He wonders. more

A few months ago, cousin Robert Haymes, knowing my passion for old stories and local history, sent me some of his father’s writings. What he sent was clear and concise and truly painted a picture of life here seventy plus years ago. With minimal editing it is today’s article. David Haymes, was not only an encyclopedia of genealogy and local facts, but also a collector of funny tales he often regaled me with. Thankfully he took the time to write this and much more down before being robbed by dementia, and passing on to his eternal reward. What a legacy for his grandchildren and those yet unborn who will want to know what our world was like. It's now your turn, during this holiday season, leave a legacy, take the time to write it down or record it with your phone. Someday it will be priceless. Happy Thanksgiving! –CCH. more

Some just-nippy mornings it wafts on the air as lightly as the fragrance of apple blossoms in spring. more

In scarcely more than a week, it seems, the verdant and overgrown woods of summer have given way to the colorful tapestry of fall. more

When an albino deer appeared north of Marshfield a few years ago, folks viewed it as unique, not supernatural or otherworldly. This stands in stark contrast to two millennia of folk belief. Native Americans viewed the appearance of white deer as very good luck and a sign of strength and abundance, however the reverse was true should it be killed. Some southern tribes have legends claiming a white doe is a maiden trapped by a witch, in order to separate her from a lover. Old time Ozarkers felt a sense of dread. Don and Sue Tyson were filled with wonder and joy as they watched a doe give birth to twins near their front porch, one being tan the other snow white. The Tysons watched the little fellow daily until he became accustomed to their presence, this proximity enabling them to document its life through pictures and video. Dale Richerson had seen the animal on multiple occasions, but failed to get a picture. “I just got lucky one morning and got a little video.” The video he captured soon went viral, drawing the attention of local media, even getting picked up by the UPI. Soon other pictures began popping up on social media, with many hoping he would pass his genetics on and start a herd of similarly colored animals. For sometime folks with their video app at the ready cruised the roads north of town hoping to get a glimpse of the otherworldly-looking celebrity. These deer are rare but not unheard of, according to Francis Skalicky with the Missouri Department of Conservation, who was quoted at the time, "One in 30,000 sounds like a rare ratio…However, when you have over a million deer in Missouri, which we do, that means you will probably have a few albino deer a year. We get reports of them around the state." Under the game code they're legal to harvest, the same restrictions and permits applying to all white tail deer. In the latter half of 2023 the young buck vanished, not being seen again. Did he succumb to disease or fall to an arrow or bullet? Local rumor had it being poached out of season. The Tysons lament his apparent demise, “We still talk with him and cannot imagine who took his life and what kind of person would kill something so beautiful.” One informant being a tad more blunt than the rest stated, “There always has to be a butthole around…” more

I heard coyotes outside my bedroom window last night — not quite in my yard, but near enough I could have seen them in daylight. more

Growing up here, I've always lamented the lack of local ghost stories associated with our hometown. Maybe we are a tad too practical-minded for our own good, keeping well away from such foolishness as ghosts. If ghosts exist, experts in such matters state ghosts may be a “replay” of people long since dead, their moments of terror and trauma making an impression upon the environment. In that case Webster County oughta raise quite a crop of ghosts, after all we boast the death and destruction of the 1880 tornado, sites of killings aplenty, cemeteries that gather twilight mist and dark, lonely stands of timber…yet despite these romantic settings, the tales are few and far between. This doesn't mean we are without supernatural fireside fodder, here are a few I've picked up over the years. more

Some Old-Timey Thoughts on Witches more

Few Missouri trees have histories that are more interesting than the Osage orange. more