Michael McGough

Her day started off well.  The coffee was hot, the donuts were fresh, and she enjoyed the company of the four other drivers in the breakroom.  The weather was clear, so she was looking forward to another pleasant day on the road.  Over the past 31 years, she had had dramatically more pleasant than unpleasant days.  That was in

Sitting by a camp fire one evening, he came to a stark realization; he wasn’t nearly as engaged in life as he had once been. He wasn’t neglecting himself or anyone else, but his engagement, his involvement, and maybe his usual zest for life had slipped a bit. Some minor health issues over a few

It started out as a small gas station along the Lincoln Highway located between two large towns. Over the century they’ve been open for business, Abe’s Garage has grown and changed with the times. The original owners, the Nicolay family, called it Abe’s place for two reasons. The first and maybe the most obvious was

Over the years, people learned to expect periodic flooding. Usually, it caused little damage, and within a day or two everything was back to normal. Even when there was a little more water, the damage wasn’t serious.  The last flood was a bit unusual. As a result, it left a fair amount of damage in

The building was 150-plus years old. The years had taken a toll. Several efforts had been made to modernize it. Some worked, some didn’t, and some created more problems than they solved. Even so, it was structurally sound, and it stood as a local landmark. A small group of interested people wanted to restore it

She retired on December 31, 2003 from the printing company where she had worked for more than 35 years. She was 55 years old, her health was good, and she was okay financially. She had a nice circle of family and friends. Her marriage ended in a divorce 30 years earlier, but in the best

As was true for many companies during the Covid crisis, they faced numerous slowdowns and temporary shutdowns at their cookie plant.  During those times, management took a thorough look at their facility, their workforce, and how they could update, improve, and expand both.  As the company emerged from the darkest days of the pandemic, the

Arthur was the oldest member of the board both in age and in service.  It was a volunteer board and service carried no salary, no benefits, and no perks.  They were a non-profit public service organization.  Anyone who served on the board did so just because they wanted to serve. During his 40 years on

It was going to be a long drawn-out process.  That was if everything fell into place perfectly, if all parties involved were in total agreement, and if there were no unexpected complications.  That would be three big ifs in any project, but in this one they were enormous.  From the onset, there were no ifs,

The growingly divisive nature of politics was off-putting to him.  He saw friendships dissolve, family members disgruntled with each other, and an ongoing rush to judgment, that in way too many cases was based on what one network offered as opposed to another.  Increasingly, fact was giving way to fanciful imagination that if screamed loud