LightGrams
LightGramsNovember 13, 2025Volume 29, Number 36 Michael Frerichs is the State Treasurer for Illinois. That may seem like a cold and heartless job, but Frerichs has taken on a mission that is actually heartwarming. Part of his responsibility is receiving the contents of abandoned bank safety deposit boxes and trying to reunite them with their…
LightGramsNovember 6, 2025Volume 29, Number 35 Laurence Watkins is like a lot of other people in the world; he wanted to have his name appear in the Guinness Book of World Records. He devoted much time reading through the book, trying to find an area in which he could excel all others. It was in…
LightGramsOctober 30, 2025Volume 29, Number 34 “A Gift For Who?” It was the couple’s second anniversary, and they planned a nice dinner at home to celebrate. At dinner, the 31-year-old wife (not named in the Fox News story) gave her husband his gift, a smart watch he had wanted. Then it was his turn to…
LightGramsOctober 16, 2025Volume 29, Number 33 October 16 is a notable day for me; it’s my father’s birthday. He was born in 1921 and would be 104 years old if he were still alive. Sadly, a form of cancer ended his life when he was just a few weeks past his 84th birthday. I still…
LightGramsOctober 2, 2025Volume 29, Number 32 Milton Berle was a trailblazer in television, starring as a comedian in the days of black and white TV. But he also was somewhat of a philosopher as he once pondered this question: “If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?” That’s an excellent question! A…
LightGramsSeptember 25, 2025Volume 29, Number 31 A recent story carried by the Associated Press told of a carpentry shop in Ghana where one can purchase a fantasy coffin. A what?! These are colorful coffins made in different shapes and styles to capture the essence of the deceased loved one. A fisherman might be buried in…
LightGramsSeptember 18, 2025Volume 29, Number 30 “Skip That Rock” Is there a child who doesn’t delight in throwing stones into water? As they mature, they often try to develop the art of skipping stones across the surface of water. A small flat stone works best, and a flip of the wrist will usually make the…
LightGramsSeptember 11, 2025Volume 29, Number 29 Are there any parents who don’t know about Lego building sets? “Lego” has been around since 1934 and has provided many children with endless opportunities to create imaginative things. The name is a contraction of “leg Godt”, which is Danish for “play well”. But I would also ask, are…
LightGramsSeptember 4, 2025Volume 29, Number 28 The state of Massachusetts is in the process of redesigning its state flag. The present one was adopted in 1908; it is felt that the symbols portrayed on it – an Algonquian Native American holding a bow and arrow – may not hold the meaning today that it once…
LightGramsAugust 28, 2025Volume 29, Number 27 A 60-year-old tradition was kept alive last week at the Minnesota State Fair. Malorie Thorson sat inside a glassed-in studio as Gerry Kulzer sculpted her likeness from the shoulders up. She wore a coat as the temperature was only 40 degrees inside. Outside it was double that temperature, but…