COVID prevention is just plain common sense.

“I don’t want to approach a policy or a mandate just looking to make people feel good. I want to do good and actually put forward provisions that make a difference for these families and these local communities ...” --South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem Masks aren't about just "feeling good", they're about taking some control...

Discovering Family History

Finding Bernie and learning about common genealogical history. As published in Splice Today Over the course of 20 years, I’ve spent a lot of time researching my family history. Sometimes I hit the jackpot—uncovered the answers to decades-long questions, found the missing piece of the puzzle, or solved the mystery that no one else could. While...

Jotting as Writing

Dad spent a lot of time pondering life and its meaning. (as featured in Splice Today) Dad liked to write. By that I don’t mean poetry or stories because that wasn’t his style. Dad’s form of writing was different; it was in the form of little notes, sketches, numbers, facts, and figures. He spent most...

My Other Loves

by Naomi Hersh Clackum. Summer 1989: We'd gone for almost two years without a dog in our home when we made the decision to visit the local humane society. Having been forced to make that heartbreaking decision to send Bambi, our seven year old Belgian Shepherd/Collie to her final rest, we vowed never again to...

The Adventures of Lucky the Springer Spaniel

By Naomi Hersh Clackum A very happy Lucky on his first day in his new home, 1990 I Lucky had no memory of where he came from or where his last home had been.  He remembered only that one hot sunny afternoon he woke up on the edge of a dirt road in the middle...

Cooking With Fire

What took place next is all because one man wanted a steak. I was perfectly content without a charcoal grill. I love to barbecue, but hate the cleanup. My husband really wanted one, insisting how much fun it’d be to grill outside during the nice weather. I was on the fence, but he insisted. I...

Running for my Life: A Monster Dream

I'm able to remember so many vivid details of my dreams that it's just scary. This is one of those times. January 5, 2008 I was with this group of people and we were all scared. There was this evil monster that would come into the area where we were and we would all hide...

I was just trying to plan my vacation!

(I've been going through my drafts and found this bit from 2013) Oh, yes. Mothers, Grandmothers-- It's all the same! My Grams is ninety-six years old, five foot nothing, with jet black hair. She's an incredible woman: kind, caring, nurturing, with a genuine warm personality and a huge heart. And... she’s always right. She always...

Words on Paper

As featured in Splice Today Words on Paper When you’re gone, those stories go with you. During the 1980s, mom decided to return to pursuit of her lifelong dream of writing. She was a natural talent, too. During her teenage years she was active in social causes and engaged in a number of letter-writing campaigns. Later she’d write more letters, as well as musings...

Chicken Soup

by Naomi Hersh Clackum, 1982 Archaeologists have made a new discovery on the site where Moses received the Commandments from God.  Buried deep in the rock, weathered by the ages, lies a petrified, oval-shaped receptacle containing a very small, but unmistakable dried up... ...matzo ball. This opens up stunning new theory that could change the...