Author Archives: Marty Ryan

That’s the Ticket!

Cheap entertainment is hard to find when you reach my age. As we were getting ready to walk the trail near our residence, a City of Des Moines police car was sitting on the curb in front of our house. … Continue reading

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Whether to go or Weather to stay

“Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” I had always thought the first to say it was Benjamin Franklin. No, when it comes to weather, Ben Franklin said: “Some people are weatherwise, some are otherwise.” The … Continue reading

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A New Era of Union Leadership

Today’s labor unions are not the violent mobs of the past. Compared to present corporate America, labor unions are docile. There are far more recorded incidents of illegal and unethical practices by American corporations, such as tax evasion, price fixing, … Continue reading

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The Vail Marauders

We were called The Vail Marauders. We didn’t coin that name. Two old men sitting on a bench outside of a bar watched a few of us Vail kids walk across the street. One said to the other: “There goes … Continue reading

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Full Circle

Coming home from the grocery store this week, the traffic was erratic. I could see young people moving over toward my lane in traffic as they were looking down on their phones; going so fast I tensed up wondering if … Continue reading

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Can It!

In 2009, I won a blue ribbon at the Iowa State Fair for my caramels. It was my mom’s recipe, and it took me several tries to get them to taste and be the same consistency as hers. But the … Continue reading

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