It was the day after Thanksgiving last year. The Miller house was full of people and everyone was still full of Thanksgiving dinner.
Jeannie Miller and her two sons, Aaron and John, had just settled down to watch movies for the evening. Grandma, an aunt and her kids were getting ready for bed.
Then somebody smelled smoke.

Ben Rich pulled an old and faded yellow piece of paper from behind the counter and ran a wrinkled finger down the list of names of the St. Joseph B’nai B’rith-Joseph Chapter No. 276.
Prominent and familiar St. Joseph Jewish names. More than 100.

“Greetings from Paradise!” read the beginning of a recent letter addressed to Bill and Elaine Guenther and handwritten on yellow lined tablet paper. It came from their friend Gordon Wiser, mayor of St. Joseph for one term from 1978 to 1982.

Went shopping with my wife Saturday for our granddaughter Asia’s birthday presents. I didn’t go along for the shopping for birthday clothes part. I learned long ago that when women go shopping for clothes, it can be an all-day excursion.

When many people think of the music of Carlos Santana and his band Santana, they usually think of Latin-tinged pop hits like 1969’s “Evil Ways,” and 1970s “Black Magic Woman.”

Danell Hawkins believes that if there were still an NAACP branch in town, he’d still have his trucking business. The St. Joseph man believes racism forced him out.

Movers and workers put the finishing pieces in place Thursday morning on the new Family Guidance Center for Behavioral Healthcare building. The shiny, beige 35,000-square-foot structure at 724 N. 22nd St. opens for business at its new facility Monday morning.

I don’t understand this recent fascination with the Philly Soul sound. Sure it’s good music. Who doesn’t get a good old school party vibe listening to the O’Jay’s “Backstabbers” or The Spinners “I’ll Be Around?”

A friend told me a man made racist jokes about Barack Obama at a voting site during the last local election. It was before Obama had picked a running mate. The man said Obama should pick Rambo as his vice president.

Valerie Porlier-Smith is good with people, art and poetry. It’s the left-brain stuff she struggles with — like budgeting, prioritizing and money management. “Once money is in my hands, it kind of acts like water through my hands,” she said.