“What do you want me to do?” she asked. It was May 29 and Diane and I were debating two urgent issues. Would we let Nolan play baseball in the season that was about to start and would we attend my niece’s first communion that weekend? I’ve been furious at Kansas for opening up like […]
Beans, beans, beans

We sure went from getting-stuck wet to can’t-get-the-drill-in dry in a very short time. Finished wheat harvest on Friday. The combine was a champion this year… couple belts and hoses but no major problems…ran last 30 hours without a care in the world. The drill had a bushing freeze up on a row unit Saturday […]
2014 Sharon Christmas parade
Callan Traffas
Callan Traffas was born last night shortly after 8 p.m. at Pratt Regional Medical Center in Pratt, Kan. Both he and Diane are doing quite well today. Unlike his brother Nolan, Callan did not arrive by cesarean. He weighed 7 pounds and 11 ounces and was 20 inches long. I guess I got a couple days’ break […]
Owensboro by prop
Farming
It’s been nearly three months since my father left me with the farm. It was precisely one year ago today when he saw my newborn son in the hospital. While we were watching Nolan get passed from family member to family member in the birthing suite, he told me, “You have achieved immortality.” I thought about that […]
Brian Traffas
Brian Traffas, 59, died June 4, 2012, at Medicine Lodge Memorial Hospital, Medicine Lodge, Kan. He was born Feb. 24, 1953, in Medicine Lodge, the son of Vincent and Mary (Gulli) Traffas. A lifetime resident of Sharon, Kan., he was a farmer. He was a member of St. Boniface Catholic Church, Sharon, Kan. On May 22, 1976, he married […]