By Ron Hutchcraft

I'm writing this on September 11. Twenty-four years ago today, I watched on television as the Twin Towers crumbled to dust. Twenty-four hours ago, I saw the shocking assassination of a hugely popular Gen Z influencer in front of 3,000 people.

In both cases, millions were devastated in disbelief and grief. Including reporters, politicians, law enforcement spokesmen - and lots of ordinary folks. And while the scope of the 2001 tragedy was clearly greater, the trauma of yesterday's assassination hit many young people very personally.

By Brad Hutchcraft

My lawn was green and inviting. A few days later, it was brown and dying, in the worst shape I've ever seen. What happened? A life-robbing sneak attack from a tiny but nevertheless insidious visitor. Armyworms.

I had never heard of armyworms. I still know little about them. But here's what I do know: They come, they attach themselves to a healthy lawn, and they suck the life right out of it.

By Ron Hutchcraft

"Be a man."

Three words that have gotten a lot of guys in trouble. Too many of us have done too many dumb things to prove what a "man" we are.

But it seems more confusing than ever to know what that even means anymore. Being a man.

By Ron Hutchcraft

They say we can see some 3,000 stars. I'm looking out my window right now. I don't see even one star!

That might have something to do with the fact that it's almost noon. Give it a few hours and they'll all be there.

Because stars shine the brightest when the sky is darkest.

By Ron Hutchcraft

My phone's been blowing up for a week or more. Mostly not good news.

Lots of storms. Lots of sadness.

Severe thunderstorm alerts, tornado and flood watches and warnings. Stacked up in my texts like planes waiting to land at O' Hare. Like much of the country, it's been a "Groundhog Day" cycle of one stormy day after another. I miss the sun.

One moment they were in their apartment building. The next they were under it. Ninety people trapped when a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar suddenly leveled their building.

Fifty Myanmar children went to pre-school that day. At least a dozen died there in the sudden collapse of their school. The rest were listed as missing.

One doctor in Mandalay said: "Wherever I looked, I saw collapsed buildings. Only dust."

By Ron Hutchcraft

The game could be a nailbiter or a yawner. But you can always count on those Super Bowl Commercials.

Here they come - from Mountain Dew to mayonnaise... TurboTax to Taco Bell... DoorDash to Doritos. All designed to be entertaining and effective.

They'd better be. They cost eight million dollars for 30 seconds! All to introduce you to and interest you in what they offer.

By Ron Hutchcraft

Sometimes "Breaking News" is really "Heartbreaking News." This is one of those times.

They're running out of disaster words to describe it. The damage done by those monster California fires that have consumed everything in their path.

"Devastated." "Obliterated." "Apocalyptic."

By Ron Hutchcraft

"But wait! There's more!"

No, not the line at the end of a TV infomercial...

But the line that lingers at the end of Christmas. Despite all the great that Christmas offers - there's more! So much more!

All those people in the Christmas story - Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the Wise Men - they had been living with anticipation of the coming of the Messiah.

By Ron Hutchcraft

Health clubs and spas love January! Business skyrockets as December bulges turn to January workouts.

A "new year" sounds like a great time to work on a new you. Thus, the infamous New Year's resolution. "A firm decision to do or not to do something."

Sadly, research shows that about 88% of our resolutions won't happen.