Lonny Cain

Time becomes more precious, golden, invaluable, even sacred ... when you’re waiting.

Studs Terkel’s candid reflections capture a universal longing for dignity, pride and the need for every working person to leave something tangible behind.

They were a toe-tapping, hip-swirling, dancing machine. Mom was smiling. Dad was smiling. The music was smiling – the song that made it happen – Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood.”

On Dec. 31, I finally finished reading a great book I started on Jan. 1, 2025. Yep, it took an entire year to read. But that was the plan.

My brain has changed my daily routine. The most significant impact has been on those precious moments in the morning when I am on the edge of waking up.

How do you assess a year that’s about to end? A simple enough task, I thought. But turns out it is not. It began as a challenge in the form of a writing prompt. That’s a writing assignment, if you choose to accept it.

Seeing the book sparked a flashback. One thing led to another. The book was “Alone: The Classic Polar Adventure.” I was suddenly pulled back to my high school years, when I had read a printing of the 1934 edition of “Alone.”

“Read all about it! Read all about it?”

The “waiting room.” What a perfect name ... for a room where you wait.

I was wondering if Jesus would stomp a spider or smash a fly?

“Got a question for you. Would Jesus swat a fly or stomp on a spider?”

How did we do it? There are days I wonder.

Who were my teachers?

There’s a large hunk of rusted iron lingering in my backyard. Waiting.

I throw away a lot of useful stuff. At least that’s how it feels. And this is not easy for me. I grew up with parents who found a way to use most everything they had. I inherited that habit.