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Rainy Day Writers, Cambridge, OH (2026)

08/28/2026

John Anderson visits a family discussing how to care for their parents. It's a frequent problem in the world today. Read John's story and other Rainy Day Writers stories on Your Radio Place and in Guernsey News.

Family Meetings by John Anderson

The Fulller family sat around the dining room table in a gathering that had been a long time coming. Sally sat between her parents. Her older brother and his wife sat with her younger brother on the table’s opposite side.

“I can’t believe we’re finally all here together,” said Sally’s mom, Alice with enthusiasm.

The others looked uncomfortable because they knew that the family reunion was to be an intervention.

Sally cleared her throat and began, “Mom and Dad, we’re all here because we’re worried about you.”

“About us?” her father complained. “There’s nothing wrong here.”

“Dad, over the past six months you’ve lost at least fifty pounds. Mom, you’re not cooking enough to provide needed calories.”

“Well, yeah, I’ve lost weight but, that’s a god thing, right?” Dad looked around at his children and gave his shrinking middle a pat. “It seems like everyone’s on a diet.”

“Joe,” pressed Alice, “a diet isn’t the whole reason you’ve lost weight.”

“No, I guess not. I guess I probably should see a dentist.”

“His teeth have been bothering him,” Alice sighed helplessly. “I can’t convince him to see our dentist.”

“Why not?” Sally asked her dad.

“I don’t know. I guess I don’t have time.”

“Not true,” interrupted Alice. “He’s afraid Dr. Brown will say he needs a lot of work.”

“Well, yeah!” exclaimed Dad as if it were obvious. “At my age, who wants to go through all that?”

The younger son offered to make a dental appointment and Sally switched topics.

“Mom and Dad, you could use some extra help around here.”

“Oh, no,” said Alice in the comforting tone she had always used to reason with her children. “We’re doing just fine.”

Sally glanced around the room noticing the dust and unmopped floors. That’s when she announced that she had arranged for a cleaning lady who would be coming to work once a week.

Forcefully Alice objected to the suggestion that her housekeeping wasn’t up to par.

“But, Mom, a lot of people hire housekeepers who show up much more often. This lady will free up your time to do other things around the house.” Her mother didn’t need to know that the housekeeper was employed by Visiting Angels, a company that sends out skilled nurses who also do light housekeeping.

“Well,” agreed Alice, “I guess the extra help might be welcome. I have been a little tired lately.”

Two weeks later:

Joe’s dental problems revealed an infection that had migrated to his sinuses and required surgery. Alice’s feeling of being “a little tired” was, in fact a case of anemia. Their health issues were a wake-up call that convinced the couple to make some changes in their lifestyle. Realistically, the changes wouldn’t happen overnight.

Sally and her brothers convinced their parents to accept help preparing meals, housekeeping, and running errands. Alice and Joe admitted that they had problems giving up control over aspects of their lives that used to be within their comfort zone, that they used to handle with ease.

When children cross the line and become the caretakers of their parents, the role reversal can be difficult for both parties to accept. The Fullers were stepping into a new life phase. The journey must be traveled carefully.

08/26/2026

Betsy Taylor explains how she often uses something for a purpose other than what is intended. Betsy has a creative mind! Read more Rainy Day Writers articles on Your Radio Place and in Guernsey News.

Off-Label Hacks by Betsy Taylor

“Don’t do that!” cried my husband when he saw me pound a nail with a screwdriver handle. His point is that every tool has a purpose and there is a “correct” purpose for every tool. I rolled my eyes and trudged to the basement workbench for a hammer.

While I agree that using the right tool for a job is safer for the worker and saves your tools from abuse, I also know that sometimes tools can be used off-label. I like that term for something (usually medication) that is useful for a purpose other than what is intended.

A person doesn’t have to be a genius to innovate. You might simply have a problem in need of a handy solution. My sisters and I often fill “specialty” needs in off-label ways.

The last problem I solved involved my love of thousand-piece jigsaw puzzles that take up a lot of space. If you want to dump out all thousand pieces to sort, there simply isn’t enough room on a 36×36 inch card table. Don’t want to use a lot of real estate on your dinner table? I’m with you. Gotta save room for food.

For years, I stuck to 500-piece puzzles that fit on my 28×31 inch slab of laminated plywood. Lately, however, plywood has become too heavy for me to lug from one surface to another, so I looked for something sturdy, but lighter. While I was at it, I searched for a board with more area. Manufactured puzzle boards are too heavy for me and too skimpy even though they boast hidden drawers for sorting pieces by color.

After rejecting several options, I visited a home-improvement store where I found a 4×8 foot by 1-inch sheet of Styrofoam insulation. It’s strong, sturdy, lightweight, and adjustable to the perfect size with a bread knife. I split the piece with my sister who hung hers on a wall where she pins quilt blocks into a desired pattern.

As for sorting my puzzle pieces, I use a sectioned plastic vegetable tray to divide the colors.

I bet you’re also clever about the use of tools in your home. A narrow knitting needle or crochet hook that fits the hole in a locked door can pop that lock and rescue a child who has accidentally trapped himself.

A telescoping magnet fits into small spaces to pull out dropped safety pins, needles, or straight pins. Small clamps from the hardware store can secure swatches of fabric to a cutting surface, so that the cuts made are straight and true.

Soup cans act as weights on wrapping paper to insure smooth, not jagged, cuts. A yardstick can become the handle of a poster. Just remember that a beefy staple gun is needed to secure the poster to the stick.

The bristles of 2-inch-wide paint brush passed gently down fabric lampshades remove more dust in a safer manner than the brush tool of your vacuum cleaner. Fuzzy craft sticks (formerly called pipe cleaners) also become cleaning tools as they remove lint from the bobbin area of your sewing machine or slide into tight spaces between glass doors in your shower.

One of the biggest (literally) off-label jobs one of our tools performed was done by our garden tiller, Big Red. My husband needed to dig a trench to pour a concrete footer for an expansion of our original garage. Picks and shovels are inadequate when you have a work buddy like Big Red. Red broke up enough soil that we could shovel it out and save many hours of work. So much for a tiller intended to churn up hillocks for vegetables.

My advice: Don’t try to pound a nail with a screwdriver handle, but take advantage of tools that can be used to innovate in other, safer ways.

08/24/2026

Betsy Taylor tells about movies filmed in Ohio and features "Shawshank Redemption" as one that has received great acclaim. The whole story appears in August's Crossroads magazine.

08/21/2026

Martha Jamail explains how Mickey Mouse was created and has become such a popular character over the years. Read her story and other Rainy Day Writers stories on Your Radio Place and in Guernsey News.

Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse by Martha Jamail

M – I – C . . . See you real soon;

K – E – Y . . .Why? Because we like you.

M – O – U – S – E.

If you heard music as you read those words, you were fortunate to have experienced the Mickey Mouse Club when it aired on TV in the early 50s. The beloved character, Mickey Mouse, has brought joy to generations of children, and their parents as well. It’s incredible and amazing that Mickey’s creator, Walt Disney, was the child of very strict parents who didn’t allow him to play. As he grew older and showed a talent and interest in art, his parents also considered that a waste of time.

Finally, young Walt left home and caught a train, and on that train ride he befriended a little mouse in his train car. That little mouse became the inspiration for his cartoon mouse, Mickey, and the rest is history.

The affection for the character, Mickey Mouse, is reflected in the success of the early cartoons, the later TV shows, the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and eventually Disneyland, and Disney World. They are all tributes to the genius and ability of their creator, Walt Disney.

Mickey Mouse was the first stuffed animal our sons were attracted to, and now our grandchildren enjoy Mickey Mouse as well. The little mouse has universal appeal. Mickey has brought joy to so many children, and incredibly was developed by an artist who wasn’t allowed to play.

What a wonderful character Walt Disney created – Go, Mickey! Hope you continue to delight youngsters for many more years to come!

08/18/2026

Beverly Kerr wrote about Steve Marvin in August's Crossroads magazine. You'll be surprised at how much Steve does for our community.

08/09/2026

Betsy Taylor gives some interesting information about chia seeds. It may surprise you. Read more Rainy Day Writer stories on Your Radio Place and in Guernsey News.

Ch Ch Ch Chia by Betsy Taylor

When it comes to looking for low calorie breads and other grain products, I have become a label reader. In one product I found chia seeds listed as an ingredient. What! Those little black seeds that you sprinkle over the surface of a clay figurine and watch them grow into Bob Ross’s huge cloud of green hair? In my bread?

Yes, as a matter of fact. Chia seeds have been food long before they were part of a campy art form. I learned that as I checked them out online and, in my go-to magazine, National Geographic.

The Healthline website champions chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) as a superfood. Ancient Aztecs pressed the seeds into medicinal oils and ground them into flour. Emperors received them by the ton as tribute. The seeds, a rich source of high-quality plant-based protein, boast the side effect of providing a large helping of fiber in every ounce. They contain more fiber per ounce than most cereals without the added ingredients. The seeds take on the flavor of whatever food they are added to. You can add them to juices and yogurts, thickening them into a pudding like tapioca.

The seeds plump as they absorb liquids and become a gel. This thickening feature allows chia seeds to be used as an excellent egg-replacer acting as a binder in egg-free foods. 1 tablespoon of seeds plus 3 tablespoons of water will act as a replacement for 1 egg.

As foods and additives, the seeds are becoming increasingly popular but the effect on human metabolism is inconclusive and requires more study. They may or may not have a positive effect on blood sugar and blood pressure. The Healthline website quotes The Cleveland Clinic as it cautions that the chemicals in the seeds may interact with blood-thinners like coumadin and warfarin. Also, ask your doctor about eating the seeds if you take blood pressure medications.

While we don’t normally think of chia seeds as food, we do remember Chia Pets as a fad during the 80s and 90s. By soaking a terra cotta figurine in water to provide a growth medium, we spread the tiny black seeds across the clay surface and wait for little green shoots to appear. Five-and-dime stores like Woolworth’s sold the figures, shaped like bears, pigs, lambs, ducks, and frogs, as novelty gifts and stocking stuffers. They were funny and fun.

But the history of Chia figures is far from frivolous. They originated in Southern Mexico (the Oaxaca region) as religious icons. While still slightly moist, the terra cotta base is scored with comb-like tines providing a surface for the Chia shoots to germinate. Those greens symbolize the continuation of life especially during the season leading up to Easter. The lamb figure represents the Lamb of God. Other figures symbolize elements of the Easter story, and those objects hold a place of reverence in homes and on altars in Catholic churches.

The evolution of the Chia Pet is just one example of the shift from one cultural segment to another. Like kindly Saint Nicholas, famous for his acts of generosity to the poor, who became chubby, red-clothed Santa Claus, Chia Pets have crossed the divide from the divine to the secular. Look around and you’ll see examples of that shift everywhere.

And if you want a low-maintenance pet, those covered with bright green chia leaves are still available.

08/06/2026

Rick Booth explores the history of the Guernsey County Fair in August's Crossroads magazine. If you enjoy the fair, don't miss reading this article! Some things might surprise you.

07/31/2026

Betsy Taylor tells the interesting story of how Zane Grey's wife, Dolly, was a major factor in the success of Zane's books. Read how she helped him along the way. Find more Rainy Day Writers' stories on Your Radio Place and in Guernsey News.

Dolly Grey by Betsy Taylor

You know about Zane Grey, the famous western romance author from his prolific writing career. But do you know about Lina Elise Roth Grey, the woman who made that career possible? Lina, called Dolly by her family and friends, was Zane’s champion as a wife, editor, advisor, emotional support system, and business manager.

In 1900, seventeen-year-old Dolly Roth met twenty-eight-year-old Pearl Zane Grey on the banks of the Delaware River. Dolly, her mother and two girlfriends, and Zane and his brother Romer were all enjoying an escape from the heat and noise of New York City.

Although Zane and Dolly were very different temperamentally, they were attracted to each other. Dolly had graduated Hunter College where she studied English Literature and was finishing her last semester at Columbia University with the hope of becoming a teacher. Zane had not graduated high school and had barely graduated the University of Pennsylvania with a dentistry degree.

Dolly was ambitious, intelligent, and possessed of a serene nature. She loved great literature and the music of great composers. Zane’s rough background didn’t include any of those refinements and he admitted as much. He was restless with bouts of intense focus followed by what he called “black moods.” Dolly was certain she could overlook or deal with that side of his nature. She was even certain she could tame his need for affirmation and adulation from other women. She was wrong.

The couple married in November 1905 and, almost immediately, Zane began writing and handing Dolly drafts of chapters of his novel, The Last Trail. Diligently she corrected grammar and punctuation, smoothed out awkward sentences and paragraphs, offered suggestions, and eventually copied the entire manuscript in her flowing script. Except for Dolly’s use of the typewriter in later years, this would be the pattern for their working partnership for the rest of Zane’s life.

In addition to editing, Dolly became Zane’s sales representative and public relations agent. Dolly genuinely believed in Zane’s destiny for greatness. While publishers agreed that Zane was a competent writer who sold entertaining fiction, Dolly was convinced that he was a genius.

When the children were born, Dolly doubled down on keeping Zane’s home fires burning. He insisted on taking safaris, hunting and fishing trips to gather material for his books. Most of those trips were taken without Dolly but with a secretary, stenographer, photographer, or typist. Dolly was expected to lend legitimacy to Zane’s affairs by appearing in public with Zane and his female associates.

As much as Zane’s philandering hurt Dolly, she settled into acceptance. Leaving was not an option. Divorce carried a great stigma during those days, and Dolly had three children to consider. By that point, her financial future was tied completely to Zane’s. Having become her husband’s finance manager, she was tasked with ensuring Zane didn’t deplete their income faster than she could secure it with book sales.

The depression hit the couple hard, and Dolly had to become creative to manage their money. She renegotiated terms with their usual publishers and courted new outlets. She became a bank president, invested what little money they had left, formed a corporation, and opened channels with the IRS to keep the corporation from filing for bankruptcy. All the while Zane pressured Dolly to send him “operating” money to fund travels he insisted were legitimate business ventures.

Dolly kept the Grey family afloat even as she endured financial onslaughts and health issues including a hysterectomy. She felt that, as a partner in the family corporation, she was duty-bound to soldier on.

Following Zane’s death, Dolly continued to supervise the family finances. Movies were still being made from Zane’s novels and several heretofore unpublished books were doled into the marked. The children were included in the business with each taking a business role and receiving a share of the stock.

Dolly traveled to Europe when she was able. But as she aged, her health deteriorated. She developed diabetes in the 1940s then endured a series of small strokes. In 1957, a massive stroke led to her death.

She was cremated and her ashes, along with Zane’s, are buried in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania where they started their married life.

07/24/2026

Mark Cooper tells about keeping a diary. If you have ever kept a diary, you will enjoy reading about the things he and his mom recorded in their diaries. Read more Rainy Day Writer stories on Your Radio Place and in Guernsey News.

Worth Noting by Mark Cooper

The first page of my childhood Index-Cards-On-A-Wire diary reads, “Today was my birthday. I got a shirt, this book. Mother gave me all this.” What I found worth noting as a 10-year-old stirs memories, just as any diary should.

A June note reads, “Tonight we went to see about strawberries at Henry Millers [an Amish neighbor]. Henry saw our tire was flat.”

Did Henry chuckle watching my dad wrestle with the flat, gloating to himself, “My buggy tires never go flat.” Did dad, wrestling with the tire and jack, remind himself, “I’d rather change an occasional tire than rely on a horse and buggy?”

Later that summer I confided, “I HAD to bale hay.” The capitalized “HAD” speaks volumes about my feelings towards fieldwork.

One entry leaves me with questions, “Last night [my brother] changed his set.” I’m clueless as to what that meant. Details do matter.

In early August of that year, I shared my most important news so far, “[My sister-in-law] had a baby girl at 2:30. Thay [sic] named her.”

Why didn’t I include her name? Did I not know how to spell it? Did I get called to supper before having time to write down her name? Or was I attempting to write a cliffhanger?

For many years, Mom used the kitchen wall calendar to keep her own notes, opening a glimpse into her busy life.

From a 1960s calendar I learned that, on March 28th of that year, she planted an annual favorite, snapdragons. A flower that happens to be growing in my own garden this year.

On a day in May she had written “sheep-shearing.” Mystifying, considering our family didn’t raise sheep.

A Monday reminder was for a 1:30 PM perm appointment. (This was before her first grandchild was born, and Mom declared it was time to wear her hair in a bun so she would look more like a grandma. No more hairdresser appointments.)

I saw that during this particular year she had several doctor appointments for herself, especially during the first few months.

Later, every few days, Mom started writing down measurements, “12¾,” “13,” “13½.” What was she measuring? Field crops? Her snapdragons? Then I found “26 ½ inches, 17 lbs.”

Dots connected in my mind, since this calendar was from my birth year (I forgot to mention that detail, didn’t I?). These numbers were tracking my own growth. Eagerly I flipped back to my birth month, what would be written there?

Absolutely nothing.

Mom had recorded the birthdays of 22 other people throughout that year, but nothing for the day I was born. What was up with that!?

Regardless of the reason, she never failed to observe my birthday in the years that followed. And 10 years later, she gave me my Index-Cards-On-A-Wire diary where I wrote about my niece’s birth.

And now, since you’re doubtlessly wondering about my niece’s name, it’s … um… ah…. Yeah, let me get back to you.

07/21/2026

I'm discovering that it is important to take time to relax. Maybe it's something you only get a chance to do when you get older! Read more Rainy Day Writers stories on Your Radio Place and in Guernsey News.

Take Time to Relax by Beverly Kerr

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes- including you.
~Anne Lamott

Finding time to relax is often difficult in the busy world we live in. Think about it! How often do you just sit back (without your phone or television) and just do nothing? For me, that is a very difficult thing to do and when I look at the world running full speed ahead all around me, it appears that others have this problem as well. So, what are some possibilities for unplugging?

Find a quiet place where you can shut out the news and your problems for just a few minutes. This might be a walk on a quiet path through the woods or a drive on backroads in the country. Enjoy the nature surrounding you. The gypsy in me enjoys a drive to the lake. Ah! Even the thought of it relaxes my mind.

If you enjoy music, pick some of your favorite soothing sounds and sit back and listen. Perhaps you’ll choose to sit in a simple place like on your porch or in your favorite chair. Just free your mind of all your cares and listen to the music and unplug from the world for a few minutes. Or maybe you prefer to sit by the water and let the world drift by.

Some might enjoy sipping on their favorite drink and let relaxation flow through their body. A glass of iced tea or coffee are great drinks to sip your problems away. Some might like to share a cup of tea with a friend, but I think relaxation is best done when you are alone and free from trying to engage in conversation with someone else.

Since this is a personal problem, I am attempting to learn how to relax. When you have lived most of your life on the farm, there was never really time to sit on the porch and do nothing. Right now, I’m practicing sitting on my patio each evening surrounded by my flowers. My goal is to sit there for at least ten minutes and fill my mind with peaceful thoughts or no thoughts at all. It’s very difficult when you’re used to being busy with something all the time. One night, however, twenty minutes passed by while I was watching the clouds move across the sky.

Unplug for a few minutes sometime soon! Relaxation is good for the mind, body, and soul.

Rainy Day Writers

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