When I was younger, I knew a lot less than I claimed. I didn’t want to be embarrassed. There are certain things a guy’s supposed to know and I didn’t want to admit in front of my he-man buddies and cousins that I didn’t. How to repair car engines should be part one of those ...

The other day as I was hanging my laundry on the line … What? You didn’t expect a guy to know how to hang clothes? Or to bother? Since my wife passed away in June, I’ve rediscovering lots of skills that many guys won’t admit to knowing. I was fortunate in marriage. Since I don’t ...

EDITOR’S NOTE: This classic column is being republished as humor columnist Burt Cole is on vacation. “Aren’t those the same pants you wore yesterday?” “Of course,” I said. “The pockets were already loaded.” His eyebrows arched. “With what?” “Keys, pens, cards, ...

EDITOR’S NOTE: Burt ran away from work this work, but he’ll be back soon. Until then, enjoy a classic column originally published in 2019. It’s been decades since I last ran away from home. I was 3. I wriggled through the tunnel my beagle burrowed under the backyard fence and set out ...

My younger cousin Nancy (solidly in her 60s) zapped me a meme that states, “I was always taught to respect my elders, but it keeps getting harder and harder to find one.” Truth. Respect wasn’t earned; it was a page on the calendar. It’s my birthday month (Nancy’s, too), and now ...

As a card-carrying farm kid — well, I would carry the card if I hadn’t lost in the pasture during “the incident” — I’ve been asked to drive a tractor this fall at an area corn maze. (No, we do NOT need to talk about the pasture incident. I don’t remember screaming like a little ...