October 2022

Taking care of family, friends and neighbors. This is health care in rural America. Rural America is home to 20 percent of our nation’s population. We are blessed to live in the most beautiful areas of our country. We enjoy the fellowship, friendships, and compassion that our big city counterparts may not get the benefit to enjoy due to size and distance. There is something special about serving in health care in rural America that might be described in one word — compassion. There is a difference between empathy and compassion. Empathy is understanding the obstacles, struggles and feelings of another person, but compassion runs deeper. Compassion is doing something to ease that pain or suffering. Taking action is the key ingredient here. Many times over, I have seen rural America step up and do something to help others in need.

For the first time in three years, I had the opportunity to take a few days of vacation, and my companion and I decided to take off to the Great Lakes to catch a glimpse of a few lighthouses along the north shore of Lake Superior. As most people know, I have a fascination with lighthouses, beaches, boats, seashells, dolphins and almost anything nautically related. And, as everyone knows, most of those things are not conveniently located to southwest Missouri, so you have to plan. What the Great Lakes lack in dolphins and seashells, they more than make up for in lighthouses. There are more than 56 lighthouses along the Lake Superior Circle Tour, but I limited my list to six.

It’s been a big year for local journalism. In July, I attended the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors conference, where I accepted a Golden Dozen award for column-writing, and just a few weeks ago, I attended the Missouri Press Association conference and accepted more than 50 awards on mine and my staff’s behalf.