My address to the Eta of Indiana Chapter at Valparaiso University of the Phi Betta Kappa Society on May 13, 2022. A painting I made as an...

5 things Gary, Indiana and Costa Rica have in common A view of the block where Andrew Means had a contractor company that built quality...

As I look over this list, I see that it resonates with advice a Costa Rican gave me, which I come back to, often: back to basics. Parts...

In what I hope can be a regular conversation, I got to speak for a second time with Korry Shepard about his ideas for how to address food...

I had the great good fortune to converse with this historian from Gary, Indiana, in February. 2022. Korry Shepard dropping knowledge at...

The story and the recipes behind two enriched doughs, from South Dakota and Costa Rica My Grandma Jarratt's caramel rolls, being made by...

From Crimea and Sweden to South Dakota to Nicaragua and Costa Rica My dear sons - Today in the Spanish class that I’m teaching at Indiana...

An unpopular opinion Costa Rica's National Monument in the National Park in San José, commemorates Central America's ousting of foreign...

When we give money, we are saying that the world of money is what we value. A few valuable things that aren't money: notes from your...

Looking back on my journey through Mexico and Central America, Part V. This photo was taken a whole year after the post that I am...

Looking back on my journey through Mexico and Central America, Part IV. With my beloved host family (just missing Jorge) in the inner...

Looking back on my journey through Mexico and Central America, Part III. Tezra (left) and me, with my trusty backpack in Tegucigalpa. ...

Looking back on my journey through Mexico and Central America: Part I. As I post this, today (October 11, 2021) is Indigenous People's...

A better future is within reach, and one local coffee roaster is leading the way through the direct purchase of high quality specialty...

A tribute to my mother-in-law for Costa Rican Mother’s Day, August 15, 2021. Mothers-in-law might have a bad reputation, except for in...

My first post on New Backwater was on August 8, 2020. On this last week of the first year, I look back, and look ahead. Soooo many...

I have learned to accept some uncertainty, but can it all be chalked up to God’s will? Our family vacationed “out West” for a couple of...

Need a road map? Pick up some reading on your intended topic in order to help you find your way. Finding his way with an actual map....

Find the video transcript, full credits, and extra resources for helping you identify and protect migratory birds in your community....

I wonder which place migratory birds consider home. I wonder if they don’t even think of the two places as separate. Dipping my feet in...