Loons in the Kitchen

Rating:
Summary: A Fun Read
Review: For anyone with a small town or Midwestern background, this is a must read. Bender touches the heart and tickles the funny bone with his columns on the feats and foibles of real people in real life situations. As a compilation of his newspaper columns, "Loons" is an easy read, yet I limited myself to one or two stories per day, in order to savor the emotion conveyed by each. I have given several copies as gifts, and have always been thanked by the recipient for introducing them to this new, gifted author.

Rating:
Summary: Rare insight
Review: For anyone with a small town or Midwestern background, this is a must read. Bender touches the heart and tickles the funny bone with his columns on the feats and foibles of real people in real life situations. As a compilation of his newspaper columns, "Loons" is an easy read, yet I limited myself to one or two stories per day, in order to savor the emotion conveyed by each. I have given several copies as gifts, and have always been thanked by the recipient for introducing them to this new, gifted author.

Rating:
Summary: Loons, Looney - or Wise?
Review: I am a fan of human interest stories, especially those with wry humor and insight into the human spirit. If you are also a fan of that style, this is a must read. The subtitle, "Humorous and Poignant Stories from the Dakotas", says it all; I'm not sure if the emphasis should be on "poignant" or "humorous". "Wednes- day's Ashes" is about a prairie Lutheran church, built in 1886, which withstands a tornado, but burns down on Ash Wednesday as its congregation of 50 or less stands by helplessly. "It Was a Good Thing" is about a transplanted Russian, a North Dakota cowboy, who dies with his dignity intact, having dodged the nursing home experience. That story is followed by, "Chopper", which is about the crusty cowboy's equally crusty stallion who threw "Cowboy" the first ride of each spring, just to remind "Cowboy" who was boss. "Boys of Summer" is about the author's Little League Baseball team - the Bad News Bears before Walter

Matthau's great movie. "Letter to Mike" is a deeply moving tribute to the author's brother, who lives a dignified life in spite of his Williams Syndrome, and who has inspired all who know him with his purity and enthusiasm (you very well may cry as you read this one). These stories are relieved by tales of the writer's frustration with "tech support", and a letter exchange with Dave Barry as to whether or not North Dakota is still there, complete with details about a giant milk cow, liver sausage, Lawrence Welk and Bobby Vee. The Fix-It Man fixes, the mom steals clothes and then mails them to her neighbor, a pathetic dog finds a (pathetic?) friend - it's all here, and at the click of a mouse! It gets a 4 rather than 5 star because frankly, Tony has a sense of humor that evades me sometimes! Is this what they mean by "prairie humor"?

Rating:
Summary: Loons, Looney - or Wise?
Review: I am a fan of human interest stories, especially those with wry humor and insight into the human spirit. If you are also a fan of that style, this is a must read. The subtitle, "Humorous and Poignant Stories from the Dakotas", says it all; I'm not sure if the emphasis should be on "poignant" or "humorous". "Wednes- day's Ashes" is about a prairie Lutheran church, built in 1886, which withstands a tornado, but burns down on Ash Wednesday as its congregation of 50 or less stands by helplessly. "It Was a Good Thing" is about a transplanted Russian, a North Dakota cowboy, who dies with his dignity intact, having dodged the nursing home experience. That story is followed by, "Chopper", which is about the crusty cowboy's equally crusty stallion who threw "Cowboy" the first ride of each spring, just to remind "Cowboy" who was boss. "Boys of Summer" is about the author's Little League Baseball team - the Bad News Bears before Walter

Matthau's great movie. "Letter to Mike" is a deeply moving tribute to the author's brother, who lives a dignified life in spite of his Williams Syndrome, and who has inspired all who know him with his purity and enthusiasm (you very well may cry as you read this one). These stories are relieved by tales of the writer's frustration with "tech support", and a letter exchange with Dave Barry as to whether or not North Dakota is still there, complete with details about a giant milk cow, liver sausage, Lawrence Welk and Bobby Vee. The Fix-It Man fixes, the mom steals clothes and then mails them to her neighbor, a pathetic dog finds a (pathetic?) friend - it's all here, and at the click of a mouse! It gets a 4 rather than 5 star because frankly, Tony has a sense of humor that evades me sometimes! Is this what they mean by "prairie humor"?

Rating:
Summary: A Fun Read
Review: Mr. Bender writes in manner that flows so well he draws you into his stories whether you know the real-life characters or not. It is amazing that in the span of a few well worded paragraphs, your heart and soul can be moved so easily. Just read one of Mr. Bender's stories and I'm sure you'll have to read another. Please keep writing Tony!