Young man and the sea? Ryan Barnes has reported in again, this time from the Aleutian Islands aboard a fishing boat with monster halibut.
He has hiked the Appalachian Trail, lived in remote Montana and been something of a 21st Century Grizzly Adams. The Mocksville native grew up with my oldest son, and I’ve often dreamed of going with him on his wild adventures
He has climbed aboard dangerous fishing boats several times in the cold climates.
He stopped at St. Matthew Island, the most remote island in the world, and saw the crash of a World War II B-24 bomber on Adak Island.
But his job was fishing, catching halibut, Pacific cod, black cod and rock fish — about 35,000 pounds of fish before taking them to port.
They stuff the bellies of the fish with ice to keep them fresh.
Most of the halibut weigh 10-35 pounds, but there is an occasional 200 pounder.
He’s living the dream.
It goes without saying, Ryan is single.

Maybe newspapers really are in trouble. A study has found that young people are taking their cell phones with them to the bathroom — once a primal bastion for newspapers. If cell phones successfully displace newspapers on that throne, where will users take them next?

This is the Year of the Short Christmas Tree at our house. We downsized; saved money. That little tree called out to us, pleading for us to take it home.
We had toyed with the idea of tiny in years past but usually settled for 6- to 7-footer. There was a time when our Christmas trees had to touch the ceiling. Once, I considered drilling a hole in the ceiling to get a monster tree inside.
This time we have a mini-tree, maybe 4 feet tall …