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John B. Marek is a writer, farmer, outdoorsman and recovering economic developer. You can find his books at johnbmarek.com. Like many kids, I cycled through several hobbies. I was into building plastic models for a while, meticulously gluing together swift fighter...

John B. Marek is a writer, farmer, outdoorsman and recovering economic developer. You can find his books at johnbmarek.com. If you polled growers about their favorite holiday in the garden, I'd venture many would say the Fourth of July. While Easter typically falls...

John B. Marek is a writer, farmer, outdoorsman and recovering economic developer. You can find his books at johnbmarek.com. When I first heard about internet "pig butchering" scams, I took the terminology a bit too literally. I initially thought they involved...

John B. Marek is a writer, farmer, outdoorsman and recovering economic developer. You can find his books at johnbmarek.com. The other day, I realized that this is the first summer in 45 years that I do not have a "real" job. Of course, between writing, managing my...

John B. Marek is a writer, farmer, outdoorsman and recovering economic developer. You can find his books at johnbmarek.com. Living in a rural area often comes with a sense of self-reliance. We fix our own fences, mend our own clothes and grow a good portion of our own...

John B. Marek is a writer, farmer, outdoorsman and recovering economic developer. You can find his books at johnbmarek.com. To kick off our Memorial Day weekend, my wife and I went to a free showing of the movie "Grease" at Primal Brewery. It was a good time, with a...

John B. Marek is a writer, farmer, outdoorsman and recovering economic developer. You can find his books at johnbmarek.com. Have you ever seen one of those intricate ship-in-a-bottle creations? The tiny masts, the billowing sails, all meticulously crammed through the...

John B. Marek is a writer, farmer, outdoorsman and recovering economic developer. You can find his books at johnbmarek.com. The Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movies “Sleepless In Seattle” and “You've Got Mail” are two of my favorite romantic comedies, but viewed objectively,...

John B. Marek is a writer, farmer, outdoorsman and recovering economic developer. You can find his books at johnbmarek.com. Around this time every spring, a truck with a large metal tank would pull up to my family's rural Ohio home and offer to spray for "bugs." It...

John B. Marek is a writer, farmer, outdoorsman and recovering economic developer. You can find his books at johnbmarek.com. Whatever your thoughts about the causes of the recent surge in inflation, it would be hard to argue that prices of everyday goods and services...

John B. Marek is a writer, farmer, outdoorsman and recovering economic developer. You can find his books at johnbmarek.com. Green beans are among the most accessible, reliable and productive vegetables a gardener can plant. They thrive in, and generally improve, a...

John B. Marek is a writer, farmer, outdoorsman and recovering economic developer. You can find his books at johnbmarek.com. Under any circumstances, choosing a church can feel like a daunting task, but for newcomers to a rural area the typical issues of theological...