BY JOHN MCLOONE

One of the things about writing a column every week is that you have to have life experiences to write about.
Decades ago, and in another part of the world, I started out having a lot of opinions. That was back when people were allowed to have opinions, but that’s another story. Over the years, I mellowed. Me ranting and raving wasn’t going to change anything. I didn’t get shouted down or anything like you see today, but I realized that “angry writing” wasn’t good for me either.
It also probably coincided with the fact that I met the most beautiful woman in the world. Within a span of seven years, she got the nerve to finally ask me out, we got engaged, married and had four kids. The kids kept us busy, to say the least. Best of all, there was always something to write about. It was always an adventure, and there was a lot of fun in it. We traveled thousands and thousands of miles across Wisconsin and Minnesota for youth sports – football, volleyball, basketball and dance. We had a couple great long road trips. When you have six people in a minivan for extended periods of time, some great stories are going to come of it. We drove to Florida a couple times. Not naming names but our oldest child got a little queasy on long car rides. He (or she) would have a situation arise, and then ask if we could stop at every Waffle House we passed.
I remember being able to tell the tale of one of the wedding anniversaries where my wife and I were able to get away. She was in St. Cloud at a volleyball tournament, and I was in Wausau at a basketball tournament.
Another child always caused excitement, from his/her car being impounded to the time her front tire actually fell off on the freeway. Solving problems for kids four hours away is one of the biggest challenges of parenting.
In this space, I was able to celebrate their successes as they flew the coop.
Here’s the problem, though. I have to get more life experiences, I think. I need more adventures. We’re down to just two at home, and my wife doesn’t think everything that happens is perhaps as much of a humorous tale to be told to 10,000 people as I do.
I knew I was in a rut on Saturday. Weekend adventures were where this column got its best stuff. Here’s what I did this past weekend: I covered a news story Saturday in the morning, then returned home. I then proceeded to do absolutely nothing but read a book and watch a little baseball. My wife was out of town at a baby shower, so I had to fend for myself and that meant a lot of hours in the recliner. Sunday, I spent the entire day at work. Writing about writing all day will bring no joy to anyone, especially me.
That brings us to today. Thanks for bearing with me. This was a good exercise for me, and I need all the exercise I can get!
And, a half hour ago, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to write my column about.