Kirby: Creative constipation can be cured
Becoming blocked is a hazard of my profession. Commonly referred to as “writer’s block,” it’s a condition in which whatever passes for the mind of a writer finds itself temporarily bereft of...
View ArticleKirby: Would I denounce my faith to save my neck? You bet, in a heartbeat
Assuming you have a religious faith, what would it take to get you to renounce it? You would have to swear that your testimony or witness was absolutely false. A gun would do it for me. Point it at my...
View ArticleKirby: It’s fireworks season! Best keep me — and all men — away from the fuses
One of the few positive talents I have is that I can sleep through anything. Well, except for being touched. Touch me while I’m asleep and I’m not only instantly awake but seriously pissed. So,...
View ArticleKirby: My visit to Utah’s new crime lab — and I wasn’t even a suspect
In 1915, Salt Lake City detectives tried to find out who murdered Olivia Cooper by resorting to the most advanced scientific method then available — photographing her eyes. It was believed that...
View ArticleKirby: At last, the Mormon uniform changes — set your sundials for the next...
This is a picture of my siblings and me outside the chapel of Zaragoza Air Force Base in Spain. The year is 1960. I’m the kid on the far right. The expression on my face sums up my take on organized...
View ArticleKirby: You know a vacation is bad when you can’t wait to get away from your...
Robert Kirby is still recuperating from a star-spangled Fourth. And, no, he didn’t spark any fires. This is a reprint of a previous column. At a glance, it seemed like a great time. The sun was...
View ArticleKirby: Hey, Utah, some places are even hotter. Don’t believe me? Then go to...
The hottest place I ever lived for any length of time was Fort Irwin, Calif., a desert warfare Army training post located just a few miles south of hell. We moved there in 1966. I remember the first...
View ArticleKirby: Farewell, Pioneer Sixth Ward — hello, new Mormon ‘family’
Last Sunday, I said goodbye to my Mormon ward. I’ve been a member of the Pioneer Sixth Ward, in all its variations, for 14 years. It was supposed to be my last ward, but my wife and I decided to move...
View ArticleKirby: Hey, what’s inside those moving boxes? The stuff that memories are...
It was a cardboard box on a bottom shelf in our basement storage room. Judging from the dust, the container hadn’t been touched in 14 years. My son-in-law was helping us clean out the junk in...
View ArticleKirby: Throw water at your server over a lemon? You know where you can stuff...
My grandchildren have begun entering the workforce. One granddaughter teaches swimming to kids at the Herriman recreation center, several others have begun baby-sitting. One pulls down a good bit of...
View ArticleKirby: Religious doubts began with pilfered Brillo pads
Robert Kirby is off today. This is a reprint of an earlier column. — I was raised to be a good Mormon boy. My parents took me to church. I was taught to pray, take the sacrament, pay tithing and to...
View ArticleKirby: Dad is mending in the hospital, but our health care system is sick
The Old Man was rushed to the hospital last week. A raging infection in his foot had compromised his physical and mental condition. I showed up after the South Jordan ambulance people had already...
View ArticleKirby: My run-ins near the homeless shelter show the anti-social in this...
The homeless population in downtown Salt Lake City has become more aggressive at the exact time I’ve become less patient. Coincidence? I think not. I ride FrontRunner downtown. It drops me off about...
View ArticleKirby: Of Mormon pioneers, polygamy and old (plural) wives’ tales
Monday is the big celebration of the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley 170 years ago. If you’re a descendant, you may take a moment to ponder the heroic deeds of your venerable...
View ArticleKirby: Take this test — I did — and see if you’re smarter than me and...
I’m a damn genius. Not about everything, of course. Just history. I know this because I recently passed a test that only 1 in 50 people are capable of completing correctly. I’d feel better about it if...
View ArticleKirby: With Dad recovering in bed, I’m tempted to give him a taste of his...
My 84-year-old father is doing well after last week’s medical emergency. Transported by ambulance to Jordan Valley Medical Center, they cut off his badly infected toe and put him on a heavy antibiotic...
View ArticleKirby: Yes, I went to Mormon missionary training and lived to tell about it
The Mormon church now has a bigger Missionary Training Center in Provo. To hear tell, it’s palatial, almost heavenly, in its heavenly sophistication. News reports say it offers 200 spacious new...
View ArticleSlow start can't stop Bolt in debut at last worlds
London • It was classic Bolt. The World’s Fastest Man saved his best for last.Lumbering out of the starting blocks and closer to last than first for half the race, Usain Bolt sped away nonetheless to...
View ArticlePrep cross country: American Fork's boys building impressive legacy
American Fork • It’s turning from a nice streak into dominance.The proof sits in the trophy case at American Fork High School, where seven boys’ cross country state championship trophies reside.All of...
View ArticleCougars name captains for 2017 season
Provo • Three weeks from Saturday, BYU seniors Tejan Koroma and Fred Warner, and juniors Tanner Mangum and Butch Pau’u, will walk to the middle of the field at LaVell Edwards Stadium for the coin toss...
View Article