Behind the Lines: by David Heiller

David Heiller That’s when Nora and Malika suggested that we walk out to The Island . We had looked at The Island all weekend from the cabin our two families had rented. It was half a mile away, in the middle of Long Lake, near Spooner, Wisconsin. The Island was no more than 40 yards long, and it had a big house on it. It drew the two eight-year-olds like a magnet, and I guess it drew me too, because when they asked if they could walk to the island that night, I didn’t hesitate in answering yes. They each grabbed my hands, and we headed out. A day earlier, the top several inches of ice had m elted in a 45-deg re e thaw. But now it was slick. Malika and Nora with Carolyn in that weekends cabin. Nora said it was like glass. She wished she had brought her skates. I said you’d have to watch those rough spots. My brother, Danny, hit one when he was a kid and broke a tooth off. It was the first time I saw him cry, it hurt so bad. I told the kids that. The ice would crac...

David Heiller News reports I would like to see... HINCKLEY (AP) — An unknown number of masked robbers broke into the personal belongings of two families at a campground east of Hinckley last week. The unidentified assailants damaged property at St. Croix State Park, made personal threats, and carted off a quantity of food on Wednesday, June 13, before the campers could stop them. Joey and Nora Shields and Noah  and  Malika  Heiller:  before the invasion. The campers then withstood several more attacks by the group during a long and sleepless night. No one was hurt, although two seven-year-old boys were visibly shaken when they had to abandon their pup tent to sleep with one set of parents. Camper Cindy Heiller also had one attacker come at her for a short distance after she attempted to chase it away in the late afternoon. The incident came after the Shields and Heiller families returned from a bicycle trip in the park. While the ...

David Heiller The scale in the corner of our friends’ house stood there like the dashboard of a 1958 Studebaker, big and solid with a face that wouldn’t give away a good poker hand. I stepped on it Sunday night, and the needle rose like the speedometer of a hot rod Lincoln to 220. I stepped off, then on again. 220. The Beast “Is this a good scale?” I asked Kevin, trying to keep a calm voice. “Yeah, if anything, it’s a little light,” he said. Gee thanks, Kevin. I’ve been avoiding scales lately, like a sinner avoids a church. It’s Christmas, and if Christmas means anything, it means gaining weight. I had dropped 10 pounds off my 220 pound body over the past three months. In fact, the scale even hit 206 a few times. That may not seem like much to John Domogalla, who can drop 100 pounds just by not eating after six p.m. But to me, it was a major mid-life victory. And now, stepping on The Scale That Doctors Recommend, I see 220 again. ...