My mother, a five-foot farm girl transplanted to a Pittsburgh mill town, would assure me on a daily basis: "The best things in life are free, Glenny boy."

With the same regularity, Betty reminded me: "You don't get nothin' for nothin' in this life, buster."

I have spent my life trying to balance those two world views. It has led me across a dozen states and into jobs ranging from an itinerant special education teacher to truck driver to investigative reporter.

I've been a newspaperman for nearly three decades and have done hard time at United Press International; small dailies and nasty alternative newspapers, including the Observer in Dallas. In some bizarre convulsion of fate, I joined a few other twisted gentiles at the Deseret News for a few years.

Along the way, I reproduced twice. I live in Salt Lake's historic refinery district with my current wife Mary Brown Malouf, another journalist.

Now, I'm on a new adventure on the Internet-where the best things in life are (mostly) free.

If you've got something to say, type away -- I'm wide open to rants and raves. There is no registration.

If you want to send me a tip (the reporter in me dies hard) or photos of goofy or horrible stuff, my email is gwarchol@sltrib.com.