Saturday night 50 years ago, who else was held hostage by their grandparents and Lawrence Welk?

By their other grandparents and Hee Haw?

Back then a handful of relatives and three channels were all we needed to have good, clean entertainment and quality time with those we loved.

At the time, it seemed like TV prison. I would’ve rather watched The Brady Bunch or The Partridge Family but those shows weren’t options at my grandparents house.

We watched what they wanted, which was typically ...

My grandfather was a blacksmith. To supply his shop with the metal, wood, and other materials he needed to operate, he attended auctions. Auctions that sold all types of items.

Since his shop was in Ashdown, Arkansas, that gave him close proximity to the auctions frequently held in Oklahoma. Hugo, Broken Bow, and other Sooner State locales were rich with things he needed to fabricate his living.

One Thursday night a month, my sister and I went with our grandfather and grandmother ...

There are events that are so significant that virtually everyone can tell you where they were when they happened.

The loss of Kennedy, the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, the moon landing, and of course 911.

But the death of Elvis came to mind recently when someone mentioned it was his birthday. When I looked up his birth year I was taken aback.

Elvis would have been almost 90. The age of 88 to be exact.

What’s even more jarring is that he’s been gone ...