Broadcasting on Sundays was once a sea of sermons. If you turned on your radio or television, you’d hear or see a minister delivering his weekly message. From sunup (when stations signed on) until at least noon, it was solid preaching.

Today, depending on where you live, it’s still a lot like that. But the once unthinkable programming decision to air something other than a church program, eventually crept into our Sabbaths.

Unless you grew up during the mid-20th Century, it’s hard ...

Red Skelton. Ed Sullivan. Carol Burnett. Dean Martin. Flip Wilson, Rowan & Martin. The Smothers Brothers. Make the connection yet?

Variety shows. American variety shows.

From the 1940s to the 1980s, Americans were entertained by a cross-section of talent, all compacted into one hour of television. And every week, our RCA console TV in the house on Beech Street in Ashdown, Arkansas, was tuned in to most of the variety shows. Especially Red Skelton. My sister and I loved Red.

Red Skelton was ...

The City of Texarkana dates its official beginnings to 1873. Like many cities and towns of the era, railroads brought people, who brought businesses. The same was true for Ashdown, Arkansas, my hometown, located just north of Texarkana.

The railroad connected people. It brought the mail, needed supplies, and communication. In the 1960s, another communication system came to Texarkana: cable television. The installers strung cable down the utility poles until many homes had the opportunity to connect. By the early 1980s, ...

It was the 1970s, and my uncle was behind the wheel. His 1969 Cadillac Convertible was a true land yacht. Long and red, it easily carried eight of us through the streets of downtown Detroit.

Not one person noticed us.

Drive down the street today in a 1969 Cadillac Convertible and everyone notices. Do it in downtown Detroit today and you likely won’t make it home.

Cars used to be fun to drive. They had their own identity. And their identity rubbed off ...