Santa came to our house on Christmas Eve, before we went to bed. Some of my friends had to go to bed before Santa would come. Their gifts would be under the tree when they woke up.
Not me. I didn’t have to wait. My grandmother would take us for a Christmas Eve ride in the station wagon to look for Rudolph’s glowing nose in the sky.
All of the local radio stations would give Santa sighting reports. The North American Aerospace ...
Continue Reading →
A few days ago, the oldest child in our family announced that he was looking for a truck. His current vehicle, which was born during the first George W. Bush administration, was ready for retirement.
Our family is one that drives vehicles until the proverbial wheels fall off.
He looked at a number of different trucks, and surprisingly, even though I thought he was a devout Ford man, he even considered a Dodge. Ultimately, he stuck with a Ford.
He sent us a ...
Continue Reading →
When I was a child, there was a painting that hung on my grandmother’s kitchen wall. It portrayed a man who was praying over a meal of bread and what appeared to be a bowl of soup. Near the man was a book, which I always assumed was a Bible, and a pair of spectacles.
From my earliest recollections until my dad’s mother passed, I remember looking at this painting while we ate in her home and wondering many things. Who ...
Continue Reading →
Hands down, fall is my favorite time of year. I just wish that fall lasted a little longer in Texas.
Had I been born and raised in a different climate, this might not be the case. But, growing up in the south, the fall won my appreciation at a young age.
For those who are reading this and are sitting in a geographical location that is visited by four equal seasons every year, pat yourself on the back and say, “I am ...
Continue Reading →
Our major holidays are centered around faith. Easter, Hanukkah, and Christmas focus on God. So does Thanksgiving, but it focuses on appreciating what the other holidays represent.
My earliest memories of Thanksgiving are of my sister and me riding in the back seat of my mom’s 1960 model Buick and traveling from one grandparent’s house to the other. I was very fortunate as a child. Virtually all members of both sides of my family lived in the same town.
Ashdown, Arkansas, was ...
Continue Reading →
The last time my wife and I were in Las Vegas was 1996. We were on our honeymoon.
Thanks to Hurricane Matthew and its impact on Savannah, Georgia, we were back in Vegas for our 20th anniversary. Our original plan was to tour one of America’s oldest cities and eat at Paula Deen’s restaurant, The Lady and Sons. But, at the last minute, we had to go to plan B.
My wife’s skillful management with rerouting flights and booking new hotel accommodations ...
Continue Reading →
We weren’t sitting in the very back of the room, but we were pretty close.
By the time I found out that syndicated columnist and FOX News commentator Charles Krauthammer was speaking in Longview, many of the tickets had already been sold. Fortunately, I was able to snag two in the back of the center section, so our seats were good.
First, let me say that I don’t often spend money to hear people speak in person that I can hear speak ...
Continue Reading →
Wanna hear something really scary? If the estimates are correct, you’ll drop an average of $74 bucks for Halloween.
$6.9 billion. That was Fortune Magazine’s estimate in 2015 for the total amount Americans spent on Halloween. That included candy, costumes, and decorations. This year likely will be close to the same totals.
So, why do we celebrate Halloween? What makes us shell out hard-earned cash for large quantities of candy and dress up like ghoulish figures and politicians? Please forgive my redundancy.
According ...
Continue Reading →
It’s time for hats to make a comeback.
I honestly thought that when Harrison Ford donned his fedora in the first Indiana Jones movie that hats would return to their rightful place atop men’s heads.
Tom Landry was one of the last men of my youth to wear a hat as part of his attire. It didn’t matter if it was 100 degrees on the sideline, Mr. Landry was always there with his trademark suit, tie, and fedora.
The men of my grandfather’s ...
Continue Reading →
“The choice for mankind lies between freedom and happiness and for the great bulk of mankind, happiness is better.” ― George Orwell, 1984
We trust way too much of what we see, hear, and read. We do it because it’s convenient, and we do it because it’s comfortable.
As a child, I was frequently admonished by my parents, teachers and other adults to “think for myself.” If I was repeating something that I had heard another kid pass off as gospel, I ...
Continue Reading →