[August 5, 2023] In the summer of 1966, just before High School, I helped a local potato farmer with his crops. I don’t remember if I ever had a dirtier job, yet I both enjoyed and hated working the fields because it was a cross between picking cotton and cleaning pigpens; it was smelly, sweltering, filthy, humid, and… Read More »
[August 4, 2023] U.S. Army General George S. Patton is known as one of America’s greatest leaders. Fortunately, he led much of the WW2 European Theatre effort against the Nazi military machine. What I learned most from reading his speeches and anecdotes from his Soldiers was that the way to be the greatest person you can be is… Read More »
[July 29, 2023] My first fistfight, the first of many, began with my best friend. He lived next door, was my age and in the same grade, looked a lot like me, yet we were always at odds, often angry at each other. Yet, looking back, I cannot recall a single reason for being angry or any reason… Read More »
[July 27, 2023] If you have an argument with a family member, and you “win” (by any measure of your choice), you have not won. Period. As an early teenager, I had a nasty argument with my mom over money. My logic in arguing with her was flawless. I won easily. It was a slam dunk, and everyone… Read More »
[July 26, 2023] I must honestly say I may have never read the Constitution of the United States. If I did read it, I really don’t remember when or where. I do recall all during my lifetime. I heard people on TV, people on talk radio read about the Constitution in newspapers. I always heard about our Supreme… Read More »
[July 24, 2023] From the earliest days of my young life! My Granddaddy Smith owned a large, mangy, ugly, tough, mean-as-heck tomcat. His name? “Tom.” More kittens were born because of his virility than any cat in that town. His harem of female cats was huge, but they all served a valuable function on Granddaddy’s property by… Read More »
[July 19, 2023] My dad was a New York Yankees fan, and by default, so was I. To this day, I never knew why; we lived in the Deep South, where professional baseball was king, but my dad still insisted the Yankees were the team we would follow, and all three of us kids (later four) will always… Read More »
[July 16, 2023] He was an obnoxious, arrogant, self-centered, spiteful bully with a streak of hate running through his black heart. Our family had just moved to a new town, and I was academically transferred to my new Junior High, just a few miles from where I grew up but, in actuality, an entire world away. I… Read More »
[July 11, 2023] For several years, I’ve had a series on courage (links here), and it is one of the more popular and garnering many comments across the political spectrum. I’m proud to write today about a young lady who truly embodies the spirit of courage, and she is Riley Gaines, an American former competitive swimmer who competed… Read More »
[July 10, 2023] I was born in Arkansas, close to a line of small towns that ran south into Louisiana along what is now state Route 165, where all my relatives married, worked, raised their families, and died. My hometown is Mer Rouge, where I learned to be a young man. I lived in this little village, without… Read More »