[November 17, 2024] Thank goodness the U.S. election is over. I was getting a couple dozen text messages, phone calls, and emails that clogged my social media. I learned how to shortcut “spam” and “block” quickly, but my efforts didn’t seem to slow them down. Some acquaintances of mine went berserk when their favorite candidate lost. Gee, get… Read More »
[April 20, 2026] Back in the early 1960s, us kids grabbed the Sunday paper for one big reason: the comics. Right in the middle sat Snuffy Smith, the lazy hillbilly from Hootin’ Holler. Yes! I could identify with him. He was just like my Grandpappy Smith from a small, cozy town in Louisiana with no traffic light. Snuffy,… Read More »
Iraq War Pre-Surge: my View [January 16, 2026] In a few months, it will be twenty years since I arrived for my second combat tour, part of the Iraq War (2003-2011). Such a time past gives me time to reflect, and despite some details being lost to old memories, I think I can put the war in a… Read More »
[January 20, 2026] By now, most know that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has given his tacit approval “by all means possible” to resist ICE in his state. He has approved any behavior that pushes back against law enforcement, removing illegal immigrants. This is a green light for violence. An anti-ICE mob disrupted the Sunday morning religious service at… Read More »
[June 23, 2025] To be upfront this morning, I had not planned on writing this article about America’s strike on Iran for a few more days. Phone calls from a number of friends and acquaintances changed my mind. The first call was from a retired construction manager, the kind of person who is known to be one tough… Read More »
[January 7, 2025] The year ended with the execution of Saddam Hussein by hanging at approximately 5:00 in the morning on Saturday, December 30, 2006. His execution was for crimes against humanity. His co-conspirators were executed later. U.S. Americans had no part in the execution because this was part of our philosophy of allowing the Iraqis to run… Read More »
Letters to My Granddaughter, Epilogue [November 20, 2024] Here is some good news. That skinny small-town boy from the Deep South – and born on the bayou (like the 1969 CCR song) – turned out okay. I would marry and have two children; the happiest days of my life were their birth and their growing up. Nothing is… Read More »
[October 4, 2023] “For the hundredth time, Douglas, stop picking your nose while eating.” Mom was a stickler for good manners because she was interested in civilizing us kids. She knew that well-mannered children who say “please” and “thank you” and know how to shake hands, present a genuine smile, and listen politely to adults, then adults will… Read More »
[September 15, 2023] I found the bamboo fishing pole sticking out of the water back along a hidden dirt bank. I was really young, maybe seven years old, when my good friend Albert was going to show me a great fishing hole in the Bayou Bonne Idee just east of town. It was Saturday morning as we agreed… Read More »
[September 4, 2023] I was very young and did not witness the brave act of one lone man who stood up against the powerful and very dangerous Ku Klux Klan. But the whole town knew, for some were witnesses when the local Marshal blocked the KKK from entering this rural town. It was shortly before I was born,… Read More »