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Thanksgivings are such a special time of the year. For most of us. For me it getting to see my loved ones. Sharing a big Thanksgiving meal and being thankful for one another. This year we planned a biggie. All four of my kids and most of their kids were to show up. All brought food. Lots of it. One grandchild even brought her kid (no we didn’t eat him), great-grandson named Iggy from Austin, Texas. We were all pretty thrilled with the idea of it all. I don’t really know who all showed up, such is the size of my family, but it was a good crowd.
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Thanksgiving? Here again? It’s almost stylish these days to say: “Thankful for what?” Well, let’s just look back a bit. One in particular noteworthy year in my life was 1963.
Read moreTexas has a lot going for it. One of the things -- there is a lot of wealth and pride residing south of the Red River and the growth of North Texas continues unchecked.
Read moreYou know, after a man retires he has more time to think. To think and perchance to dream. So said the old Bard. I saw in the Daily Oklahoman this past week that experts who do the “Farmers Old Almanac” are, again, predicting a harsh winter for Oklahoma and Texas. Sort of like last year, I wondered. It reminded me of ten winters back as I sat safely in my den dreaming of warm weather, my boat and camping. And by now I had retired and could play, fish, swim and run around as I pleased. The most wonderful part of my life had arrived, and my daydreams were indeed full of ideas about boats, fishing, and vacations those cold days. Life was good.
Read moreCovid perils are still holding forth. But just not so bad now as perhaps a week or two ago. And will it reload and again assert itself as the big news story of our time and be the killer it has been. I hope not. This Covid has terrorized the world long enough. Well, long enough for me. One doctor amazed at the denial among the anti-vaxxers reports that many of these deniers who have already been smacked down by this dreaded virus insist to the death (theirs) that they don’t have Covid. Such is the strength of the organizers of resistance to this happening. It’s very sad. But the denial is as real as the virus itself.
Read moreLast Sunday was a great day here in Allen. Anyone who ventured downtown last Sunday morning would notice that starting at the intersection of HWY 48 and Broadway, the street was closed. Big fire trucks had closed it both ways and on both ends. For those who had forgotten, last Sunday was when we had our city-wide back to church blast. Most of the churches closed down early and headed for Allen’s basketball gymnasium to have a city-wide church service. Its purpose was to give the community a chance to get together and engage in Sunday worship. It was to help us get over the Covid times of low attendance and encourage everyone to get back in church. The Pandemic seems to be winding down now and no one wants the town’s churches to wind down too.
Read moreIt’s sometimes hard to realize it in the moments they occur, but we are living tumultuous times. How do you reach back in America’s long history and try to harmonize our times with the rigorous and dangerous times in America’s past? Pearl Harbor perhaps? Only a few of us are still living who can remember that dreadful December day in 1941. It’s now long past. But I certainly remember Pearl Harbor.
Read moreNow that I am an 86-year-old person I am reminded anew almost every day about how forgetful old people are. But as I look back on my somewhat lackluster life I have to remind myself that my old age isn’t wholly responsible for my absentmindedness. I had a little bit of this even as a child. I remember overhearing my grandpa remark and sharing his concern with my mother about how forgetful I was, and this was when I was 6. Just last week I had to ask a young guy what his name is. A boy I knew quite well. I have often tried to cover this memory deficiency with saying things like, “oh he has a beard now.” But this guy didn’t. Sorry Dillon. So, I’ll just blame it on old age again, for now. And that works pretty well.
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