Columns/Opinions

A recent one-night bout with insomnia and the always-resulting thought swirls, resurrected some childhood experiences that steeled the determination already being forced into my young mind about “succeeding in life.”

My parents worked hard as beginner farmer-ranchers to successfully keep us a few meals above the starvation-poverty level. Their aim was twofold: providing a living and setting an example of “trying to get ahead.” That was the battle cry of most post-World War II families.

Most of us are or have been dreamers. As youngsters, we see or read about successful, well-known people. Everyone says wonderful things about them, so we start developing our ideas about life’s journey based on those attitudes.

You know how it is when you’re a kid — especially stinky little ol’ boys — and someone has something just a little different about them, little ol’ boys will tease the dickens out of the odd duck.

Being the oldest of four boys (three at the time of this story), I was charged with keeping an eye on the others. And, of course, it was your bound and duty to prevent any harm coming their way. Sort of like an Old West movie…protect the good guys from any and all harm.

Dear Mayor Hill,

We greatly appreciate the assistance given to the Freestone County Historical Museum today by the Fairfield City Parks Department (Jerry Hughes) and the workers from the TDC Boyd Unit as supervised by Officer Mike Gaskin. The maintenance chores they completed are greatly appreciated and go a long way in providing for the continuing upkeep needs of our county museum's buildings and grounds. The preservation and maintenance of Freestone County history for public display and enjoyment would be difficult without this valuable support.

What’s the best barbecue “joint” in Texas? (I’m a language purist and won’t use bar-b-q unless it’s part of the establishment’s name.)

Of course, I don’t have the answer. Thousands of Lone Star wannabe aficionados do not either. I can state one thing with a certainty: Texas barbecue beats Louisiana’s version all hollow.

It is said that confession is good for the soul. Columnists can be guilty of gallow humor. The origin of that bit of wisdom about confession is unknown to me. Perhaps it was an early pope. Or, maybe it was a fundamentalist evangelical preacher seeking souls to come pouring down the aisle, tears flowing, guilt grabbing hold, ready to pledge their life and pocketbook

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In one of my brief departures from country newspaper editing, I spent two years as associate editor of a business association’s monthly magazine. It was merely seasoning for the much tastier livelihood of editing small town newspapers.
Texas Industry magazine was the official publication of the-then Texas Manufacturers Association, now the Texas Association of Business.
Texas Industry was a slick publication and ceased to exist years ago.
Half of the issues were devoted to specific business-industry categories such

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Memory is a big deal as we age. Some of us in the septuagenarian generation can handle long term/long ago remembrance, while others do well with short term recollection, things that happened in the recent past.
What prompted this examination of memory is a recent mistake with a special date, my youngest brother’s birthday.
I called to issue a “have a happy day,” and caught him just as he was walking into a business meeting.
He informed me it was not his birthday but rather our

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Anyone just starting out in reality’s work-a-day world is going to make mistakes...some of them real lulus.
As a kid, a teenager and, briefly, as a young man, I was a bit on the bashful, shy side.
Those who have known me from middle age to now, will laugh at the idea of my shyness.
Naturally, parents and their personalities —   both their familial and public — greatly influence most youngsters.
My folks were so shy that when they married on

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