Dear Mr. Editor:
My Name is Buddy and I am a dog!. I have heard people say that I may be a Black Mouth Cur, which doesn”t sound like a very high falutin’ pedigree but I have also heard that my parents may have been cattle dogs on a ranch in Mason County, and that is good enough for me.
Anyway, I am sending you this letter so that I can thank SECOND CHANCE for giving me a forever home.
Tonight, the first Presidential debate will be held between President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden. Political prognosticators have noted that it's highly unlikely any viewers will be swayed by what they see; but, like a demolition derby, they will simply watch for the entertainment value it promises to deliver.
It is sad that we've gotten to this stage in our republic where the selection of our leaders is predicated more upon zingers and put downs than on policy and promise.
With the way things are going now days: political unrest, rioting, taking offence or taking someone else’s offence without knowing the whole truth, I thought it would be good to remember these words of wisdom: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all” Pray for wisdom from God before you speak.
(Originally written 30 years ago, this recalls one of Mason County's darker moments.)
I was just a little tense. As I drove slowly up the dirt road to our ranch house both hands gripped the steering wheel tighter than usual. My body was erect, almost stiff. Eyes searched the road ahead for any sign of human footprints.
As I approached the house and barns, I scanned every nook and cranny for human forms or movement.
Creeping to a halt in front of the house.
When someone suggests that life is difficult, there’s the temptation to ask, “Compared to what?”
Actors dating back to Shakespeare have cited another comparison concerning the difficulty of making audiences laugh. They’ve said it thusly: “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.”
Within a specific current context, Fletcher’s Corny Dog Pop-Up Stands are offering “bargains” when compared to the Dallas Cowboys’ take-out menu during games at AT&T Stadium.
It is probably not surprising that many of the questions I’ve received recently are about the current COVID-19 epidemic. This epidemic has affected all of our lives and livelihoods, and many of us have friends or loved ones who have suffered or even died from COVID-19. Unfortunately, many discussions of the disease and the epidemic have become conflated with political viewpoints surrounding the upcoming presidential election, which has made straight talk about the epidemic difficult.
Fall is here. I hope we get the cooler weather we have been looking for. And, while I am hoping, we could use a little more rain. Welcome to pumpkin season. Halloween will be here before we are ready. Then we will have the Thanksgiving holiday. Christmas decorations are already in the store, but Christmas is still three months away.
As I've shared on occasion, I never write my columns in advance. I choose to wait until Tuesday morning and to let whatever is troubling me, or pleasing me, or just buzzing around my head -- to come tumbling out on to the page. Some weeks, that can be a painful and tortured process and I sometimes worry if I'll be able to find the words I need for my space in the paper.
I've been writing my own column for 20 of the 21 years I've been at the newspaper.
It is not uncommon for churches to bear the name of the community in which they are located.
For example, in my Texas Hill County Telephone Cooperative phone book there are listings for Fredericksburg Bible Church, Hunt Baptist Church, Kerrville Nazarene Church, Medina United Methodist Church and Uvalde Mennonite Church.
All of these are simple combinations of the name of a community and the name of a particular church group.
It quickly became the perfect storm, powerful enough to make strong men cry. The same goes for strong women, too, but Kim Peacock, president of GNS Foods in Arlington, is giving her all to keep her family-owned specialty premium nut company afloat despite “blows to the bow” that might cause others to jump ship.
Consider this: She started her company with hopes, dreams and plans in 1990, and until recently, things were going well with roasting of absolute best nuts, then packaging them f ...
