Saddened. Embarrassed. Determined. These three words evoke distinct feelings and emotions. In the context of an opinion piece we ran in the paper four and a half years ago, they described the aftermath of a community that lost its newspaper. After 130 years in...
A word from our sponsors
Commercials used to be great. They used to be an art form. They used to be fun. Today’s advertising is boring in comparison. Television commercials were something to which I looked forward when I was a kid. Some were better developed and more interesting than the...
Quakes prompt officials to limit disposal wells
The Texas Railroad Commission has suspended nearly two dozen permits that allow oil and gas companies to inject saltwater into the ground, which regulators say has contributed to increased earthquakes of greater magnitude in West Texas. The Austin American Statesman...
The Walking Dad
It’s obvious that I have to wait to die until after everyone else in my home goes. Otherwise, every light in the house will be left on for all of eternity. My dad used to say that I could leave on all of the lights whenever I started paying the bills. That time has...
Small town living: some leave, some come back
Small town Ashdown, Arkansas. John Moore You learn things when you grow up in a small town. Things you don’t learn if you grow up anywhere else. Things that are special. I was born in a small town. But I didn’t stay. I left for the same reasons other folks leave their...
There’s ‘snow’ ice cream quite like it!
It didn’t snow much in Ashdown, Arkansas in the 1960s. It doesn’t snow there much now. But when it did, and when it does, kids there know exactly what to do. Beg their moms to make snow ice cream. It was my mother who showed my sister and me that you could make ice...
Sears catalog was ‘our’ Amazon in the 1950s and 60s
As a young kid, I thought that every family did exactly the same things ours did. That included what and how we did Christmas. Turned out, there were two ways to approach collecting your loot. That is to say, seeing what Santa brought. One, which was more traditional,...
Texas Supreme Court hears abortion ban challenge
The Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in a case that could decide whether medical exceptions to the state’s abortion ban are written clearly enough to protect pregnant women who face serious health risks, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The 22...
Abbott: Battle continues over vouchers
As time runs out next week on the fourth special session, Gov. Greg Abbott said he will continue to fight for school choice, despite the Texas House once again decisively rejecting it when 21 Republicans largely from rural districts joined Democrats in stripping it...