I've written about my passion for letter writing and my new hobby with postcard exchanges worldwide. But did you know that there is a holiday to celebrate the art of writing a letter? more

Dad was a coon hunter and I was the boy who tagged along behind him. more

To the Buffalo Community, more

It’s late November and my mind begins to dwell on Thanksgiving dinner— not eating, but cooking. more

I’m not a Black Friday shopper. I’m a Black Friday sleeper. While the stores see black on the bottom line, the only black I see is the inside of my eyelids while I dream about which Thanksgiving leftovers to eat first. more

How many of you remember the summer movies? I know I should be featuring this column in the summer, but the photo I'm featuring here was posted recently on a Facebook site. It shows the northeast corner of the Springfield Square. A portion of the information pointed out the sign on the back of number 167 bus advertising the Cat and the Fiddle. For those of you who don't know where the restaurant was, it was located on South Glenstone, on the south end of the Plaza Shopping Center. more

I've gone on several dates this last week with a different person each night. I decided to stay young and relevant by dipping my toe in the dating scene. more

Recently, a friend posted a list of activities on social media and asked the reader to count how many they have accomplished. I had done most of the list; others had done only about half. I have lived a full life with adventures, including eating octopus and living for a week in a monastery. more

First it was the Screen Actors Guild and the Writers Guild of America making strike headlines, then the United Auto Workers. more

Have you heard the bells? Each year during the holiday season, there are individuals standing at the doors of local businesses ringing a bell and asking for donations for the Salvation Army. When you make a donation at one of those local businesses, eighty-five percent of those funds stay right here in Dallas County to help with needs like utilities, housing, school supplies and food. Our local Salvation Army Extension Unit is administered by a board of local leaders who are excited and hopeful for this year’s bell ringing campaign. Bell ringing will be on Fridays and Saturdays starting the day after Thanksgiving at WoodsSupermarket, Buffalo Wal-Mart, and Cashsaver. If you or your organization would like to volunteer to ring bells, contact Salvation Army via email at mark@buffalocalvary.com or by calling (417) 345-6418. If you are in need of assistance from the Salvation Army, please contact them via the OACAC Neighborhood Center at (417) 345-7964. If you want to support an organization that makes an impact in the lives of Dallas County residents, come out and fill the kettles this holiday season! more

There should be a warning on this column because it’s graphic, and if your stomach is as weak as mine, perhaps you should turn back now and save yourself. more

We can all agree once a human egg is fertilized, it cannot become anything but a human being. Just as with anything that grows, it is alive. Cells divide thus life. My only way to see this is a human life at fertilization. And for humans, it is not controversial that we do not take a human life. So, if I could make the rules, there would only be life. Abortion would not even be a word associated with human life.
I’m a practical realist. In large democratic societies, getting what one wants, I mean one specific individual, is often not possible. One has to decide among many or at least several alternatives. One has to determine what guides one’s beliefs and how one may accommodate others with differing opinions. That may be defined using terms such as an understanding, deal, bargain, trade-off, middle ground, settlement, or compromise. It leads to agreement on how society will address a particular issue. Of course, if one side or the other (or one of many sides) feels their accommodation is more than they can “stomach,” the issue is not settled and will become an issue that will have to be addressed again and likely again and again. more

I've commented before how I believed my mother's memories were on a Rolodex. It was not unusual for her file cards to twirl around, then stop on a new story. That is what happened recently with my brother Jimmy's Rolodex cards. They stopped on a memory about our old bull getting our dad cornered in the pasture. That bull was intent on doing some harm. more

Sunday morning, I ran into my friend Joe in the church lobby and asked him what my column subject should be about. Joe said, "How about the disease that none of us asked to own?" Why not? So, here it goes. more

Now that I’m nearing the bottom of the other side of the hill, I think I have a little better understanding of most things. more

For most of my life our nation’s commanders-in-chief were seasoned by military service, nine tempered in the fire of combat service. more

On my desk, there are three essential things – my laptop, a computer mouse, and a no-frills, lined pad of paper. Without the computer and mouse, nothing could get done. But without that humble pad of paper where I scribble my to-do list, I wouldn’t remember what needed doing in the first place. more

Recently at the Fair Grove Senior Center, a fellow said, "We talked about you last night." more

In September, I've been interviewing women for the annual ladies' journal for the Buffalo Reflex. The old timers would say all of them are from good stock. Meeting women of all ages committed to their families, spiritual lives, careers and community support is refreshing. more

I was going to call this essay “What we did on our summer vacation,” though we didn’t go until early October. more

It finally happened. After a stifling summer in the broiler, fall temperatures dipped to a crisp, cool 58 degrees. And that meant it was time for the annual changing of the closet. more

The afternoon of September 30, 2023, came and went with its fair share of drama, including narrowly avoiding a government shutdown and the subsequent ousting of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. One significant item largely flew under the radar, which was the expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill. Despite not gaining as much media attention as a continuing resolution or the House Speaker’s removal, the expiration of the farm bill is a big deal in farm country.  more

Do young people have as much fun as we did when we were that age? Fun, mischief, whatever you would call it. Mostly mischief. more

I always thought I would be the old lady down the street that kids would describe as the aging hippie lady. I fit the bill some days. Since retiring, I've been wearing the wardrobe I feel most comfortable in--loose dresses in all tie-dye colors. I wear knock-off Birkenstocks in all colors. In fact, I have all colors of Funky Monkey sandals. My favorite sandal is also patterned with tie-dye. more

If statistics are to be believed, I’m part of a shrinking minority: I go to church every Sunday. more