In December, the group I moderate, DIVAS, decided to celebrate Thanksgiving every Thursday. The ladies try to thank at least one person extra every Thursday and be thankful throughout the day. A word of encouragement goes a long way for someone feeling down or not on top of their game. Anyone can participate in Thankful Thursday, so join the bandwagon and beat the kindness drum. more

Chocolate chip cookies, the Slinky, Play-Doh, Post-It notes, and potato chips. The one thing they all have in common is this: They’re losers. more

It was one of those random conversations spurred by a bit on the news about population growth: Benton County, Arkansas, has experienced phenomenal growth. more

Dear Friends and Neighbors of the City of Buffalo/Dallas County R-1 Schools: more

Many of us at the Montgomery Senior Center have great concerns about our crossing the street to get into the center without getting run over. There have been many close calls. What would it take to get the city of Buffalo to put a flashing light or better signage to alert the drivers to slow down? I understand our Board has contacted the city and were told it cost too much. What has to happen, one of us getting hit by a vehicle or someone getting killed, you can’t put a cost on someone’s life. It would be nice to come up with a solution for this problem. more

As losses go, this isn't a big one. I shouldn't even care. Still, I'm sad about it. It's hard to accept that the best jeans in my closet – and possibly the world – are on their last threads.   more

I told myself I wouldn’t write this column, but Angela just won’t let go, nor would I wish it so. This is for all who mourn Angelas of their own: more

In the last century, a boy tried to impress me with his vocabulary. He thought I would fall in love with him by trying to intrigue me through intelligence. In the late 1970s, while other boys were playing sports, helping on the farm, and cruising the square. He was sitting at home, memorizing three new words each day. I have no idea how long it would take him to get through a Webster’s Dictionary. Nonetheless, he tried this method for at least a year. more

Good news, armchair critics: Young people can still write compelling and coherent prose and poetry with exceptional candor and grammatical skill. more

Recently, I took my two youngest grandchildren to the jump park at the Battlefield Mall. more

I'm lucky that my first professional writing job was in a newsroom because it taught me something important: You don't need a perfect environment to get work done. You don't need silence, an organized room, a particular candle, or a big chunk of time.  more

Two days ago, while sitting at my desk attempting to be a productive human, a noise broke my focus and nearly broke my window, too.  more