‘He has Van Gogh’s ear for music’

FALLING FAR FROM THE TREE Here are some funny insults that come to me from Hal Reagan, who is a good supplier of funny things by email. These insults are from an era before the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words. Insults then, had some class.

No-fly list

Mask mandates are gone but too many flyers are still acting violently There are places where violence can be particularly destructive. Inside a fuselage jammed with people flying at 600 mph at 30,000 feet is certainly one of them.

I invented the cordless extension cord

About the same time I was coming of age in the 1980s, comedian Steven Wright was just getting his start. His act was so different that he became popular very quickly and landed his own HBO special which rapidly gave him a cult-like following, including yours truly.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dear editor, The Mid-Texas Area Central Drop-off Location at Immanuel Baptist Church in Temple received 17, 336 Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts loaded on semi-tractor trailers were processed and sent to children in need in the countries of Chile, Botswana, Columbia, Ecuador, Haiti,...

LOOKING BACK

10-20-40-100 YEARS AGO 100 YEARS AGO… The Chamber of Commerce was considering the matter of securing a cotton classer for Rockdale for the coming season and on March 27 at the Chamber of Commerce rooms in the city hall building, a special meeting of businesses men and farmers was to be held. John B.

Improving medical care in rural Texas

Before I start this article, I felt it necessary to let everyone know that my wife is a nurse practitioner here in Milam County; however, that still doesn’t change my opinion on the very important topic of Rural Healthcare.

Bearing the mysterious mark of Cain

Children have an innate sense of fairness. I remember watching a set-up in which a friendly adult presents a small child with one of those translucent suckers that the doctor used to give kids after they had been given a shot. The child smiles broadly.

Making good decisions

I’m on a roll. I’ve made a series of really good decisions lately. Do you ever feel like that? It’s like being in the zone on a basketball court. In other words if I’m on your team you want to get the ball to me because every shot is going in.

Hunters potty in woods? Don’t tell the feds

In 2010, according to documents sent to me by friend Hal Reagan, a complaint filed with both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Equality (TCEQ), produced a magnificent response from a rural Texas county judge. I ran this through Snopes.

Looking back...

100 YEARS AGO… One of the most shocking tragedies Milam County had ever known occurred in the Forest Grove-Hicks community, nine miles south of Rockdale, when Lavina Alford, the 7-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs.