He is a glorious sight to behold

When she was nineteen months old, Helen Keller suffered what was most likely Scarlet Fever, which left her blind. She wrote in her autobiography, The Story of My Life, “In the dreary month of February, came the illness which closed my eyes and ears. The doctor thought I could not live.

Downtown’s do-over

Rockdale is looking better, and downtown’s potential is huge A“star marks the spot” and a landmark in progress will make a good impression to visitors. Downtown Rockdale, after years of struggle, is looking up.

Dad’s surgery: coincidences abound

The Cooke family is happy to report our father, Bill, who wrangled words on these pages for 60-plus years, is doing very well after hip replacement surgery.

Stress-free for a while after holiday

Ever since I got back from my vacation I have felt like a wet noodle. It’s been a long time since I’ve been stress-free. I’m sure it will all come back at some point but I’m enjoying it while it lasts.

Looking back...

100 YEARS AGO The city council received and had strung out some underground water pipe— 2,600 feet of 6-inch and 2,100 feet of 8-inch pipe. The pipe was replacing the six- and four-inch water mains belting the business district.

We can only imagine

If you have ever seen me you can tell I’m not a foodie. My favorite food group is sugar. I could live on Dr. Pepper and candy, preferably chocolate candy. I used to have a little coffee with my sugar.

Harness your super power for the world

Action Comics introduced Superman in 1938. The radio adaptation, “The Adventures of Superman,” began broadcasting in 1940 with this now famous opening: “Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird!

Immigration

There is another crush of immigrants on the Texas-Mexico border. We’ve seen it before, last year, the year before and going back to 1910 when as many as 1 million Mexicans crossed the border into the United States to escape the Mexican Civil War.

You know your church is redneck if…

Following in my father’s footsteps this week’s column is church humor provided by former Rockdale Coach June Owen. You know your church is redneck if… • The finance committee refuses to provide funds for the purchase of a chandelier because none of the members knows how to play one.

A town’s lifeblood: Why you shop local

Those that know my wife and me know we take shopping local seriously. We strive on a daily basis to shop locally as much as possible, and for the last few years we have upped the game on a mission to do all of our holiday shopping locally.