Leadership to Aspire to

The following is a lightly edited version of an essay that originally ran on Presidents’ Day in 2020. Every Presidents’ Day, I find it vitally important to consider the essential qualities of a good leader and I encourage you to do so as well.

BLACK BEAUTY RANCH

Black Beauty ranch, just outside of Murchison near Athens, is one of the most unique places in Texas.

Back on Track

We all have dreams, goals, and aspirations, and when we decide that we will try to accomplish them, we start strong; then, after some time, some of us begin to fade and get off track. We all have exactly twenty-four hours in a day.

Faces & Places

You know, there’s a uh, during World War II, uh, you know, where Roosevelt came up with a thing uh, that uh, you know, was totally different than a, than the, the, it’s called, he called it the, you know, the World War II, he had the war – the War Production Board.

Thanks to the candidates

With early voting opening this week, voters across the state are casting ballots for the upcoming March Primary, and while further up the governmental ladder the election will determine party representatives, on the rungs of our local races, the primary will determine the final outcomes.

Soil of Local Culture

What makes local culture, anyway? In “The Work of Local Culture,” Wendell Berry tells the story of an old bucket hanging on a fencepost near his farm. Leaves fall into the bucket. Mice and squirrels come and go and drop acorns into it. Bird droppings and feathers find their way into the bucket.

A ROMANCE RE-KINDLED BY EMAIL

Curt Waldrip of Liberty grew up Bellmead near Waco where he played football and ran track in high school. He has worked as a soldier, teacher (physics and chemistry), DJ and in the nuclear field. He even jousted at a renaissance festival. In 1999 he got a job with Verizon Communications.

Switch Your Focus

I talked to a close friend the other day, and when I asked him how he was doing, he declared, "I'm terrible." He went on to say how awful his life was. It didn't matter what he talked about; he had a negative take on it.

Faces & Places

“What does freedom mean?

SANTA ANNA VISITED WALLISVILLE

Wallisville is a small community east of the Trinity River just south of Interstate 10 in Chambers County. It is on the site of a former French trading post and was named for the first family that settled the area. Rice and cotton became the major crops.