latest
Though out of character for a Saturday, I laid down for a nap this past weekend and woke about an hour later to delicate rays of sun breaking through the clouds and my curtains. It was in this twilight sleep state wanting to be still and not move when I had a flashback.
Read more
I was talking with some young people just recently and when I mentioned that I am a retired math teacher, they proceeded to ask, “The Question.” “Why do we need to learn geometry anyway – especially if we’re never going to use it?” And there it was - “The Question.” I was sort of stunned for a moment, but I took a deep breath did my best to give them the best answer that I could. I thought about answering their question like, “Why do we need to learn anything?” but I reconsidered. In fact, when I was their age, I had the same kind of questions. However, now that I am where I am, I thought that even though they asked a tough question, I believed that it should be answered.
Read more
Readers may recall my recent column about my gentleman friend’s puzzle snobbery and his preference for what I call “phony” puzzles – you know, those teensy-weensy puzzles you work on your phone? But as the commercial says… wait, there’s more!
Read more
I was thinking about the concept of friendship not too long ago and I came to realize that I have different levels of friendship for the different types of relationships that I am involved in. Not different levels of people, of course, that would make me some sort of a bigot, which I sincerely hope that I am not.
Read more
Once again, my adopted hometown of Navasota knocked it out of the park – this time with the 9th Annual Texas Birthday Bash! Instead of being on-the-job behind my Nikon Saturday night, I was able to sit and enjoy the music and “people watch” with my gentleman friend, and it’s my opinion that the colorful stage lighting could have been powered by the illumination of the smiling faces alone. I know we have readers with a different opinion on mask wearing, but it’s mine that the mask-free happy, smiling faces were a beautiful sight to behold and long overdue.
Read more
How great is it to have a rich uncle? Someone who has your back and takes care of you by slipping you a few bucks every now and then.
Read more
We are now one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and if this incident has taught us anything, it is that we all need each other. At the beginning, officials talked about “essential” workers and “non-essential” workers. News media was immediately deemed essential because of our vital role in pro viding updates to the community, and we take that role very seriously at The Examiner.
Read more
I was recently at a civic meeting which began with The Pledge of Allegiance and it gave me pause to think about the words of that text and what they really mean. I have spoken those words thousands of times over the years, but I had never really contemplated the deeper meaning of the work itself. Writers choose certain words as part of their craft to convey certain emotions, feelings, and inferences. This was certainly the case when The Bellamy Salute was originally written in 1892 which became known as The Pledge of Allegiance in 1923. Here is my close reading of Our Pledge.
Read more