Opinion

In July of 1978 I loaded up my wife and six-month old daughter and moved to Saudi Arabia for sixteen won- derful years of work and adventure. While the work was challenging and exciting it was the local Saudi Arab that was a true delight to be associated with. The company was not an old aging mega-gi- ant as compared …

Living without limits. Living your life to the fullest. Living with happiness. Living your dreams. Living free from fear and worry. You have the power to live your life any way you want. You will never be as young as you are today. So squeeze the most out of every day. Whatever has happened to you in the past is …

Life is what happens while you are making otherplans. I have devoted a lot of space in this column toplanning and goal setting. Reality offers an endless barrageof diversions, detours, challenges, and obstacles.This fact doesn’t negate the benefit of preparation. Itsimply requires an understanding of the typeof forces at work.A sailor would be remiss if he didn’t understandhow to handle …

I saw a castle rising out of the sea – or so I thought.It was a photo that popped up on my computer screen:a breathtaking shot of the southern coast of Australia. Anisland sat in the middle of the water, waves lappinggently against its rugged edges, and rightin the middle stood something that looked likean old-world fortress, straight out of …

Several years ago it was announced about the executionof a Syrian archeologist, historian and curator of oneof the most spectacular archeological sites in the MiddleEast. ISIS took this eighty-one year old scholar to thecity square of Palmyra and during the busiest time of theday ISIS decapitated him. His headless bodywas hung from a pole in town. His crime wasspending his …

What’s the saying? All good things must come to anend? We experience a number of “lasts.” In the secularworld, I recall The Last Picture Show, the Last of the Mohicans,The Last Samurai. In the religious world, Christianitysays there are four last things: death,judgment, heaven and hell. We give the dyingfaithful last rites, and we recall the Last Supper.Taverns have a …

In 1965 Otis Redding wrote and released his song “Respect”. The music was rearranged and released by Aretha Franklin in 1967 and became the hit song that we probably remember today. Though the arrangement changed, the message was the same; respect is import- ant in anyone’s life. “Respect” is defined as “due regard for the feelings, wishes, or rights of …

Evenings at our house tend to follow a familiar script – a lineup that features John Wayne one night, Charlie Chaplin the next and a Disney moment when the mood’s right. Yes, we’re talking about Hubby’s movie re- runs. And by “reruns,” I mean the same hand- ful of films that seem to play on a never-ending loop.

In the early days of writing it seemed that the subjectsto write about were endless. There was so much thatcould get fixed and we would see a much stronger futurefor our children and their children. This ranged fromthe price of gas at the pumps to the strangling regulationsto how the country could learn about votingfrom Louisiana. Then a new administrationcame …

My love of writing and sharing experiences beganmany years ago. In the fourth grade I joined 4H andwas elected reporter. Every month I would walk frommy home in the middle of Farmerville to the Gazetteoffice and present my 4H article to Ben Lee, the ownerof the Farmerville Gazette. These in turnwould be published. I loved it and over timeI discovered …