In the age of small sound bites, it has become evident that many people forgo reading and understanding our country’s founding documents, like the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They quote bits from them, containing an agenda matching theirs, as if it were the law. Recently, members of an online group were up in…
Read moreDad-Deprived Boys – Rejected!
This article was rejected for publication in Ennis News. The reason was that this topic is too sensitive in the current social climate. Their reasons are valid. Newspapers, especially local papers, have to walk a fine line so as not to offend readers and advertisers in order to survive. For myself, I consider this topic…
Read moreThe Full Truth Matters
Due to the recent fall, I’ve not been writing my column for a few months. Dealing with the pain while healing and being behind in my chores somewhat dulled my inspiration to put pen to paper. Reading “News That’s Fit to Print” in the opinion column of the November 13th issue of the Ennis Daily…
Read moreWise Old Men?
In many past cultures, older men and women were traditionally asked by the younger generations to provide answers to life’s questions and problems. Often, it happened in a seated circle in the council hut with others gathered to listen and learn. Though women may have taken part, it was typically the oldest man who provided…
Read moreModern Day Vigilantes
I enjoyed quite a number of popular western TV series in my younger days. It was common to see mobs of townspeople depicted, gathered at the sheriff’s office, demanding he release some presumed guilty prisoner to be hung without delay. The sheriff would invariably face down the leader, and send the disgruntled group away. Whether…
Read moreLetter To Rylan
I stumbled across this file on my computer, written in November 2016, but I don’t recall the young man, nor his original correspondence to me. It seems obvious from my reply that he wanted to be “of service” to his country, but not necessarily in the military. In any case, I thought you might enjoy…
Read moreThe Power of Words
Most of us have heard the expression, “The pen is mightier than the sword”, coined by a writer in the 1800s. There are more ancient versions, such as “The word is mightier than the sword” from the 7th century B.C. and “The tongue is mightier than the blade” from 406 B.C. The idea of the…
Read moreHonor Thy Homemaker
Many words or phrases have been discarded in our language once they have achieved a negative or demeaning connotation. In the past few decades, the term “housewife” was supplanted by “homemaker.” More recently, it has been replaced by the phrase “stay-at-home mom”. It seems the attitude and value placed on the position have been brought…
Read moreHome Schooling
My mother and I have hired two home schooled youths to do garden and farm work in recent times. The young man who helps my mother is 14, and my helper is 17. Both work very hard and display excellent manners. What do I consider so remarkable? Almost every home schooled youngster of either gender…
Read moreHome Schooling – Part 2
I am not actually obsessed with the subject of home schooling, but I have written about it often. I firmly believe there is no better form of primary and secondary education than having at least one interested and capable parent, able to supervise the curriculum provided by accredited sources. Decades ago, home schooling was different…
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