Soon after the turn of the century, I learned something that would change my life forever. The late Mrs. Eva Easley, a faithful reader of my column in Bluefield, W.Va., told me that she had learned from a reliable source that 61 percent of low-income families in our nation had no books in their homes. Can you imagine what kind of future a child reared in this kind of environment has? To be sure, it would not be good. If you check the statistics, you will learn that a great…

One of the most precious things in all the world is something we call HOPE, because when we lose hope, we lose everything. When it comes to losing hope for the future of our nation, I for one am not about to let that happen. In this sense you might say that I am on a mission for God. A quick history lesson. You know, we fought the War for Independence against England, our mother country. WE WON! And when it comes to the war being waged against mothers in…

Have you ever thought about what kind of person would go off and leave a toddler or a small helpless child, during the HOT summer months, in a hot car, van or any other vehicle for any length of time? In my thinking I may have overlooked something, but I am going to give you my answer to this question. A person who would do this is either high on something, not playing with a full deck, or is not the child’s parent. Each year during the summer months, there…

As the Scottish historian and poet Sir Walter Scott has said, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Today I want to share a true story with you that fits this saying to a tee. This story took place on a nearby mountain and, due to the nature of this true story, I won’t tell you names, dates or locations out of respect to those who were adversely affected. There was a beautiful woman who lived on this nearby mountain with her two sons.…

If you have a particular job to do and want it done right, what should you do? Now, before I proceed, let me say there are two correct answers. The first correct answer is, assuming you are qualified, to do it yourself. The next correct answer is to retain someone else who is qualified to do the job and who is efficient and reasonable. Now, if you think about this, it is a process that goes on every day in homes and families all across our nation. This should merit…

In the 1950s, the late Earl Nightingale wrote an inspirational recording called “The Strangest Secret” that sold a million copies. And what is the strangest secret you say? Well, the strangest secret is that we become what we think about. A man is what he thinks about all day long, and if he thinks about nothing, he becomes nothing. Now, that is simple, but it is nevertheless true. If the number of gold medals in the Olympics is any indication of what most Americans are thinking about, it becomes obvious…

To be sure, what I want to share with you today is not on the lips of every American citizen. However, from time to time we need to revisit our roots, as this gives us perspective into what is taking place in America today. No doubt you have heard the name Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He was a 19th century educationist and poet who penned some of the most memorable poems in the history of American literature. Other than being a poet of great repute, Longfellow was also a professor at…

In the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin wrote a book titled “Poor Richard’s Almanac” that was credited with being the only book that was in every American home. Of course, today we have many thousands of times more homes than there were back then, and I feel my book “Your Future Begins Today,” deserves to be in most of them. After you read what I have to share in this column, I believe you will agree with me that there is no other book like it in the world. I did…

It’s time once again to look at another state in our great nation. Hope you are enjoying and benefiting from this series, as I only do one state each quarter. Our state today is California, and as far back as I can remember this state has been known as a trendsetter state. When I was growing up back in the 1950s, we knew that when something new came along, it was just a matter of time until it would sweep all across the nation and there would not be one…

There is a natural law that controls everything in the universe, and it is called the law of cause and effect. While most people do not know fully about this great law, the law we do know about is the law of gravity. We know that if we get on top of a building and fall off, we will always go down, we will never go up. The thing that is important for every person to understand is that natural laws always work, without exception, and they literally control our…