If inflation and the high cost of gasoline is causing you to change your habits, the way you do things and the places you go, I have a good suggestion that may be of interest.

At our home, Janis and I have a new pastime that is very enjoyable. We now watch the Arkansas Razorbacks sports teams on television. Most recently we watched the Razorback baseball team as they were involved in post-season play.

In the beginning, one of the things that really attracted us to the games is one of the players by the name of Cayden Wallace. Cayden is from Greenbrier, Arkansas, and he is good, I mean really good. He often hits two home runs in a game.

Greenbrier is where Janis grew up and went to school, and she knows Cayden’s parents and grandparents. When the games are on, we pop some popcorn, have some iced tea, and just sit back and enjoy the game. You may live in another state, but with television the way it is today, you can find your favorite team and root for them as well. To be sure, I am a novice when it comes to technology, but thankfully Janis knows more than I do. We can usually find our games on the SEC Network, or ESPN and ESPN 2.

Many times, we found that the games we wanted to see were not on these channels but were on ESPN +. After a little research we found to get these channels you had to buy a Fire Stick from Amazon, get it programmed with a program provider (we have the Conway Corporation here) and you can get a plethora of games, anytime day or night. Anyway, when you think about the cost of gasoline and what is involved in getting dressed and leaving home, watching a sporting event on television is a good option, at least for us.

As I write this column it’s baseball season, but we really enjoyed watching the Razorback basketball team that make it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen and had some great players. We are also excited about the Razorback football team under Coach Sam Pittman. The Hogs have been down before he came along but looks like they may have turned the corner. They had better turn it around, for what they are paying him this coming year. Can you say, “five million dollars.” I can tell you that we did not pay our coach in Gould that much, not in one hundred years. While we have things way out of whack, it comes down to the law of supply and demand. If we don’t pay him well, another university will.

While I may not have hit the mark for you, hopefully some of what I have said will be of interest. To be sure, I am dismayed about inflation, the terrific problem with crime, the mass shootings (more than 250 as of this writing in 2022), and things that are happening on the world stage. However, we still need to count our blessings. Not just count them but work to help solve some of our major problems. My passion is to inspire our leaders and those involved in education to teach character education to our children while they are in school. I can tell you we are making progress. To God be the Glory.

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(Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in the Log Cabin Democrat in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated in over 375 newspapers in 35 states. For a personalized copy of “Your Future Begins Today” send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)