While doing research for today’s column, here is a headline I ran across: GAMBLING ADDICTION STATISTICS 2023: IS IT A MENTAL ILLNESS? And here is the subtitle: Gambling can be a fun thing to do, but when you see the gambling addiction statistics and facts, you will see the less glamorous and fun side of it. From my perspective, I will go a step further. It has been coming on over the past several years but today I think that gambling is the scourge of society. If you don’t know…

Would you like to have a beautiful log cabin somewhere in the mountains or the woods where you have peace and quiet all the time? Some of us say we would, but when we get right down to it I think most people would rather have good neighbors where they can interact with others and have them over on a regular basis. This is another way of saying we are gregarious. What brought this to my mind was all the terrific log cabins I see on Facebook, and all are…

It’s been said that teachers and administrators are not moms and dads, and they don’t have the same love, investment and responsibility that parents have when it comes to their children’s education. But sadly, many “woke” educators and politicians think that parents should have zero say in where our children go to school, and zero in what our children are taught. It’s an all-out assault on parental rights, and it must stop.  When schools closed during the pandemic, parents learned two things: 1. Screen time is not “school time.” The…

If America’s high school and college coaches, both men and women, knew how much influence they had on the lives of their players, they would take what they do a lot more seriously. Of course, many do realize this, but others don’t. That is what I want to speak to you about today, especially as it relates to players’ lives after they graduate from high school and college, if they attend. I don’t have the latest statistics, but only a very small percentage of high school players make it to…

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…