For many years my column ran in the Hillsdale Daily News, a newspaper based in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was running there in the year 2000 when our nation celebrated the Millennium (which means a thousand years). This will always be special to me because the Hillsdale Daily News sponsored a community-wide gathering to celebrate this historic year, and invited me to come to Hillsdale to be the speaker for the event. But something far more important is taking place in Hillsdale these days, and this is the battle Hillsdale College…

There is a special group of people in our nation today to whom I would like to pay tribute -- our school teachers. In fact, I appreciate them so much that I have developed a unique presentation that I have presented to our local school superintendent and the director of the Arkansas Department of Education with the focus on our teachers. The large heading says, “The Greatest Profession of them All,” and when you stop to think about it, I believe you will agree that this is true. You cannot…

In our visit today I want to share some things with you that are very special. I want to share with you some things my father taught me. At the time I did not think much about it, but now looking back, I realize what he did for me. It’s the old story of Dad being an old fogey when I was 15 and how much he had learned when I was 25. My father was considerably older than my mother. As a result, when I was born he had…

President John F. Kennedy had it right when he said, “The great danger is not that the present generation will destroy the system. The great danger is that we won’t transmit it.” Well, President Kennedy, if you were around today, you would know that we did not do our job very well. What is happening in our nation today is nothing short of insane. The protests, riots, looting, burning and mass chaos is due, by and large, to the fact that those of us in the older generation have dropped…

If you have ever heard the beautiful song by Ray Boltz titled, ”The Anchor Holds”, you will have a good mental picture of a concept that makes all the difference in the world in a human being’s life. Sadly, there are so many people in our society today who do not have an anchor, and they are adrift in the sea of humanity, being buffeted by every wind or tide that comes along. If you happen to be this person, or know someone like this, who lacks direction or purpose…

One time I heard a story about this man who said he could remember quotations but he couldn’t remember who said them. He said he could not remember if it was Will Rogers or Elizabeth Taylor who said, “I never met a man I didn’t like.” Hope you will forgive me for this little bit of levity to introduce my topic today, “Reading Sharpens the Mind,” because an improved memory is definitely one of the benefits of an avid reader. But that’s just for starters, because there is another benefit…

After my column today I may be accused of being a “racist,” which I am certainly not. I want to talk with you about an important issue that no one is talking about, and that is the 72 percent unwed mother rate in the black community. In an Associated Press article by Jesse Washington, dateline Houston, he pulls the cover back and talks about this issue that even in black churches no one talks about, but that is beginning to change. His information comes from Dr. Natalie Carroll, a black…

No one in their right mind would intentionally take a loaded gun and shoot themselves in the foot. The first consequence would be intense pain, then blood beginning to run everywhere, and when they couldn’t get the bleeding stopped, a trip to the emergency room. After the hospital people checked him out and cleaned the wound, it would probably require surgery to repair the damage. Depending on whether he had insurance or not, a hefty medical bill would follow. The sad news is, this person may not be able to…

Would you believe there is a very simple statement that if put into practice by the majority of our citizens would cure about 90 percent of America’s economic woes? The statement is simply this, “Save for a Rainy Day.” One of the saddest things I have seen in a long time happened back at the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic when there were long lines, some over a mile, of people waiting to get food. This scene took place countless times, in spite of the fact that we are the…

One time, several years ago now, I had the opportunity to attend the annual Awards Banquet of the Arkansas Press Association. One of those honored as “Headliner of the Year” was Joe Ford, Chairman and CEO of the Alltel Corporation. I can remember back in the days when this company was known as Allied Telephone Company with a few hundred employees. It grew to more than 26,000 employees and did business in more than 20 states before selling to Verizon Wireless in 2009. Mr. Ford was a big part of this…