It has been said that marriage is a deal in which a man gives away half of his groceries to get the other half cooked. I am sure this is true, but few people are fortunate enough to marry a woman like my wife Janis, who has written four cookbooks, and man can she cook! On a side bar, they say a man who does not marry is incomplete, but when he does marry he is finished. Well, so much for that. Today I want to share something I believe…

“In my 21 years as executive editor of a group of 48 papers, Jim’s column had the quickest acceptance and highest satisfaction of any I shared with editors. Jim provides down-to-earth, common sense, back-to-the-basics thinking, that inspires and makes people feel good” Max Heath, Vice President, Landmark Community Newspapers, Shelbyville, Kentucky --- It is my honor to share these words with you from one of the most respected men in the newspaper industry. His letter came several months after I began this column back in 1995. Since that time a…

When it comes to just normal everyday living, I can’t think of anything more horrific than to have your house under 10 to 20 feet of water. Sadly, this is what happened to thousands of our fellow citizens back in 1927 when we had one of the worst floods in the history of our nation. This became known as the Great Flood of 1927 and the Mississippi River Flood of 1927. Due to the terrain and location, it affected our state of Arkansas with a greater amount of devastation, both…

If you have some very important events take place in your life from time to time, you will understand and appreciate what I want to share with you today. The date of May 1, 2020, will always be important to me because it marks a true milestone in my life. Fifty years ago on this date, my former Dale Carnegie instructor, the late Bob Gannaway, and I went into business together to distribute the Earl Nightingale attitude motivation tapes that were then produced on cassette. We formed a company called…

Have you ever personally known or been around someone who was just plain arrogant? If you have, how did you feel about this person? The dictionary defines arrogant as, “Full of or due to unwarranted pride and self-importance; overbearing; haughty.” Unfortunately, there are many people in the world who are like this. While they may not be aware of it, they are, nonetheless, paying a high price for it. Most people have no desire to be around someone who is arrogant, and given a choice they certainly do not want…

Our state’s educational television network (AETN) has a slogan that goes, “Where Learning Never Ends.” This slogan has come to mean the world to me. In 1958 when I dropped out of Arkansas A&M College in Monticello and made my way to Little Rock where I had kinfolks, I did not have a very bright future. However, I did have one thing going for me: I was willing to work. Before I continue, please permit me to share something that is most important: When I began this column in 1995…

In these modern times when millions of Americans are all wrapped up in sports, we hear a lot about “winning” and “losing.” But have you given much thought to the difference between the winners in life and the losers? Well, believe it or not, the difference is very little. In fact, it can be as little as 2 percent. Some time ago I ran across a very timely article by Dr. Gene Emmet Clark titled “The Slight Edge - It Only Takes 2 Percent.” If you are striving to reach…

Have you ever known someone who, long after they were dead and buried, you would like to dig up and clone? If there has ever been a good candidate for this, former President Harry Truman would be at the top of my list. I have always liked President Truman. In fact, he is one of my all-time favorites of all the men who have served in our nation’s highest office. To be sure, he was a different kind of president. He probably made as many important decisions regarding our nation’s…

The past several weeks have been truly exciting here at our office. Because of the success of my previous book “The Best of Jim Davidson,” which is a collection of favorite radio shows as determined by a panel of award-winning journalists, I have made the decision to publish another book this year. It will be a collection of my favorite newspaper columns from the 1,300 that I have written. The title for this book will be “Better than the Best,” and it’s been an exciting process going through the titles…

It is not my nature to be critical of other people, and when I am, I try to do it in a way that it is not personal and do it in a way that criticizes the action and not the person. However there comes a time when we just need to tell it like it is, and this is one of those times. There is a group of people in America today, who have been around for a long time, who I believe are selling us down the river.…