The English language is one of the most difficult in the entire world to master. This is because so many of our words have multiple meanings. For example, “When I look at you time stands still” has a completely different meaning than when we say, “You have a face on you that will stop a clock.” Words are powerful, and how we use them will determine our success or failure. In my own personal experience, I have seen the power of inspiring words lift a very despondent person to overcome…

If you will tune me in for a few minutes, I would like to share what I consider to be the most disgusting thing I have ever presented in this column. This is a case of unintended consequences. In his Union Address on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson proposed legislation that would create a “War on Poverty” in response to a national poverty rate of around 19 percent. His speech led the United States Congress to pass the Economic Opportunity Act, which established the Office of Economic…

It has been said that “children in a family are like flowers in a bouquet: there is always one determined to face in the opposite direction from the way the arranger desires.” For the vast majority of parents, our greatest hope is for our children to grow up to be happy, healthy and successful human beings. In today’s times this is no easy feat, even for those parents who are the most qualified. But it is a monumental task for first-time parents who did not have a good role model…

Here is a very sobering thought that will separate the winners from the also-rans: Everything worthwhile is uphill. Now, make no mistake about it, what I am saying is that to achieve any real success in life requires hard work. The beautiful thing about this statement is that any citizen in our country has the opportunity to achieve success because of our form and system of government. We are guaranteed that right by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It is important to note that our forefathers never intended…

Sometime back my friend Dennis Card sent me something that brought back some very fond memories. It was an article about Lt. Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who was a fighter pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands, where he was captured and spent six long years in a Communist Vietnamese prison. He survived that ordeal, and today travels around to lecture about lessons learned from that experience. Dennis was surprised when I…

It takes many things to from a great relationship -- whether in a marriage, business, organization, or with a friend -- but one of the most important things is a simple word called trust. The word trust means, “Firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability and strength of someone or something.” If we want to be successful in any endeavor, building a lifetime of trust is the best way on earth to do it. When someone says “I respect you”, they are also saying they trust you, and there is…

If we are going to make it in this old world, we need many things, and two of the most important things are encouragement and inspiration. I certainly need these things each day of my life, and when I don’t get them, my performance always suffers. These thoughts came to mind when I decided to tell you about a man named Donn Wimmer, who owns and publishes the newspaper in Hawesville, Kentucky. He publishes my column in the Hancock Clarion. He had just read my column titled “A Real One Man…

There is an old saying that goes, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” Well, what if it IS broke? Sad to say, this is the case in our society today. The mass shootings, parents who pay big money to get their kids into prestigious colleges, newscasts that are dominated by horrific crimes, television shows featuring violence and bloodshed, and the list is endless. In our country we have always had crime and always will, but we can take action to slow it down. Perhaps we could even return to…

While there may be some argument from fans of other sports because of large television viewing audiences, I believe baseball is America’s favorite pastime. This is because baseball is the sport that generations have grown up playing. From the Industrial Revolution to the Cold War to our present day, baseball has survived countless economic endeavors and national hardships. To say it very simply, baseball has survived the test of time. One of the reasons this is true is because of American Legion Baseball, which began in 1925 in the most…

Here is something about as close to a sure thing as you can get: the vast majority of American parents love their children and would do most anything they could to protect them from harm, injury and certainly death. Yet many of these same parents do not take the time to talk with -- and certainly educate -- their children who are old enough to drive an automobile about the dangers of texting or talking on a cell phone while driving. And it is also a sure thing that many…