I am unhappy to report that the “scam” business in America is alive and well. My wife Janis has a credit card company that she has used for several years, and lately she has had to be on the phone several times asking them to remove charges that she knows were not hers. They usually take care of her, but lately she has been asked to call a number, and when she gets them on the line they have an “accent” that is not English. A while back she was…

In every community in America there are those individuals who deserve our respect, love, and appreciation when they die. One of those individuals for us here in Conway, Arkansas, was the late Billy Farrel Johnson. Bill, as he was known to his friends, was such a man. Bill passed away on Aug. 27, 2024, and he had so many friends that they had to find a larger church to hold his memorial service. He was a true icon in every sense of the word. He was a charter member of…

Each year, Money Magazine produces a list of the best places to live in America. I remember one year they chose Fort Collins, Colo. This small community, home of Colorado State University, is nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and has a lifestyle that appeals to many urban dwellers. Many have moved to Fort Collins to escape the rat race of big city life. One of the things I noted about Fort Collins, along with all the other communities on the list, was a low crime rate.  In…

When I thought about a way to introduce my topic today, I was reminded of a question a man asked one of his lady friends. He said, “Have you ever been real sick?” She said, “No, but I have never been real well.” The medical profession in our nation has a tremendous challenge each day, as they try to keep as many of us as possible “real well” or as well as we can be given our age, medical history and other factors that determine the longevity of our lives.…

If I may, I would like to begin today’s column with a question. How long has it been since you had a really good meal? In this respect, I am truly blessed as my wife Janis is an excellent cook. She came by it naturally! Her mother was an excellent cook, and she taught Janis to cook at an early age. Later, she and her late husband owned Pickles Gap Village, and they had a restaurant for many years, so she got some more experience here. During these years she…

The state of Delaware is known as the “First” state because on December 7, 1787, it became the very first state to approve the United States Constitution. Delaware lies along the Atlantic coastline and is close to many of our nation’s largest industrial cities. This has proven to be a large economic advantage to the people of this state. The Delaware River, the networks of canals, highways and railroads carry products from Delaware to Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. Some of the largest corporations in the United States…

With your permission, I would like to begin this column with a question. Do you believe it is possible to write a book that is so good that it can save our nation? Now, I realize that you may not think that our nation needs saving. While everyone has a right to their own opinion, every well-informed American citizen knows and understands that our nation cannot sustain a national debt of $34 trillion; more than 10 million illegal, unvetted, aliens who crossed our Southern border that we must feed, house,…

At a critical moment during the Revolutionary War, when his army was surrounded and in danger of being destroyed, Gen. George Washington issued this order — “put only Americans on guard tonight.” As I have studied American history over the years, I have come to realize that what the general was talking about were those volunteer citizens-soldiers who had left their families and farms and all they owned to risk everything for the cause of freedom. There were 55 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, and here are the…

Before you finish reading my column today you may be saying that “Old Jim” has quit preaching and gone to meddling. I certainly don’t mean it to be this way, and you will have to be the judge. In this column I want to talk about the source of many of our problems, some that are urgent, and others that just seem to nag us on a day-by-day basis. This is not something that most people discuss, it just kind of happens. However, after you read what I want to…

Have you ever been really and truly poor at some point in your life? Well, I have, a long time ago, and it’s no fun. More on this a bit later. Believe it or not, we still have poverty here in Arkansas, and I’m sure in other parts of the country as well. The reason I know this is true is because each summer a Little Rock television station conducts a “cereal drive” to collect boxes of cereal during the summer months to feed children when they are out of…