Laughter is good medicine. If you have not had a dose in a while, it’s high time you did. Here is what George Bernard Shaw, the Irish playwright and philosopher, had to say about laughter. He said, “Laughter is that older and greater church to which I belong: the church where the oftener you laugh the better, because by laughter only can you destroy evil without malice, and affirm good fellowship without mawkishness.” As a quick aside, the word “mawkishness” is one that I was not familiar with and had…

Today I would like to share something that may provide some important insights into what is happening to many people in our country today. My hope would be that if I can get this across where it is clearly understood, we may be able to make a positive difference in the lives of many people. This is the purpose of each one of my columns, and while I am sure I don’t succeed every time, that is my goal and also my heart’s desire. The truth is, we can’t help…

It has been said that the only way to have friends is to be a friend. Over the years I have found this to be so true, and I have been blessed to have some really good friends. When I thought about this, the one who came to mind first is a man by the name of Mickey Cox. Mickey retired after many years in top management with the Entergy Corporation, and I have known him now for almost 30 years. Several years ago, after we first met, he became…

Have you ever heard someone say, “That old boy is tied to her apron strings”? Of course “apron” is synonymous with cooking. My wife, Janis, has written four cookbooks and loves to cook. She also watches a plethora of cooking shows on television. We have made many advancements in the past 50 years, but many people do not know that an apron was used for many different things back in the old days. As I thought about this column, my friend Ruth Baker from the great state of Alabama came…

Sometime back I wrote a column titled “Everyone does not need a college education,” which is certainly a true statement. At this time I stated that everyone DOES need a quality high school education. Anyone who understands the economy very well will tell you that many people who have a trade -- like auto mechanic, carpenter, welder, dry wall hanger, electrician, painter and many others --earn more money than many college graduates. It all comes down to the law of supply and demand. When the need is greater than the…

Charlie Ward died when he was 73 years of age, but oh, what a life he lived. When I read this true story of Charlie Ward in the excellent book “The 25 Most Common Problems in Business” by Jim Zabloski, I knew it was a story that I had to share with you. The reason I wanted to share his story is because it represents thousands, perhaps millions, of people across America who started out on the wrong side of the tracks but became an exemplary model of what a…

The famous anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” In case you don’t know, anthropology is “the study of human behavior and why we do the things we do.” I hope you will read and listen with both ears today, as I have something really important to share with you. I am only one of millions of Americans who are sick and tired of the direction our country has…

Have you ever read or heard something that would have been funny if it were not so close to the truth? Sometime back a faithful reader, Dorothy Kuhn from the great state of Kentucky, sent me something that certainly qualifies. It is an article titled, “What if Noah Tried to Build the Ark Today?” We all know the story of Noah and the Ark in the Bible, so please allow me to share this article with you. It begins: “And the Lord spoke to Noah and said, ‘In one year,…

Back in the early 1970s, I got to know a man by the name of Bill Rosa. At the time he was superintendent of schools in Mountain View, Arkansas. If you have never been to Mountain View, I can truthfully say that you have really missed something. This is a fantastic community where folk music is played, weather permitting, almost every Saturday in front of the Stone County Courthouse. A trip to Mountain View will certainly take you back in time, and it’s also home to the Ozark Folk Center and…

Someone once said, “The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” When it comes to our personal success in life, attitude is everything. A truth that I have passed along many times goes like this, “It’s your attitude and not your aptitude that will determine your altitude.” Unless you are talking about a brain surgeon, in most any endeavor you can name, give me a “C” student with a great attitude over an “A” student with a bad attitude every time.…