Have you ever thought about what it means to pay tribute to another person? According to the dictionary it means, “To give acknowledgement to, an expression of gratitude ,or to pay a compliment to another person.” Just wanted to make sure we are speaking the same language today, because I want to pay tribute to a very special lady by the name of Joyce Nell Garrison. Joyce Nell is now past 90 years of age, but what a special, dedicated life she has lived. First, here’s a little background before…

Did you hear about Johnny O. Muddle, the young man who was kicked out of the service academy? He was 19 when he was caught cheating, but his problems really began much earlier. When he was 6 years old, he was with his father when they were caught speeding. His father handed the officer a $10 bill with his driver’s license. “It’s OK, son”, the father said, as they drove off. “Everybody does it.” When he was 8, he was permitted to attend a family council, presided over by Uncle…

The other day a friend came up to me at our Lions Club meeting and asked this question: “Where do you get all those stories that you use in your column?” I told him they had come as a result of collecting them from various sources over the past 25 years. During this time, I have heard many outstanding speakers, listened to inspirational tapes, read countless books and have heard hundreds of sermons at the various churches I’ve attended. In addition to making brief notes, I have a very good…

It took me a couple of months, but I finally finished the most fantastic book I have ever read in my life. Titled “Bibi,” it is the life story of Benjamin Netanyahu. The book has more than 650 pages with 65 chapters of very small type. There are several reasons why I loved this book so much. First and primary is because I am a Christian and I totally support the nation of Israel, the land that was given to God’s people several thousand years ago. I am sure another…

The “Merry Mex” pro golfer Lee Trevino once said, “There is one thing that never gets old, and that is winning.” While Lee was just talking about winning golf tournaments, he may not have known that he hit the nail on the head when it comes to the concept that drives our whole socio-economic system in this country. If you will think about it, the vast majority of us want to “WIN" anytime and anywhere there is a competitive activity involved. Most every school in this country has athletic teams,…

As you can tell by the title, to produce this column I am going to need some help, since it’s obvious that I am not a mother. However, I am married to a terrific woman who is a mother, and I have asked her to help write this column for us. This is a very important topic, and my prayer is that you will read and heed very carefully what Janis has to say, especially since she is highly qualified. --- I appreciate the vote of confidence from Jim, but…

If you have ever had something “nag” at you until you finally decided to do it, then you will appreciate where I am today. For the past several years I have become more and more burdened by the vast numbers of people who are willing to “bear it all” for any and all to see. Granted, I am from the older generation when everyone, especially the women, had modesty and were not about to wear revealing or skimpy clothing for eyes other than her husband. For the past several years…

While I have never been to the great state of Alaska, we have a Bookcase for Every Child project taking place in Fairbanks, Alaska, thanks to my good friend Randall Aragon. For several years Randall was Police Chief in Conway, Arkansas, but he left Conway and went to Fairbanks, where he helped get a bookcase project started. The state of Alaska is known as “The Last Frontier” because much of the state is not yet fully settled. In 1867, Secretary of State William Seward purchased Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000.…

When I was a kid growing up in a small town in Southeast Arkansas, a lot of the farmers in the area farmed rice. You may know that rice is raised in water, which means the land must be completely level. Many times, as the planting season approached, we would see large machines with a long blade out in the fields, scraping the ground to make sure it was level. This brings me to my point: there is a place in the world where the ground is completely level all…