In 1875 the sleepy little community of Conway, Arkansas, with a population of around 200, was incorporated. In 1990 the population was 37,586, and in 2020 it was 64,134, almost doubling the population in 30 years. Today I just shake my head as I drive around our community and see the massive amount of construction that is taking place. It seems like everyone, and his brother, is moving to Conway. Why is this taking place? If I had to reduce it down to one word that word would be “Education.”…

As I have traveled around the country for the past 50 years, there is one thing I have truly come to appreciate. We have one fantastic country, with each state having one or more unique features or distinctive things about it. Our state today is the great state of Arizona. It is known as the “Grand Canyon” state, because one of the seven natural wonders of the world is in the Northwestern part of this state. The Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, and the Petrified Forest attract millions of people each…

When I think about the unbridled violence problem we have in our country, I think the American people are getting a bad deal. The term “unbridled” is a wild horse term like the large herds of wild horses in the West that are free to run as fast and as far as they want to without a bridle or bit in their mouth to control them. This is what I see on the screen or television set when I see violence. The sky is the limit, they can have as…

In 1980, thanks to the inspiration of the late Earl Nightingale’s radio program titled “Our Changing World,” I began my own five-day-a-week daily program titled “How to Plan Your Life.” This title came about because in the past decade I had conducted more than 50 six-hour seminars with high school students. I called these seminars “How to Plan Your Life,” as we focused on career planning and how to succeed in today’s modern world. This was a commercially sponsored program and I helped stations find a sponsor to pay for…

Several years ago, there was an article in the Rotarian by Grayson Kirk titled “The Four Marks of an Educated Person.” It is my privilege today to pass along Mr. Kirk’s article to see if you agree with him. After reading this article I personally agree with him, but I also know that we need a great deal of common sense, which in many cases is sadly lacking. Now to the article:             No. 1 “The educated person speaks and writes clearly and precisely, no matter how much information he…

As a nationally syndicated columnist, I am always on the lookout for good ideas, those I feel will be of interest and helpful to you as one of my readers. From my perspective, there is no one in the world more important than you are. These ideas come along sometimes in the most unorthodox ways. The other day my wife and I were having dinner at a great barbecue restaurant here in Conway called Whole Hog Café. This little restaurant sits alongside Interstate 40, one of the most traveled interstates…

The other day I had a great suggestion from my friend, former County Judge Jim Baker, who said, “We should not eliminate our incentives.” What he was saying is that we should always have something out in front of us that inspires and motivates us. He was so right, and I felt it would be worthwhile to expand on this idea for you and my other readers, because it has a lot of great benefits. The word “incentive” means, “that which incites, or tends to incite to action, motivating force.”…

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…