If you wonder how open government laws affect you, think about these basics: The local taxes we pay. The roads we drive on. Even, sometimes, matters of life and death. Access to information through public meetings and records helps us know about the decisions elected...
Google and Facebook have enormous economic and political power in society – especially over the news industry. Many ask if they have played a role in the misinformation that erodes our free press and plagues our democracy. Google and Facebook have a duopoly of the...
Malls were the beginning of the end. Although, in the 1970s when Texarkana welcomed its mall, those of us who lived in the area were all too busy being excited about having a mall to see that by shopping there we were hurting our neighbors. “What could be better?” we...
My mom turned off her landline. For 50 years, my parents had the same number. 898-2446. Now, it’s gone. “Mom, did you get rid of the landline?” I asked. “Yes, they wanted an extra $38 a month to keep it. I don’t need it since I have a cell phone,” she answered. It was...
Pet Milk was a kitchen staple in most Southern homes in mid-20th Century America. It had as many uses as a coffee can full of bacon drippings. Thankfully, the two weren’t used interchangeably. Opening our Frigidaire, you’d see that the top shelf of our refrigerator...
I miss the restaurants of my youth. In Ashdown, Arkansas, the restaurant everyone gravitated toward was Miss Mac’s. Its official name was, Mac’s Cafe. It started as a small truck stop off Highway 71 in Ogden, Arkansas, which is about halfway between Texarkana and...
I used to pay little attention to the world’s little idiosyncrasies, but now they seem ever present. And it’s more than slightly annoying. I can’t be the only one. When I was getting change back from the fast-food drive-thru recently, it all became clear. The world is...
I don’t recognize toys anymore. Our grandkids are coming from out of state to visit and I can’t find anything to get them as a surprise. Why? I don’t know what anything is or does. Toys should teach you how to prepare for life and be fun. Bakugan – Japanese Power, was...
We had a clothesline, but no washer or dryer. So the Laundromat was a weekly destination. Today, most folks would find the absence of a laundry room in the home as foreign as no air conditioning or Wi-Fi. Fifty years ago, most folks in...
