Columnist John Moore grew up with just about everything coming from the Sears catalog. You can buy reprints of the old catalogs, such as the one pictured, which is available on Amazon. Photo: John Moore For much of the twentieth century, the Sears Roebuck catalog held...
When you grow up in a Southern church, you learn how things are done. And how they’re not done. Some kids learn early. Some kids never get it. Bethel Missionary Baptist Church was a small, white frame structure. Like many churches of mid-20th Century America, it was...
I have a lot of my grandparents in me. I’m cheap. I also love the Arkansas Razorbacks. Nowhere is this truer than when it comes to radio, television, and an Arkansas game. I grew up listening to free radio and watching free television. So, the idea of paying money to...
Not so long ago, you could tell quite a bit about someone by the car they drove. If someone drove a sensible vehicle, such as a small sedan, they were frugal and wanted to make sure their family enjoyed comfort during their travels. If someone drove a big red sports...
Something happened to tea along the way. Something bad. And it needs to be stopped. Growing up in Ashdown, Arkansas, in addition to water, tea had just two other ingredients; tea and sugar. Not necessarily in that order. This sacred recipe was handed down through...
My grandparents lived modestly. Most from their generation did. It wasn’t a choice. It was necessity. My grandmother and grandfather were teens when the depression hit, so instead of enjoying their formative years, they worked to eat. They worked to survive. I heard a...
I’m seeing lemonade stands again. At a time when all you seem to hear is that the number of young people quitting their jobs is growing, I’m seeing young folks setting up to sell lemonade. It makes me smile. And I stop and buy some. My first exposure to good old...
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...
