Rick Smith/Columnist To foreigners, a Yankee is an American.To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner.To Northerners, a Yankee is an Easterner.To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander.To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter.And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast. Many years ago, IContinue Reading

Early voting in Texas begins Monday. The National elections are a lot like the choice Jeffersonians faced last May — picking between two candidates that no one really wants. Both candidates have good qualities. Both candidates have bad qualities. This is true regardless of the Political Office, and the candidate.Continue Reading

Rick Smith/Columnist Catchy jingles can drive an advertising campaign, influencing the public long after the advertising dollars have been spent. Oscar Mayer has proven to be a consummate marketer, producing two of the most highly successful and recognizable jingles of all time. Their products: wieners and bologna. In the earlyContinue Reading

Rick Smith/Columnist He graduated from Santa Fe High School in Alma, MO, home of the Chiefs, the summer of 1981, a member of the National Honor Society and “one of the smartest kids in school.” He played football, basketball and sat in the first chair of the saxophone section. HeContinue Reading

Since the election of Patricia Finstrom as Mayor of Jefferson, her administration nearly from day one has been plagued with controversy.  However, after a recent council meeting on Tuesday, September 24, is it abundantly clear that something must be done to end this reign of nonsense. Jeffersonians, and yes, evenContinue Reading

Rick Smith/Columnist Many Louisianans swear up and down that the coffee served at the Café du Monde in New Orleans – a blend of coffee and chicory – is the favored drink of Creole State coffee aficionados. Chicory, the root of the endive plant, is added to soften the bitterContinue Reading

Rick Smith/Contributing Writer I’ve heard it for years: “Everything is bigger in Texas.” I think it’s true. Texas holds something like 550 Guinness World Records. From the Houston woman with the biggest feet, crossing the threshold at a staggering size 18, to the heaviest ball of dog fur, weighing inContinue Reading

Rick Smith/Columnist When Aunt Josie, a well-upholstered woman, stood, she would have overshadowed everyone in the room had she not stooped. Uncle Eugene, her erect, heavily starched husband, looked ill-matched next to her.  The couple settled into a life of bucolic simplicity on a farm in northwestern Louisiana after heContinue Reading

Rick Smith/Columnist “The millisecond my hands left the rail, it was an instant regret.” The desire of 19-year-old Kevin Hines to take his life changed the moment his hand was no longer in contact with the handrail of the Golden Gate Bridge. He decided in that instance he wanted toContinue Reading

J. Bruce Bugg Jr. Chair Texas Transportation Commission Texas is booming.    Our state adds a new Texan almost every minute of every day. Our quality of life and vibrant $2.4 trillion economy make our state an attractive place to live and a compelling destination for future Texans. While growth poses challenges,Continue Reading

These days it seems like our City Council is a mirror of what’s going on in national politics: Pre-K tantrums to get what one wants. This last month has been filled with budget workshops which have been an embarrassment — for everyone. The petty insults. The flat out “No” withoutContinue Reading

Created by Shangri La Tarot, Astrology, Reiki, 111 Austin Street, 469-994-2295 For the Week of August 31 to September 5, 2024 As Mercury goes direct on August 28th, the square between Jupiter and Saturn reminds us that fulfillment doesn’t require greatness. Rather than challenging authority or seeking global change, focusContinue Reading

Rick Smith/Columnist Val Lou looked at Cousin Gary like he had come unhinged when he made an unthinkable announcement at the breakfast table.  “Say again!” she replied.  He blinked, wondering what he had said that earned him a look that registered somewhere between amusement and disdain.  “I think Krispy KremeContinue Reading

Ken Bridges/Columnist Success is never a straight line. Gail Borden’s story is how an Indiana farmboy with almost no formal schooling went from being a Texas revolutionary and editor to a celebrated inventor and wildly successful New York factory owner.  The calm and curious man nurtured not only revolution in Texas but a revolutionContinue Reading

Rick Smith/Columnist Listen up, fellow wisecracks, Friday, August 16, 2024, is National Tell a Joke Day. It’s a day that the world celebrates the art of telling tales.  Now, I know that humor is deeply subjective. Not all jokes are funny. One person’s knee-slapper is another’s eye-rolling grizzle. Sometimes IContinue Reading