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
Hunter Bonner/Marion County GOP Chair With the election weeks away, things are ramping up faster by the day politically speaking. The rhetoric from talking heads in the media, attacking Donald Trump and Republicans 24/7, is evidence of this since 2016. We as Republicans must stay focused. When I was campaigningContinue 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
There are no words to describe or comment on Tuesday nights Jefferson City Council meeting. The Jimplecute would encourage our readers to watch the video of the meeting and draw your own conclusions.Continue 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
Rabbi Lynnette Arriela Bonner, Bethel Temple Fellowship As a believer and follower of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we worship and serve our creator of the universe. So what is worship and why do we do it? The Hebrew definition comes from the word saha, which means toContinue 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
Rick Smith/Columnist Labor Day. An invigorating – some might say “intoxicating” – holiday because the kiddos are back in school. Aunt Cypsy argued for years that Labor Day would have been called Independence Day, but that name had already been snagged. Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, butContinue 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
This week, the “will of the people” was more than evident. Jefferson residents attended Monday and Tuesday nights Budget Workshop in large numbers and expressed their views over a proposed 2024-25 budget cut to Friends of Jefferson Animals made by Mayor Patricia Finstrom. Finstrom, who’s responsibility includes providing the CityContinue 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
Ken Bridges/Columnist The twentieth century opened up a new frontier for innovation and adventure: the skies. With the first successful airplane flight of Orville and Wilbur Wright in 1903, airplanes began making rapid advances that would change transportation forever. Aviation had come to stay, and Texas would play an important early role. Two pilots inContinue Reading
Rick Smith/Columnist Grace’s roots were in northwestern Louisiana. “I’ll die here,” she said, words firmly planted in her headroom. And it was there, a short drive from her birthplace, she crossed the great divide, having ventured only a couple times to the other Cotton States. I coaxed her to flyContinue Reading