It’s the heat that defines us this month. It greets us at daybreak with its promise, but in an hour or so, it bears down on our shoulders and makes us dream of shade and something cold to drink. The b...

When the world is hot and my skin is fried, scratching from the constant dry, let the clouds boil up, boil up high. And then shade the earth with the darkening sky and bring the secrets and the smell ...

Dud was heading home in his pickup truck when he saw the strange goings-on at the Bahdziewicz place. Abraham Lincoln Bahdziewicz was out in the family’s large garden with a full complement of kids who...

Diamond mining isn’t limited to exotic locations around the world. In Arkansas, the Crater of Diamonds State Park offers a unique opportunity for anyone to search for the rare gems. Located near Murfr...

“Before we begin our regular commencement tonight,” said combined elementary/high school principal Jim Albertson, “we have a special award to present. Will Windy Wilson please come up here on the stag...

It was like buzzards circling the body. The Jones kid, Randy, was out in the Mule Barn coffee shop parking lot with the hood up on his car. He was staring down into it the way a first-time parachutist...

There are those who believe that old sayings are wise because someone now dead said them or wrote then or carved them into the cave walls a long time ago. But it’s our journalistic duty to laugh at on...

Did you know … which is the oldest settlement in the United States? Forget Jamestown. Forget Roanoke. Forget St. Augustine. According to book learning, the oldest settlement in the United States is Ac...

I heard on the radio that a very large percentage of American cities are located either on rivers or Great Lakes. That got my attention. Perhaps more so since I am currently reading William Hagan’s bi...

I can ‘memorate ‘thout too much trouble about the time this little girl come to visit on the ranch. Oh, Alphonse Wilson here, don’t you see … Yessir, she was just a tad, mebbe three years old. Couldn’...

Those of us who came of age in the middle of the last century grew up in a different world. There were newspapers, radio, movie theatres, and magazines. I know these are all still with us. They are ju...

There’s something so satisfying about getting out of bed when the world is still dark and quiet and resting. Making the coffee gives us time to scratch and think. Well, scratch, anyway. Most of that t...

Over recent weeks Oklahoma has been afflicted by wildfires. I’m told that many owe their ignition to downed power lines. Authorities speak of causes associated with people. In these times when there i...

All land developers really have to do to name all the new streets in a sagebrush subdivision is to leave the naming up to the local kids. The names may be goofy, but seldom boring. Such was the case w...

Having just returned from Fort Worth, Texas, I am reflecting on an interesting week of fishing at the 2025 Bassmaster Classic. It’s the pinnacle of the year for bass anglers. The weigh-ins each day to...

Boy, I sure do love cowboy music. Now I don’t mean stuff like “Grandma Tied Me Up With Her Scarf So I Can’t Go To My Sweetie’s House Tonight.” Nope. Well, to be completely honest, there is a place for...

Albert Einstein wrote that time is relative. Now I took a number of classes during which learned instructors attempted to explain the concepts to me. I do have an intellectual grasp of daylight time a...

(Where would we be without the incomparable medical advice of Windy Wilson?) I timed ‘er just right t’other day. Strolled on into the Mule Barn when I knew Doc and the guys would be there. Oh we unfil...

Willoughby breezed through the valley the other day. He lives in the capital city, but whips on through here about once a month, and each time he comes he has new things to sell. “Do you suppose,” sai...

Chickens have forever had a place in our hearts and on our tables. Why is that? Well … why not? And so I’d like you to come with me back to the summer of 1970, ‘way up north of Fairbanks, Alaska, to w...