It was Doc’s idea, of course. That’s what made it sing. That’s why it took off in gales of laughter and fun. He knew we needed the money for the children in our area who might be without warm clothes ...

I don’t mind Boots. He just curls up quietly against my belly and stays put. But sleeping with Desdemona can be a bit unnerving. She snores. Sometimes she gets little bad dreams and scratches me, too....

It just happened, you know? One of those serendipitous coincidences that occur when planets line up or you foolishly store oily rags together. It just … happened. Ardis Richardson was looking through ...

A well-known footballer recently announced that his beloved dog had died. Having buried the lead, he continued stating that his dog had been successfully cloned. Can we do that? Who knew? Not me. It d...

One of the problems Marvin Pincus discovered about running the Fly Tying Love Center here in the valley is that there appeared to be more fly tying than love counseling going on. This particular morni...

Down at the sale barn Saturday, the think tank had coagulated there with coffees to go to celebrate life. Doc and Dud had their dogs with them, while Bert and Dewey and Steve went stag. Dud tried to s...

I believe we have completed my News Year traditions. We watched the crystal ball descend into the huddled masses assembled in New York City’s Times Square. We watched the pinecone drop from the ^ust b...

Delbert McLain smiled at the sign in Marvin Pincus’s yard as he walked briskly up to the front door and knocked. Marvin had seen him coming and opened it with a big smile and a handshake. “Delbert! I’...

Billie said, “I remember when I was little and we were living in Vian. We would all (All being Billie and her three older sisters, those pretty little Martin girls) go the Baptist Church on Christmas ...

A holiday gets me thinking about holidays past. For me, holiday history takes two shapes, personal history and history history. Thanksgivings we say with considerable pride is the uniquely American ho...

On a recent Saturday evening I watched LSU football. Memories stirred. In the late 1940’s I’d stretch out on my bed, radio within reach and listen to LSU football. Night games were new to college foot...

You folks get them flu shots ever’ fall? I try not to, but Doc has this y’r nurse that’s not only stouter’n a streetsweeper, but fleet of foot as well. This y’r’s Windy, a-course. So, yeah, I prit-nea...

“From bad grain never comes good bread.” I wish I could remember who said this. I’ve often used it to explain to students why the little things matter. Especially in statistics. A friend said, “No one...

As I lay there in my super-duper borrowed-from-the-Army mummy bag, I had time to think about things. Mostly, I pondered how stupid I’d been to take a dog team out across the North Slope of Alaska in N...

Many of our Native American tribes call this month the “hunger moon,” and for good reason. The early fall hunting is generally over, the late season hunts in the snow aren’t happening yet, and the fis...

Have you been counting the minutes until Election Day 2026 when your neighbors can remove all those campaign signs from their lawns for another two years? Yes, it's the mid-term elections, just as ser...

I think there must be autumnal reasons for Halloween being hued in orange and black. It’s a fun time, a magic evening if you’re a kid, and if you’re a grandpa-type guy, like me, who gets to hand out t...

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...

I believe that keeping my brain active and engaged is critical. This is not as complex as it might sound. Just thinking will do it. But just thinking requires something to think about. Reading the big...

The sign in front of the gas station says “Unleaded, 3.39, special on Colt .357 Magnum, six-inch barrel.” Visitors here in the valley do a double take when they see Vince’s sign there at what we all k...