Change often came slowly to the South, but it often arrived with a whirlwind of effort pushing it along. Helen Stoddard, a force of nature unto herself, became a leader in the state with her efforts to defeat alcohol and promote women’s equality.

For years I searched for a poem that I remembered reading when a boy. Last year I found it. This is column is about that search, and what I found when finally successful. It seems appropriate that it should run a few days after Memorial Day as it touches on some indisputable truths that are as applicable today as they were in 1942 when the poem first was written and presented.

Memorial Day is a time to remember those who gave their lives in military service for all of us in the United States of America.

When the war is over, and all things are righted, we should not forget who gave us refuge in the difficult times. Forgetting our history, and not knowing where we have come from, I believe, ensures the uncertainty of knowing where we are going in the future.

Sometimes it is the smallest thing that makes the biggest difference. And in science, the discovery of a whole new type of molecule may make the difference for the future of medicine and engineering. All this thanks to Dr. Richard Smalley, Texas chemist and Nobel Prize winner.

Bergstrom International Airport was alive April 21 with an assortment of 40 military veterans gathered for a flight to Washington, D.C. Austin Honor Flight 81 was assigned to tour our nation’s war memorials the next day.

The federal government is facing a deadline with the ability to pay its bills. Unless a new limit is authorized, the government will hit the debt ceiling, cutting off the government’s ability to borrow money to pay its existing bills. With the debt ceiling issue, the question is not one of whether the U. S. should add more debt or what it should spend, but instead it is a question of paying the nation’s existing debts. Many governments have faced similar situations in the past, and any discussion of large-scale finances often becomes very complex. The question of debt has a very long history.

Mark Vanderheid (back row, second from left) with the VFW Little League team in 1961

Lou Gehrig with Mom at Spring Training March 24, 1930.

Jovita Idar, a woman armed only with a pen and passion for helping those in need, would have an impact felt across Texas in her lifetime.

In many of the mass shootings across the USA in recent years, the shooter is soon found--often by having committed suicide after killing as many people as possible-- with a rifle made for the battlefield.

When we launched North Texas e-News 21 years ago, our concept was to make non-profits front-page news, not stick their stories way back in the edition so that fewer people would read them. To make our concept effective, we needed well written, insightful articles -- writing that deserved a spot on the front page. Sandy Barber was a godsend.