Remember The Waltons on TV? It was a long-running yarn following the lives of a struggling, Depression-era, God-loving family in the mountains of Virginia. It might have been a bit too syrupy for …

It seems appropriate that the popular American Ninja Warrior is showing on television when Myles Humphus telephones me. Humphus is not a Ninja, but he’s certainly a warrior. He could pass for …

When I was a little guy, I would lie on my back in the yard and look up at the clouds or the trees, searching for an answer to the question of the day. God, do you want me to start raising worms now …

Have you ever felt like you received more credit for something than you deserved? Well, I have.  About 15 years ago, I came across a recipe for pancakes in a little book of breakfast …

When I was in elementary school—it was either the sixth or seventh grade—my classmates elected me to fight a boy named Johnny because he supposedly was picking on smaller kids. It was …

Myles Robert Godfrey and I were in diapers the first time we met. I think Myles had soiled his, but I didn’t say anything. After all, he was just a month-old. I was a year old. It was …

If you’re talking to John Stamey, you’re probably talking long distance. Very long distance. Like outer space. Stamey is organizer of something he calls the World UFO …

No doubt you’ve heard the old joke that memory is the first thing to go, and I don’t remember the second thing. There’s much truth in that saying. I know that because my wife and I …

My brother, Kenneth, was good, maybe even great, at everything he did. Well, nearly everything. Golf would be an exception, although he loved the game and would play with anybody, even really good …

Several years ago, a friend’s grandmother died, leaving her fully furnished house vacant and eventually going up for sale. But before my friend could list it, a couple broke in and set up …

One of the most overused words in any language is “expert.” News people write that word a lot to avoid a long, boring title. I don’t claim to be an expert on anything, but …

Wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy a little humor in the current presidential campaigns? Nothing is funny about what’s going on. Despite what you thought of John Kennedy, his politics or his …

“In a world of cellular phones, express lanes, business lunches, and political correctness, being a gentleman seems to be more and more complicated.” So far, I agree with John Bridges, author …

Our granddaughter Abigail texted, asking if we would like to hear an author speak during our visit to Birmingham. The name of his book is, How to Stay Married. “I think she wants us to hear a …

Doc Johnson croaked the other day. I am not being disrespectful. That’s what Doc wanted in his obituary: He croaked. Yes, that’s an unusual request, but Doc Johnson was an unusual guy. He …

Did you know that Christopher Columbus discovered America while cursing about the Atlantic? And that his ships were called the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Fe? No, I didn’t know that either. …

A few things I wonder about: Why are doctors’ offices—especially the dermatologist’s—so cold? You’re asked to strip down to your skivvies, and it feels like 50 degrees in there. If …

Uncle Sam is trying to decide if he believes in UFOs—Unidentified Flying Objects. They’re even talking about them in Congress, where some of its members are sounding more and more like aliens …

“Do you know you have sleep apnea?” the woman at the doctor’s office asked by phone. “No, I didn’t know that,” I said. “Do you have headaches in the morning?” “Not …

We’ve been dogsitting Bear, an aging Mauzer, while his parents are out of state, and on our daily walks to water the neighborhood foliage, I’ve come to appreciate again why dogs are so special. …