Columns & Editorials

From the folly files comes yet another exasperating example of how millions of taxpayer dollars are being spent in schools without much, if any, return on investment as it relates to student achievement, or in this case, student safety.

Teen-age Christians today worship GOD in a different way than seniors. It is only different in the outward appearance. True worship comes from the same place that it has always come from which is the heart of humans. I believe GOD loves that kind of worship because GOD looks at the heart of His children to see if they are sincere. If we look back over time we will see that each new generation wants to be different from the last or “older” generation. I remember some things about our older generation that I did not like so we set out to change our form of worship. It is the same GOD and the same Holy Spirit that has always been directing us to serve GOD as we should, but we just wanted our own style of worship. With that in mind we should respect and encourage the youth of today. Our Church, First Baptist, here in Forney Texas has been upgraded to accomplish that. I praise GOD for supplying the ways and means to build such a Church building. This building GOD has provided is a great service to the community of Forney Texas. The Church has many services and operations above and beyond the normal Sunday Services. I feel humble and proud to belong to a Church like that.

Dear Aunt B,

Because of COVID-19, I hadn’t taken my grand-kids to a movie in over a year, and it’s something I love to do. I have thought about taking them to the Drive-In down in Palmer between Ennis and Corsicana, but that’s a long way to go and I’m old enough to remember what Drive-Ins are like in the winter time. The windows of the car fog up constantly and you have to keep wiping the windshield just to see.

As virtual learning rolls on, it is becoming more evident how much parents rely on schools being open. It seems with each new day, more parents want their children back in the classroom. I read a news story out of Los Angeles where parents took to the streets in downtown LA for a morning caravan, demanding schools be reopened immediately so their children “could get an education.”

Dear Aunt B Readers,

I have just started an adventure that I have always wanted to embark on. I am jogging the entire length of Hadrian’s Wall from near the North Sea on the Eastern Edge of Great Britain to the Irish Sea to the West. I started at Walssend and jogged along breathtaking views of the River Tyne, and at a pace of 30 minutes a day I finished the first of thirteen legs of the Hadrian’s wall jog in two days at Quayside. The best part is the weather was a perfect 70 degrees with not even a drop of the rain that Central England is notorious for and I never left my living room. I jogged the path on my treadmill with a computer monitor mounted on top.

Our actions and how we spend our money tell us more about our priorities and motives than anything we tell ourselves or others. This sentiment is accurate when you consider public education in Texas is moving forward with STARR testing in the spring. According to a January 4th article in the Texas Tribune, $388 million in assessment contracts have been awarded to two companies, one of which has a 30+ year history of providing assessment services for Texas students.

According to the news the COVID-19 is mutating, growing stronger, and may become immune to the vaccine. Although we don’t need a picture of doom and gloom we can become more aware and ready for what is to come. I think we should start by giving thanks and praise to GOD for our own health then protect ourselves the best we can and be ready to help others when they need it. Humans’ needs are everywhere and as Christians we should be available to help.

Aqueducts, concrete, elaborate roadways & bridges, bathhouses: Ancient Rome was a very sophisticated place. Experts may disagree on the order of importance in the factors that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire, but they agree that things like an army that grew ineffective, a failing economy, an incompetent emperor, and invading barbarians all played crucial roles. Regardless, the ruination of Rome inevitably led to the loss of these tremendous engineering feats. Indeed, in the case of concrete, that knowledge would fade away by 476 AD (those darn Goths), and not be rediscovered until 1824. But, we are here neither to bury Caesar nor to praise him. We’re here to talk about another black American you must know, but probably don’t. But this Roman thing, tuck it into your back pocket for me, please?

I’m including background that someone reading my column for the first time might not know. If you read it regularly feel free to skip down a couple of paragraphs.

In this climate of uncertainty that is becoming our new sense of normal, I have found myself increasingly hopeful we will emerge a better, cohesive more caring America; especially as it relates to education. I have seen so many creative approaches to teaching children, some of these methods should remain long after COVID19 is a distant memory. This predicament has forced us to look at education, health and life differently and with hopefully, a new appreciation for each.

Dear Aunt B,