THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury It is that time again when hundreds of thousands of us can’t get the sounds of “Pomp and Circumstance” out of our heads, often whistling or humming the melody, not even wondering why. For the curious–and others in the majority who couldn’t care less–Englishman Edward Elgar’s 1901 march has long been the musical gold standard
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By Jim Nichols The transition from elementary school to junior high was not a smooth one for me. It was significantly complicated by having to ride the school bus every morning. Hickory Grove Elementary was within walking distance of my home, but the junior high required Bus #38 to pick me up at the corner. My grade was the youngest
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By Loretta Fulton Local Catholics, like many Catholics worldwide, expressed their approval of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV. And, like many, they were surprised at how quickly he was elected by the College of Cardinals. Most surprising of all, both to local Catholics and Catholics around the globe, was that he is an American. “We hoped for an American
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By Danny Minton While browsing the book section at The Texas Star Trading Company in Abilene, I came across a book entitled, Texas High School Football Dynasties. As I thumbed through the book, I came to pages 100 and 101. In front of me, stretched across the top half of the two pages, was a picture of my 1965 Plano
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By Loretta Fulton Beth Young is the new director City Light Community Ministries, an outreach of First Baptist Church that is one of the city’s leading ministries to the homeless and needy. Prior to taking on the new position, Beth was missions ministry assistant. She was a volunteer in the front office and helped with housing grant applications. City Light,
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Abilene Association of Congregations MeetingThe public is invited to hear Dr. Darryl Tippens, retired ACU English professor, speak about the hymn “Amazing Grace” at the monthly meeting of the Abilene Association of Congregations.When: 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, May 28Where: First Central Presbyterian Church, 400 Orange St.Lunch: $3 donation requestedProgram: Tippens will speak on “The Amazing Journey of ‘Amazing Grace’: The Backstory
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LINKS TO PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF ‘ALMOST BIBLE’ Original Almost BibleAlmost Bible (Part 2)Almost Bible (Part 3)Almost Bible (Part 4) By Jim Nichols Even people who do not consider themselves in any way to be “students of the Bible” usually recognize a few phrases that are so well-known that they are embedded in us somewhere. One might not know how they
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By Nancy Patrick The older I get, the more I live in the past tense. I mean this, not a figurative statement, but one based in reality. Of course, at seventy-five-years of age, logic tells me that in all likelihood I have lived more than 75 percent of my life. I know some people of my generation sadden when thinking
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury When I introduced this weekly column more than 22 years ago, my stated goal was to provide amusement–even if corny and outdated–largely for readers dealing with bodily wrinkles, waistlines, aches, breaks, bends and assorted other groans associated with later life. Sometimes I’ve tried to make lemonade when negative topics tempted. Last week, I shared negative
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