THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury My aged Uncle Mort admitted the other day that he feels like it’s time for him to re-enter the stock market, and this time, “brimming with confidence.” He swore off trying to out-guess the market in the late 1990s. Mort said he lumped all of his investments into “sweet chariot stocks.” I’d never heard
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By Jay Moore Should you get caught waiting on the light at S. 14th and Sayles, you have four viewing options: a vape shop on the southeast corner, a pawn shop to the northeast, a convenience store habitually offering non-competitive gas prices on the northwest corner, or you can look to the southwest and see a manicured grassy expanse punctuated
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By Jim Nichols It is unfortunate that John Donne in 1624 did not use gender-neutral language, but the power of his short poem remains the same. He is writing about the interconnectedness of humanity and, specifically, the impact of loss. On a high shelf in a spare bedroom, we have several photo albums. If I were to peruse through them
Read moreThe Christian Science Society of Abilene is hosting a free lecture that is open to the public on Saturday, Feb. 15. Mark McCurties, a Christian Science lecturer, teacher, and practitioner will speak at 10:30 a.m. at the Community Foundation of Abilene, 850 N1st St. His topic will be “The Joy of Beginning with God.” A blurb on the local Christian
Read moreBy Marianne Wood Lily intimidates me. Every time she calls, I feel panic rise in my guts. She will ask me questions I do not comprehend. Falstaff has a lovely, resonant voice but also makes me uncomfortable. This may be because of his deep bass instructions and seemingly great size. I usually understand him, but I shake a little as
Read moreBy Danny Minton “On Twelfth Street in the Iris section of Newark, New Jersey, nobody was rich and nobody was poor. The men had blue-collar jobs, and the women stayed home with the children. There were lots of children in the neighborhood, and that was one of the reasons the families knew one another so well. Kids grew up playing
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The Abilene Interfaith Council invites the public to a Cafe Conversation on Thursday, Feb. 6. The casual gathering will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Junior League House, 774 Butternut St. Tyler Gurley will lead the conversation on how religious practices impact a person’s view of society. The Abilene Interfaith Council came about in 1999 when three Abilene
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By Jim Nichols I cannot believe that I am the only person who feels this way occasionally— “I have no idea what I am doing.” It is not always true, certainly. For years I could walk into a college biology classroom and feel confident about the known science I was about to try to explain to captive students. Occasionally, they
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Relax. This is NOT going to be another one of those “promise pieces” about helpful resolutions that might elevate life for me in 2025. I leave that to others. In fact, were I to make a New Year’s resolution, it would be the determination to avoid making annual resolutions in the future. My aged
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