By JIM NICHOLS Do you remember your first elementary school building? I do. I spent the first three-plus years of my education at Francis Willard Elementary in Kansas City. In kindergarten a boy held a crayon in his hand for a long time and it soon got softened and melted enough he could bend it into a curl; I was
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By NANCY PATRICK Last summer (2020), I attended a community gathering held at Stevenson Park in Abilene. I went to support the Black Lives Matter Movement. The sweltering June evening drew a large number of Abilenians. I proudly observed people of all races and ethnicities, most carrying placards with expressions of protest for George Floyd’s recent murder. Others expressed hope
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By MARIANNE WOOD The first thing you learn as students of the Latin dance Tango is to keep your knees bent. Our instructor, Sophia, taught that essential lesson to our ballroom dancing class about two months ago. She followed up with these steps: a corte and a sit-down. The first step advances; the second retreats. We then learned to promenade
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By DANNY MINTON In 1963 I watched the news and the report on the funeral service of a man named Lee Harvey Oswald. There were no pallbearers, so the newsmen at the funeral were asked to help carry the coffin to the graveside. It even became difficult to find a preacher to perform the service. Despite all this in the
Read moreIDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Folks who may have spent too much time in the environs of hog farms perhaps came by the odor honestly, simply a result of growing up years. Others of us may “smell of swine” by virtue of being frequent beneficiaries of “blind hog luck.” I admit having a foot in each camp, having spent time
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The Abilene Interfaith Council has posted a link to its National Day of Prayer video, https://youtu.be/2Sx0MuEmdxQ The council issued the following news release about the service. National Day of Prayer is today, Thursday, May 6. “This year, many prominent spiritual leaders from our community donated their time and voices for our video series of interviews and tours of local houses
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By DANNY MINTON This past week I took our dog outside and sat in one of the rockers, staring at the night sky. Then, without warning, a sudden sense of sadness swept over me as my thoughts came back to our son, who died seven years ago. For a few moments, my heart swelled, filled with grief over the loss.
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury It has been said of me throughout my adult life–perhaps also true of years unfolding soon after infancy–that my antenna has been on “24/7” alert for good deals. Many deals, though, have soured due to timing issues. I mean, how was I supposed to know as a lad that the once-raging demand for Davy
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By JIM NICHOLS Whether or not you are a follower of God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, you have some sort of spiritual stance. Furthermore, that stance did not just fall into you; it was developed over the years through what you have been told, what you have read, and the way you have interpreted what has happened
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