THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Dr. Jimmie L. Nelson, a minister long-known for being about his Father’s business, still preaches and teaches at every opportunity–even as the years stack up. The seasoned theologian and long-time faculty member at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth observed his 94th birthday on February 11. Church friends held a luncheon in his

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury The former Shelley Cockes–who turned down a “Coke date” offer as a college freshman from the same guy she married a few days after graduation–could not have imagined the “roller coaster” experiences to come during the next three decades. Now, she’s counting the days before leaving a camper trailer where she and her husband,

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury John and Mary Smith had ordinary names, but their extraordinary 60-year marriage was anything but that, ending with her death one year ago. It had to be a marriage made in heaven, because they hardly had any planning time during a six-week courtship between their initial blind date and wedding in 1961. They defied

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Sand lines have been drawn by many of us, indicating that we know as much as we care to about certain topics. Faced with repeated barrages, we either ignore them or strike back with unambiguous “we’ve-had-enough” gestures. Granted, such scenarios are played out largely by “geezers” and “geezerettes,” mostly because there’s so much “new

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury My aged Uncle Mort is bristling with disgust about the Dallas Cowboys. He cut his frustrations loose after the National Football League teams were trimmed to four, thus excluding Dallas. “If I have ulcers, they’re bleeding badly, but Maude thinks that whether or not I have ulcers, I’m doubtless a carrier,” he jokes. Anyways,

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Last week’s piece about misstatements on the radio–as well as other communication boondoggles–resulted in readers’ contributions of foul-ups they’ve either heard of or experienced. Revisiting the topic allows me to give due credit to one Rev. William Archibald Spooner, a 19th century English preacher. He often found himself in “verbal muddles,” typically transposing words, letters

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Time delay-–a feature that allows deletion of serious blunders–has not always been a “backstop” when there’s tongue entanglement on radio broadcasts. A classic, of course, was the announcer who said he “got his tang toungled up.” Perhaps the first nationally recognized blunder occurred in June 1921, when Harry Von Zell needed to make

 THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury The suggestion that I dislike cats would be erroneous indeed, splashing down in the ever-growing sea of untruths. I prefer dogs. However, I have no desire to debate or defend. Indeed, I’d rather let sleeping cat lovers lie in their slumber. Unlike the late Al Capp–best known for his satirical comic strip Li’l Abner–I’d

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury As the old year ended, so did the lives of two one-of-a-kind icons, one in the world of sports and the other in theology. They died four days apart, 85-year-old John Madden in California, and almost 101-year-old Dr. John W. (Jack) MacGorman in Fort Worth. (Dr. MacGorman was born on the day after Christmas