THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury We spend hours at homecomings, reminiscing about bygone days. There were mutterings of how time flies at Howard Payne University’s annual gathering on October 1. The class of 1971, headed by Darrell Miles, wanted to honor HPU athletes, including basketball stars Russell Berry and Ray Hildebrand. (Paula Berry accompanied her husband Russell.) These were mostly 70-somethings.
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Alexander William Kinglake is a name snuggled deeply inside of all-knowing Google. He was a 19th century lawyer who gave up his legal practice to become an author, best known for a single proverb: “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you.” It is believed that Kinglake’s intent was to help
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury During almost two decades of writing weekly accounts of humorous and/or unlikely occurrences, I’ve never come across anything quite so bizarre as the subject of this week’s epistle. It is a legal case in progress, as the wheels of justice necessarily turn slowly. Otherwise, the folks at Alta Mesa Church of Christ in Fort Worth
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury My aged Uncle Mort can take a side road into yesteryear quickern’ most people can start an argument over vaccines. Now, he’s on a mission to learn more about Indian Summer. He’s finding much information about the season in numerous countries of the world. In general, he has concluded that in the U.S., the subject
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury J. Ron Hardin, from most angles, might appear to be the kind of guy others would enjoy competing against. They might figure him to be a “push-over” in recreational or business endeavors, and they’d be wrong. He’d probably get so far ahead of ‘em that he’d soon be out of sight to the naked
Read moreThe IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Jokes and stories attributed to U.S. presidents–true or not–have to make some of them blush with embarrassment. File drawers of the late President Harry S. Truman must have bulged nigh unto disintegration. He was arguably the most plain-spoken president of the 20th century. (Admittedly, in the 21st century, he probably would have been a distant second to
Read moreThe IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Blackie Sherrod—arguably the best sportswriter this side of the ancient Olympic Games begun in Greece seven centuries before the birth of Christ–had a name for us. He classified us as drones and worker bees, mostly “9-to-5’ers” with little hope of ever getting ahead. He called us “The Great Unwashed.” He described the masses as
Read moreThe IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Preachers, bless ‘em, don’t have to look hard for reasons to laugh. Some are able to put laughter “on hold,” restraining guffaws until sermons end; others can only surrender to the humor of the moment. This day, I’ll address the “long and the short of it,” The former, Dr. Bruce McIver, was a student
Read moreIDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Seminary professors, bless ‘em, are saddled with expectations that run the gamut, and they forge on, day after day, knowing that the likelihood of having “another Billy Graham” in their classes is beyond remote. Though their patience be tested, they give their best shots, even for struggling students who feel called to the ministry from
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Spirit Of Abilene 