THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Foul balls aren’t really the worst things in the world. Generally, unless they’re caught, at least one more swing is assured. Missing the ball by even one-millionth of an inch on the third strike results in a “whiff” that can cause serious sleep disruptions. Okay, so much for framing with baseball jargon. If I get

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury The event is “brain-etched,” deeply embedded and validated by the calendar. It was May of 1962, all “heady stuff” for a one-year-out-of-college guy invited to make a commencement address.  The distance was 87 miles from Brownwood to London in Texas’ beautiful Hill Country, where I would speak at graduation exercises for four seniors at

 THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury For the next three weeks, there’ll be too much about me, even if I apologize in advance for citing personal experiences, but they’re the only kinds I’ve had. At their core will be remembrances of commencement ceremonies, mostly where I’ve been privileged to speak. For brief and shining moments, I’ve joined graduates, families and fellow

 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

 THE 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When I introduced this weekly column more than 22 years ago, my stated goal was to provide amusement–even if corny and outdated–largely for readers dealing with bodily wrinkles, waistlines, aches, breaks, bends and assorted other groans associated with later life.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

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury When one nitpicks, there’s no end to it. We’re all frequently guilty, and I admit to being among chief sinners, particularly since the term’s initial usage began in 1956, the same year I finished Early High School. Sudden thought: Maybe I’m the guy who first justified the term. Like heat surging from “simmer to boil”

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury It’s got to be a borderline miracle when Eastland–a town with fewer than 5,000 people–can lay claim to not one, but TWO “facts” worthy of the Guinness Book of Records recognition. “Facts” has quotation marks for a reason. It’s not certain that a horned toad named Ol’ Rip actually hibernated for 31 years in the

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Easter 2025 was a time like none other! Before choirs proclaimed that He is risen, before church bells sounded around the world celebrating Jesus’ resurrection and before children skittered across lawns for multicolored eggs, I saw history’s greatest moment patterned in a quiet Fort Worth neighborhood. It’s a place where tattered lives are transformed

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Don’t ever mention falling through cracks in the presence of Rev. Jared Greer–unless you delight in seeing eyes roll, hair stand on end and bodily contortions with “rigors” followed shortly by “mortis.” With three appearances on NBC’s American Ninja Warrior television show and a fourth segment to run at 7 p.m. (CST) on June