IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Until mid-twentieth century, most American women had every right to sing “washday blues,” because one day of the week–for most, the longest day–was committed to washing, hanging out, ironing and folding the family duds. The day started with a trip to the laundromat, since most homes at the time were lucky to have indoor plumbing,
Read moreIDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury My late father, T. J. Newbury, was a grand story teller. Friends and neighbors in Early, Texas, gave him high marks for joke-telling, and so do I. Usually, hearty “ho-ho’s” erupted when the punch line was unleashed, but on the rare occasions when silence hung heavy and listeners looked blankly as if ghosts had been
Read moreIDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury It still lurks in my mind’s “crannies,” jumping to the forefront of my thoughts more often than I’d like. It was a single sentence–uttered by someone whose name I don’t know–imparting an important truth usually requiring paragraphs, chapters or even volumes. It was uttered in a large room where a few dozen people were scattered,
Read moreIDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Give me a break. There are pitfalls when one is in tall weeds trying to determine the origin of expressions. I’m “old school,” still delighting in reading newspaper comics. A recent Bizarro panel from the fertile mind of cartoonist Dan Piraro struck a chord. (I tend to communicate best at a fourth-grade level, so I miss the
Read moreIDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Uncle Mort isn’t his usual self. His 108th birthday is at hand, and he’s hung up on whether to have a “real” party, or join the growing list of folks who are “computer Zooming” to celebrate special occasions. (Printers are shaking their heads, turning out fancy invitations with the word “virtual” in big type.) “Maybe I’d
Read moreIDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury “We’ve never done it that way before.” The expression was well worn before the pandemic came along. Lately, creative juices have been milked dry for new ways to conduct commencements, weddings and funerals. The late Roy Kornegay, a church leader who died recently in Amarillo, might well have observed, “So what?” When softball nudged against
Read moreIDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury It is ironic that author/broadcasting legend Garrison Keillor’s mythical hometown of Lake Wobegon is only an hour’s “crow fly” journey from Minneapolis. I saunter in where angels fear to tread–this needless mixing make believe with reality in the same paint can–but serious news folks do so all the time, so why not? Once asked about
Read moreIDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Describing the onion as a “lowly vegetable” didn’t set well with the late Othal Brand, for 20 years the McAllen, Texas, mayor who cleared many hurdles during his 90-year earthly pilgrimage. His beloved Rio Grande Valley is now a world center for vegetables in general and for onions in particular. Ever restless and ever persuasive,
Read moreIDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury It’s a parental directive virtually all of us have lodged in our minds dating back to childhood days when our memories started to take root. “Look both directions,” they implored, emphasizing dangers posed by passing cars. Often, they’d throw additional dangers at intersections, thus providing more dreadful statistics that made us even more fearful of
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Spirit Of Abilene 