THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury The memory is lodged in my brain’s recesses, as closely as mistletoe clings to mesquite trees. Our parents–neither with educational opportunities beyond high school–provided common sense counsel for my brother and me. One admonition on their rigid “you-ought-to-do” ladder has remained on the top step. Their advice was sound then and is so today.

 THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury My old Uncle Mort is nothing if not analytical, even when he’s not even looking for ways to make easy bucks. He called recently to provide his analysis of members of the Thicket Community Church whose pastor called for a special mid-week prayer session appealing for rain. It would be at high noon on

 THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury In all the years I’ve known my aged Uncle Mort, he has made few observations about horses, if any at all. For the past few days, he has spoken of little else, what with the news that the City of Dallas hardly knows what to do with one of its storied landmarks. Yep, trouble

 THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury The next thing we know is that three out of five New York doctors agree that watching television may be hazardous to our health. This isn’t exactly “breaking news” until one stares reality in the face, convinced that it isn’t easy these days to find 60 percent of persons in any group–professional or otherwise–who

  THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Craig Murphy, a well-known Fort Worth country music vocalist, has found his niche after trying several other pursuits that turned out to be short-lived. He’s certified in both law enforcement and auto mechanics, but his interest in both fields flagged quickly. During COVID’s darkest days, he tinkered with auto repair once more, but

   THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury We are buoyed annually by hopes that spring eternal when dogwoods and azaleas lead nature’s spring parade. So do concessionaires at Arlington’s Globe Life Field, where the youthful Texas Rangers will hit, run, throw and catch baseballs during the 2022 season in the American League West. No matter how the boys of summer

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Once upon a time, folks caused others to smile by telling–and re-telling–stories to each other. Some have been funnier than others, and some people have told said stories better than others. That established, it is fully admitted that storytelling rarely occurs anymore. It is generally banished from our workaday world, generally assigned to memory

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury In the course of human history, there’ve rarely been days like current ones when bottom lines on price tags have been so convoluted, confusing, confounding and–in some cases–perhaps even conspiratorial. There may be a few more “con” words that apply, but these seem adequate to describe runaway prices, some of which are indeed “con

THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury My aged Uncle Mort is accustomed to numerous cat calls–as well as some from yelping dogs–when he expresses opinions that fly in the face of contrary views.  He lined up on the women’s side when their liberation movement started almost a half-century ago. During a mock referendum in the 1960s, Mort joined the bunch