THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury The old hymn declares that we are marching to higher ground. Our prevailing culture, however, suggests otherwise. Consider a joke making the rounds at the turn of the century when the internet was beginning to take hold. A couple of 10-year-olds were chatting aimlessly during summer doldrums. Something about Washington, D.C., came up. “What does
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury This is a backstory of “Touchdown Jesus” on the 50th anniversary of Notre Dame’s football faithful making the massive Hesburgh Library’s south wall mural better known than the building itself. Ever heard of the Hesburgh Library, or does “Touchdown Jesus” sound more familiar? I thought so. The artist properly centered on the depiction of Jesus,
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury With news of incivility, protests and disruption gobbling up radio and television air time and dominating front-page newspaper articles, many of us are in a state of perpetual tension. What will tomorrow bring? It’s tough to find even a sprig of a smile, but heaven knows my ancient Uncle Mort is trying his best to
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Many tourist destinations claim to be “all things to all people,” but compared to Branson, Missouri, the rest of them miss the mark by a country mile. Nestled in the Ozark Mountains, the laid-back community not only survived the pandemic, but has roared back with numerous new attractions to strengthen its vows to be “number
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury The Good Book’s Chapter 6 of Matthew provides challenging specifics on living the good life, but verse three seems most daunting. It concerns the importance of maintaining a chasm between the works of the left and right hands, perhaps as far as the east is from the west. In essence, God knows, and that’s what
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury My ancient Uncle Mort is not one to speak negatively of neighbors, unless they live at least three cattleguards away. He recently “spilled the beans” on a neighbor who lives so deep in the thicket that no one passes his house going to town. The old guy admitted to Mort recently that he had made
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Enough already. The eclipse of April 8 has been smothered with coverage by both mass and social media. Americans–some who flail at things that go “bump” in the night–yearned for even more darkness! They carved out time from busy schedules and squeezed funds from their budgets to make their way to a slice of the
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury The name “Blackwood” has been as closely linked to Southern Gospel Music as ham and eggs to diners, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz to TV, and Tarzan and Jane to jungle movies. The family has endeared itself to a grateful nation for their renditions of gospel music for some 125 years. It began when
Read moreTHE IDLE AMERICAN THE IDLE AMERICANCommentary by Dr. Don Newbury Texas A&M University–a major educational institution respected throughout the world–emerged unscathed from a litany of “Aggie jokes” that were shared for decades, though not so much now. They were, of course–exactly that–jokes. Actually, they likely enhanced a storied heritage, but they made some Aggies M-A-D. My Uncle Mort’s keen eye on
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Spirit Of Abilene 