March 21, 2024 - I have often stated that I wish I knew what “scratch” was because I keep hearing people say that they made something from “scratch.” If I knew what it was I could bundle it, can it, or bottle it for sale and make a lot of money. I hear the term “made from scratch” mostly in the world of cooking, as women say with pride that they made that wonderful cake from scratch.
March 15, 2024 - About 10% of the population is left-handed. Our daughter is left-handed even though both of her parents are right-handed. So, what happened? Is being born with the dominant hand being the left one blamed on genetics?
Lefties have had a tough time over the centuries overcoming their “handicap.” Beginning at the time of the Industrial Revolution, workers needed to operate complex machines that were almost certainly designed with right-handers in mind. This would make the leftie appear less capable and clumsier.
March 7, 2024 - I was watching the Dr. Phil show the other day when he made a statement that I had not heard in a long time. He told one of his guests that he didn’t “care a tinker’s damn about that”. That comment prompted me to delve into that old saying as to its real or intended meaning. The meaning in today’s society is “something that is insignificant or worthless”. However, the saying has more than that one meaning.
December 12, 2023 - Many secular Christmas songs have been written over the years, some successful, but most never made it to the big time. The second most popular song behind Bing Crosby’s "White Christmas" almost didn’t get recorded. Had it not been for Gene Autry’s wife, Ina, the little song may have languished for lack of attention and faded away into the trash can of history.
November 30, 2023 - I recall that my mother, Alice, would complain about her nerves. After a long day of work in her beauty shop she would often go to her medicine cabinet, pull out a blue bottle, and take a spoon full of liquid. She said that it calmed her nerves.
October 4, 2023 - I am certain that you have heard someone use the phrase, “That cost me an arm and a leg.” We understand it to mean that it refers to something of great cost or value. It is in common usage, but where did it originate? Here again, research reveals interesting data.
July 10, 2023 - So, what is the difference between this musical instrument of four strings called either a violin or a fiddle? They appear to be identical in physical appearance, and they sound the same regardless of whether being played by a male or female, professional musician, or an amateur. There is a musician’s joke that appears to give us a clue to the question.
Question: “What’s the difference between a fiddle and a violin?”
Answer: “You don’t spill beer on a violin.”
July 3, 2023 - I must admit that I love the taste of licorice. I always have. Now I know that most people don’t and it is difficult to find any who can “take it or leave it." You either love it or hate it. My wife is in the latter category. I have had to limit my intake of the sweet, black, chewy, delicacy since our marriage.
June 26, 2023 - As we all know San Augustine County is experiencing a rush of activity from oil companies who are drilling for gas from the Haynesville Shale formation. It appears that our county was the object of intense interest for the same back in the 1890s. The following is a quote found in the Houston Daily Post in the summer of 1890:
June 12, 2023 - One can only imagine what the Union soldiers must have thought at the sight of a giant wearing a confederate uniform running toward them in the heat of battle. Henry Clay Thruston was beyond a doubt the tallest man in the Confederate army.