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May 26, 2017

Elderly Mothers and the Art of Hearing

Yesterday I took Mom with me to the Library where I did a presentation on Maximilian and Carlota for the library’s Brown Bag Luncheon. Blessings on the librarians, they do a wonderful job of advertising and we had a nice crowd. I was worried about Mom not being able to hear. Fortunately, I know that […]

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May 25, 2017

Elderly Mothers and Retirement Communities # 3

“Happy Mother’s Day. You’re in Lock-up!” Her mind may be slipping but she knew full well what we intended when Sister and I bundled Mom’s clothing, and few possessions from the trailer and into the back of my car. I tried, at first, to brush it off as just taking some things to a church […]

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April 26, 2017

Elderly Mothers and Retirement Communities- Part 2

The evil deed is done. The $1,500 deposit is paid. The room is reserved. She’s moving in Monday. There is no joy in Mudville. As part of my volunteer work for our little community of Huntsville, I tell stories to the elderly at Carriage Inn. It is a lovely facility, all on one floor, decorations […]

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April 24, 2017

A Legacy

As my 96 year-old mother prepares to leave for Florida to join her hubby Al, I don’t know if she will return. Images of illnesses, or falls, or injuries float through my mind. But, to be honest, most of us in the family are already taking bets on WHEN she will return, not IF. Like […]

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April 23, 2017

On Teaching

After my recent diatribe on discipline and the terrors of teaching at our local elementary schools, it is a real pleasure to be able to report on the Humanities Texas Teaching Awards. I had to good fortune to be part of a committee for our #HumanitiesTexas that chooses a dozen or more top teachers in […]

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April 7, 2017

Visiting the Wobbly

And now I know why they call it the “Wobbly, Bobbly, Turnover and Stop.” Last Saturday, a group of 7 of us led by the irrepressible Trinityites Donna Coffen and Susan Madeley, ventured down I-45 to the Railroad Museum in Galveston. Our design was to visit the new display that focuses on the life and […]

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March 27, 2017

Turn of the Century Hotels

How delightful to walk into the lobby of the Drury Plaza Hotel in downtown San Antonio. No cold, heartless steel and glass modern edifice here. I can’t help but feel the wonderful history of the place and wonder about the people who walked through here and looked at the same elegant décor. The Drury Hotel […]

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March 25, 2017

Hotel Stays

           Some of my friends who travel more than I do can probably address this issue with more authority than I. It’s a subject with which I am going to become very familiar. Why can I call up a list of hotels on the internet for, say, Austin, and the prices […]

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March 24, 2017

San Miguel Allende

Fear is always a factor in traveling, but going to Mexico should not be. All too often people let fear keep them from going places. Mexico, because of the drug wars, has gotten a bad rap. Spring Breakers going down to Padre Island who cross the border in search of drugs may have some reason […]

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March 23, 2017

On Dogs and Discipline

Discipline, of any sort, is difficult, whether self-discipline, disciplining dogs, disciplining children or disciplining a society. But it is a necessity if we are to survive. Self-discipline, of course, is the basis for all other forms of discipline. Beside me, in the pool of light on my desk, sit the double four-inch thick stacks of […]

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