Columns

Teach a man to fish, or not

You may have heard the proverb, “Give a man a fish, and you’ll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you’ll feed him for a lifetime of crushing debt after he buys the boat, trailer, tackle, depth finder, trolling motor, etc.”

So, did I mention my 30th wedding anniversary?

“I could search the whole world over/Until my life is through/But I know I’ll never find another you.” — as performed by The Seekers. Five years ago, in conjunction with my 25th wedding anniversary, I was halfway finished writing a 40,000-word book of hard-won marriage wisdom.

Citizens worried about spies among us

South Louisiana was not left out when the U.S. entry into World War I caused everyone and his brother to become wary of strangers, and sometimes neighbors, suspected of being German spies. Folks in Eunice thought they’d found one when a drifter passed through just about Christmas time in 1917.

It’s the season of the long goodbye

Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes. I didn’t write that. It was actually Billy Joel in “Say goodbye to Hollywood” from the Turnstiles album. Love that album, which I’ve always thought was very underrated.

What was your favorite summer job?

With the school year ending and the economy slowly reopening, let’s reminisce about the illustrious history of summer jobs.

My beef with beef

There are few things I enjoy more than grilling up tasty steaks for a group of close friends, but red meat isn’t going to be on the menu this summer. The cost of beef is higher than ever.

Unsolicited advice for the 2021 grads

By the time most of you read this, my son Gideon will have marched across the gymnasium floor and received his high school diploma. I have brainstormed some sage advice for Gideon’s next phase and hope that his fellow grads nationwide can benefit.

Sugar for the stills left little for coffee

When south Louisiana men were hauled into court during Prohibition and accused of making moonshine whiskey at least a handful of them seemed genuinely surprised to find out that the mess of tubes and barrels discovered in their cabins was actually a still.

There’s value in work, like it or not

The disappointing April jobs report should surprise absolutely no one, given that we now have a government more interested in providing incentives for people not to work rather than paving the way to gainful employment. What this approach fails to account for is the value of work itself.

Ever have a near-death experience?

My late father once confided his belief in “universal knowledge.” He felt that God gave humans finite, physical brains to prevent them from knowing EVERYTHING.