Columns

What America needs is a hearty laugh

America could use a hearty laugh right now, but laughter doesn’t come easily because too many Americans have lost their sense of humor. Humor, says Merriam-Webster, is “the ability to be funny or to be amused by things that are funny.” We are at our best when we’re amused.

Hogs and alligators didn’t mix well

As I poke around among stories and recollections of times gone by, I am continually reminded of how isolated much of south Louisiana was before highways began to connect us, and that our isolation lasted for a good deal longer than we might expect.

Have you ever met a stranger?

Reminiscing with one of my mother’s photo albums, I encountered a snapshot of a long-deceased neighbor (a dear, sweet man) who is still summed up by the phrase “He never met a stranger.

Disgraceful discourse ours to correct

Without grace, our public discourse will continue to suffer. “Grace,” according to Dictionary.com, has more than one meaning, but all of them are powerful. Grace is “a pleasing or attractive quality,” as well as “favor or goodwill.

Capitol riots weren’t about race

Why should we be surprised that at a time when everything is supposed to be about race, from the skin color of certain newspaper editors forced to resign to whether we should capitalize the “B” in “Black,” the most disturbing and consequential attack on our civic body in decades ends up being all...

Laying blame for the Capitol riots where it belongs

You might have seen the photo by now. Of all the disturbing images of Wednesday’s insurrection, this one lingers. The photo, shot by Michael Robinson Chavez of the Washington Post, shows seven or so Trump supporters scaling the wall on the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol.

2021 can’t be any worse, can it?!

What a difference a terrible year makes. Last year at this time, my wife, Colleen the travel agent, and I were getting ready to take 40 of her clients on a 15-day cruise out of Dubai to India and back.

Celebrate Archie Bunker’s 50th anniversary!

I spent Monday nights in the fall of 1975 breathlessly watching my favorite TV show. And I do mean breathlessly.

Don’t use death as a political weapon

My father had terminal lung cancer.

Companion animals bringing more joy than ever

My new puppy entered the world on Christmas and he’s already bringing incredible joy into my family — just as many dogs, cats and other bundles of joy are doing for millions during these unusual times. I drove to Punxsutawney over the weekend to choose a Labrador puppy.