Columns

The incredible power of fathers

Editor’s Note: This column is an excerpt from Tom Purcell’s humorous book, “Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood,” available at Amazon.com. My 84-year-old father still asks me why I did it.

Celebrity suicides should be a reminder to listen

When I heard my brother Jonathan had taken his own life, my first thought, unfiltered through the sieve of reason, was: “Why the hell did he do this to me, to my mother, to us?” When I learned that Kate Spade had taken her own life, my first thought was: “Why did she do that to them?

Skilled trades beat degree debt

When I was a 19-year-old college sophomore in 1982, my father gave me advice that makes even more sense for 19-year-olds today. Despite his protestations, you see, I chose English as my major at Penn State.

No pardon for partisan hypocrisy

Quick, grab the smelling salts and clear the fainting couches. President Trump’s pardon of conservative author Dinesh D’Souza last week violently triggered Beltway media elites.

Why tax dollars for the Saints?

The Times Picayune reported that the New Orleans Saints may ask the state to pay for a $350 million upgrade to the Superdome before the 2024 Super bowl.

The media continues to lie about Trump

The problem with the “fake news” meme is that such fabrications exist in two places — online at sites dedicated to creating falsehoods and mainstream news outlets.

For happiness, head for the hills

In my experience, the study’s findings are true. According to The Washington Post, the Vancouver School of Economics and McGill University have determined that people who live in rural areas and small towns are happier than those who live in congested urban and large metro areas.

West’s World: All hope for justice is not lost

A grand jury decision to indict two murder suspects and a detective with the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office has left me feeling like all hope for justice is not lost. The most surprising of the grand jury’s true bills was the one issued against EPSO Detective Caleb Stelly.

Downsizing: 20 mirthful years

My son thought I was kidding him, but I really am writing about the lighter side of the 20th anniversary of being downsized out of my previous “day job.” Was my termination a surprise?