Columns

Distressed dachshund knew what to do

In February 1953 a dachshund named Hugo barked out a testimony to at least one benefit of the good old days when telephone calls were placed through local operators who knew everyone in town and, some said, a lot of their business that had nothing to do with making a call.

It’s so hard to be politically correct!

I have enjoyed writing this column for the past 17 years. But I’ve got to tell you, it’s really a challenge writing one each week in this day and age. You see, I’ve got to be “politically correct” so as to not offend any of my readers.

Stove debate a real gas

I love my gas stove — almost as much as I love my Weber gas grill. So I became curious this past week when I heard that a commissioner in one of our ever-expanding federal-government agencies discussed a possible ban on natural gas stoves.

Shall we sing the praises of public restrooms?

It’s an amenity that most consumers take for granted. It’s an amenity that most retailers and professionals grudgingly accept as a cost of doing business. But I simply must salute those businesspeople who provide the miracle of indoor plumbing to their patrons.

Escape from New York and Southwest Airlines

In the 1980s, I repeatedly watched a recorded copy of the film “Escape from New York” on my family’s Panasonic VCR – complete with tuning knobs the size of hubcaps.

Searching for Fabacher in Acadia Parish

Sometime ago, I wrote about an all but forgotten Acadia Parish community called Fabacher, noting that little remains to mark just where it was.

Pope Benedict: The Holy War for America

With the death of Pope Benedict XVI, considered one of the greatest theologians in the 20th century, we should stop to ponder what effect he had on America.

Drifting back into ‘The Twilight Zone’?

When you have the beginning of a cold, nothing sparkly to wear and you really hate New Year’s, you watch television.

Laughing your way to happiness

What makes us happy and fulfilled? According to the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest scientific study of happiness ever conducted, the answer is very simple: our relationships.

Florida rescues it’s insurance market

Governor DeSantis and Florida Republicans signed legislation to prevent the state’s property insurance market from collapsing as more than a dozen insurers have failed in the last three years, while an alarming number are pulling back from the market because they can’t get reinsurance.