Thoughts for a Mother's Day upgrade

“There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, she had so many children she didn’t know what to do.”–Mother Goose A mother is a mother whether her shoe is filled with one or seven.

Faucets, swings, goatheads and roadkill

HANABA MUNN WELCHFaucets, swings, goatheads and roadkillDo you have a favorite outdoor water faucet? If it’s one from your childhood, it’s probably imbued with memories of summertime fun.My current favorite is the onethatmostlydoesn’tfreeze in winter. It evokes many memories.

Early voting underway in local elections

AUSTIN— Early voting began Monday, April 22 for municipal, school board and various bond elections. It ends on April 30 with Saturday, May 4 being election day. What is on the ballot depends on where you live.There are various ways to learn what is on the local ballot.

Bring on the aging

“I think I am only 57, but the paperwork does not back this up.

The 501

Corndogs and shoestring advertisingHANABAMUNN WELCHGet in on the Corn Dog Craze!Sonic marketers emailed me a picture of two glorious corndogs — one with mustard, yum, and one with ketchup. Really? Ketchup on a corndog? But the picture needed the eye-catching red touch. I’m ad-sawy. Red sells.

‘Aggressive’ hurricane forecast for Gulf Coast

AUSTIN—Colorado State University researchers are calling this year’s hurricane season forecast “the most aggressive” ever, the Texas Standard reported.

History’s storytellers

“The only protection as a historian is to institute a process of research and writing that minimizes the possibility of error.”— Doris Kearns Goodwin My wayfaring existence, with a great deal of time spent behind the wheel, lends itself to listening to audiobooks.Nothing quite takes the place of...

Attention to detail

Ah, the mentality of the five-year-old who whines to parents that he “really did take a bath” when the smell and dirt under the nails say otherwise.How about the students who wait until 7:56 a.m. to get that math homework done before an 8 a.m. first period class?I confess that sometimes I wash my...

The 501

COMMENTARYWho remembers mercury? Itwasthatstuffyounever really got to know till the thermometer broke. Then, if you were lucky enough to catch it, you could play with it.

Take me out to the ball game

“Well, it took me 17 years to get 3,000 hits in baseball, and I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.” -Hank Aaron You may fall into the camp of “baseball is the most boring sport known to man.”