Around Town

We were dressed and ready to go out for the New Years Eve Party. We turned on a night light, turned the answering machine on, covered our pet parakeet and put the cat in the backyard. W e phoned the local cab company and requested a taxi.

Many of us over 40, WAY over 40 or hovering near 40 are quite confused about how we should present ourselves. We’re unsure about the kind of image we are projecting and whether or not we are correct as we try to conform to current fashions.

By JOHN MARTIN Don’t take each other for granted because all we really have is each other.  Read this and do what you think would be the right thing to do.  I just did.   Have a Blessed Day. Friends love you, but they are not your lover. Friends care for you, but they are not your family.

As a lifelong English teacher and coach of numerous academic bowl teams, I’m always on the lookout for proper English usage. We ran across this once while studying for an academic bowl and I have used it ever since. Someone out there either has too much spare time or is deadly at Scrabble.

I envy Kevin (not his real name). He thinks God lives under his bed. He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom one night and I stopped to listen, “Are you there, G o d ? ” he said. “Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed...” Kevin’s unique perspectives are often a source of amusement.

A first grade school teacher had 25 students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the first half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb.  It’s hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you.

By John Bill Martin My late father had pretty traditional views when it came to politics. As one who survived the Great Depression, he thought Franklin D. Roosevelt was sent by a Protestant (probably Baptist) God to help poor, of whom we were among the poorest, people survive.

Around Town...... Starla Smith is my new favorite Catholic, but she has refrained from trying to lure me into joining her at St. Teresa’s. Word has reached me from a reliable source that the reason she hasn’t tried to gather me into the fold is that (1) My bones creaking and groaning would cause a...

Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours with this heartfelt message: TRUE LOVE With Valentine’s Day just past, here’s a message that might cause you to stop and think.

By John Bill Martin Staff Writer If you remember the Original Hollywood Squares and its comics, this may bring a tear to your eyes.