Beech Tree News Network

I would really like to see the movies in the John Wick franchise, but I can’t.  His dog is killed in the first movie, and I don’t watch movies in which dogs die.  I’ve told you before that I’m probably the only American who has never watched “Old Yeller.”  I watched “Where the Red Fern Grows” on the recommendation from a cousin.  This was in the days before you could Google “Do any dogs die in the movie ‘Where the Red Fern Grows’?”  FYI, two dogs die in that movie.  I have not forgiven that cousin and probably never will.

I love watching music documentaries and informative shows on AXS TV and Vice Network, as you’ve noticed from many of my columns I’ve written this year.  My first music tidbit of the week comes from one of those: AXS TV’s Top Ten Revealed.  I believe the topic on this episode was classic guitar riffs.  The riff in question is the opening guitar riff to “Just What I Needed” from The Cars’ 1978 self-titled d

My brain feels like it’s going to explode.  I think it’s because of the chaos of the election.  I couldn’t seem to get away from it.  I probably should have stopped watching the news and scrolling through fb before I did.  I didn’t, however, and my mental well-being suffered for it.

As a consequence, I have been barely able to string two sentences together into a coherent thought.  I’ve had several ideas for a column, but not one of them developed into anything substantial.

Street Bender

Recently, I was blessed to visit some states a little farther west. The terrain was as beautiful as I expected. As we traveled, I was watchful and tried to recall things I had read or heard about each area. Not wanting to miss a thing, I stayed alert – no napping.

I show favoritism between my cats.  Not in feeding them or how I treat them, but in how I feel about them, and I feel bad about it.  Brother and Sister Cats were raised on bottles by Garey and me, and they are my babies.  Blackjack just showed up at our house one December, three years ago.  I took care to make sure he had a warm place to stay, I fed him, and eventually I coaxed him into the house, where he stays most of the time, even when the other two are outside looking for some critter to catch and set loose indoors.

Jesus unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:17-19)

Governor stands in way of implementation of relative and fictive caregiver foster care reform

This week is the final subject in this season of Dark Side of the 90’s from Vice Network.  This week: rave culture.  In the ‘90’s, what many young people crave is an all-night music and drug-fueled rave.  But eventually, all those good vibes provoke authorities to harsh partygoers’ buzz.  The government cracked down.  Criminals preyed on fun-seeking ravers and the bright, naïve promise of the rave movement got twisted into something darker.

In Frank Herbert’s epic book, DUNE, the young Duke Paul Atreides and his mother, Lady Jessica, have been betrayed by a family friend, and have to run for their lives into the desert sands of the unfamiliar planet.  On a “thopter,” heading into a sandstorm, a frightened Paul remembers the litany his mother taught him.