Beech Tree News Network

There is a long road, with a slight curve, going up a hill. Near the top on the left are two houses. Only two. I’ve never known who lives in the first house; just a driveway separates the two, although neither the occupants own a car.
The second house is a shotty run-down affair. I can describe each and every room in the house. This is because my first wife Bett and I live there.

A few weeks ago, I drove to New Orleans to help my daughter, Nikki, pick out a wedding dress.  I was a bit apprehensive about the trip.  It wasn’t about the drive, I love to drive; although, I do have to keep an eye on my right foot.  It has a mind of its own, and has caused me many dollars in speeding fines.

Dear Beech Tree News Staff,

In the hours before His crucifixion, Pilate tried to get testimony from Jesus, but Jesus remained silent (Jn. 19:9; Mk. 15:3-5; Isa. 53:7). Pilate knew Christ had been delivered out of “envy” (Matt. 27:18), so he appealed to the people and their customary “prisoner release” during the Passover (Jn. 18:39-40). Sadly, the people listened to the chief priests and elders, and chose Barabbas instead of the Lord (Matt. 27:15-21). Finally, he took water and literally, “washed his hands” of the situation. He declared, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves” (Matt. 27:24).

Americans fundamentally believe in liberty, which means you shouldn’t be forced to join a union and pay dues just to get – or keep – a job.

Workers in 24 other states already enjoy such freedom. However, in our state, 95,000 Kentuckians in the private-sector workforce are still forced to join up and pay as much as 2 percent of their paychecks in dues.

Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and Starship are one in the same.  “What’s that”, you say?

My oldest daughter asked me to complete journal entries in a small book called Mom, Share Your Life with Me: A Daily Journal of Childhood Memories, and I hope to finish the journal this month. Recent questions included: “When did you put up your Christmas tree? Where did you get them? How did you decorate your trees?” I had not thought of Christmas trees as being a family tradition, but now I see that they are.

It was that kind of Thanksgiving—the kind that can happen only in Alabama with Garey’s family.  There are too many dogs and too many people gathered together under one roof—Garey’s sister, Charlotte’s, roof—but we are all welcome and all happy to be under this particular roof. 

I am sure most Bible students are familiar with Ruth, the Moabitess who was widowed, but followed her mother-in-law back to Bethlehem to live. Once there, she met and married Naomi’s kinsman, Boaz. From this union came Obed; and in time she became the great-grandmother of David. It is easy for us, having read the story, to focus upon Ruth being David’s great-grandmother, and all that this would imply in God’s plan for man’s salvation. In fact, Ruth is one of only four women mentioned in the earthly lineage of Christ (Matt. 1:5).

While the proposed revisions to Kentucky’s social studies standards resemble something akin to the policy equivalent of a half-cooked turkey, they also highlight the need for more real choices when it comes to public education in the Bluegrass State.

It’s important, for instance, to most Kentucky families that their children learn about what a “patriot” is and what “patriotism” means. Yet those words are among 25 history subjects that don’t even warrant a mention in the proposed dumbed-down standards.