Beech Tree News Network

If we are not real careful our sense of propriety slips a bit when we get older.

Sometime back Bett and I were attending a funeral. While the son of the deceased was giving a very heart-felt eulogy, some old guy in back of us leaned over to his wife and said, "That man (the deceased) looks awful old to have a boy that young." Not only did his wife hear it, everybody there heard it - LOUD and clear.

I was supposed to be redoing my dining room this weekend.  My daughter, Natalie, and I figured up that the current wall paper has been on that wall for over twenty years.  It’s definitely time, but the task is so daunting.  I looked the situation over on Saturday morning, mulling over in my mind what would have to be moved and where.  I was exhausted just thinking about it.  I decided to check my email before I got started.  Email led to Facebook and Facebook to Google.  You know how it is.  The composer, Shuman, said, “The genius is in the starting,” and nobody has ever accused me of being

This is the season political junkies live for. Presidential elections, with all of their twists and turns, polls and prognostications, are what partisans crave. The most recent debate between Gov. Romney and President Obama was – if little else – great political theater. I must admit, it was fun – at least for a moment.  But most Americans are not enjoying their current economic lives. 

The television show Glee has made its money off of remaking classics.  The only thing frustrating about that is that there is a whole generation that may grow up thinking “Don’t Stop Believin’ is “that song from Glee”.  No kids, that’s the 1981 classic from Journey.  This is not going to be a column ripping Glee.  Rather, it’s a column about remakes in general.

Protecting Our Right to Hunt and Fish on November Ballot:On November 6th voters will head to the polls to cast their ballot for President, Congress, state House and Senate, and some local offices.  But Kentuckians will also have an opportunity to cast their vote on the following proposal, which I co-sponsored during the 2011 Legislative Session:

October is a popular vacation month. Many school calendars include a fall break, providing an opportunity for families to spend time together. The Butler County Schools District’s fall break was the first week in October. Vacations give us a break, a change of pace.

About 2 years ago, our six year old son, Jax, got it into his head that we were going to Disney World.  Jax has been saving every single piece of change he has “found” which included change that may have been inadvertently left on a counter, dresser, the car, or in my purse.  In other words, if the change was left out in the open, it was fair game.  Every time we would ask Jax what he was going to do with the money, he would say, “We are going to Disney World.”  The reason I tell you all of this is because, we had never said a word to anyone about going to Disney World; this was all Jax’s i

As I have aforementioned, I received my early education at a two-room school at New Cypress, in Muhlenberg County.

We didn't have many embellishments when it came to learning - no high-tech stuff. Just books, pencil and paper, and blackboard and chalk. And a coal stove, which we were allowed to hover around at times in winter. But now, we did have one piece of high-tech equipment - for that day anyway. It was called an abacus. It was a frame of sorts, with beads or balls sliding back and forth on wires: "you have ten beads - slide away three and you have left, seven."

Have you seen the commercial in which the little girl is interviewing the sports star?  She asks questions about the guy’s favorite color, favorite animal, his bedtime, his choice of hash browns or home fries and if he likes the dress she picked out for the interview.  He turns to the room of professional reporters and asks, “Why can’t you guys ask good questions like that?”

Have you ever thought about where popular slogans such as “Where’s The Beef” and “We Do Chicken Right” originated? In the case of KFC, theirs was a 1981 ad campaign.  Wendy’s memorable “Where’s The Beef” ad was used in the 1980’s and popularized in ads by the late actress Clara Peller.  Founder Dave Thomas wanted bigger patties on burgers.