Beech Tree News Network

Wouldn’t you pay somebody just to be able to take a nap every afternoon?  Yeah, me too.  I wish my granddaughter felt that way.  My daughter, Natalie, is in the middle of her two-week special training with the National Guard, so I’ve got my granddaughter, Sabria, during that time. 

June 8-10 was my first trip to St. Louis.  I went with some friends Friday June 8 to see the Cardinals play the Cleveland Indians. There were 42,098 in attendance. One of the cool things for the guitarist in me was that the Indians’ Catcher/First Baseman is named Carlos Santana! I was disappointed when his name was announced that he didn’t play “Black Magic Woman” or “Oye Como Va” (Ha)! I thought the least they could do is play some guitar Santana while the player Santana was entering the game.

What makes a house a home? Is it the things we have in it? Is it the people we share it with? Is it the location? Like many of you, when I think of home, my mental picture is welcoming.

We have too many laws, not enough law enforcement, mind you, but too many laws. Someone has said that the sum total content of today's law books is beyond any man's possible knowledge. It's easier to pass a law than it is to get rid of one. To pass takes a simple majority, however to repeal takes a two-thirds majority. Many times that is hard to come-by. Most law makers don't want to let-go of a law even if it is outdated, or the changes of time and custom have rendered a law non-applicable.

Flag Day: Celebrating an Important Symbol of Freedom, Democracy:  "Our flag says, ‘I am what you make me, nothing more.  I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself.” – Franklin K. Lang, Secretary of the Interior speaking at a Flag Day Ceremony, 1914.

I’m sure you’re familiar with one of the laws of thermodynamics that states, “Everything is moving toward chaos.” If you want to see it in action, just make a visit to my house.  Evidently, my granddaughter, Sabria, doesn’t think we’re getting there fast enough, so she has recently stepped up her game.  Her newest activity involves filling a small wire waste basket with wooden blocks, plastic farm animals, Easter eggs, and a yellow Dollywood kazoo then slinging the assortment in all directions across the kitchen and living room floors. 

Back when veteran newsman Andy Rooney passed away, I posted an article about it on facebook.  Several said I reminded them of him.  The man had an incredibly long career as a journalist, so I’m good with the comparison. Much like that Andy, the older this Andy gets, the less he puts up with other people’s crap. 

June brings to mind weddings. In our country, June is a very popular wedding month.  Although I did not marry in June, like many of you, I have observed the exchange of many wedding vows during that month.

Every now and then I like to share some thoughts--some from others and some I've contemplated my almost 79 years. Someone has said that all a man will ever really own are his own thoughts. Just as you can't roller-skate in a buffalo herd, it's hard to think worthy thoughts in one too. I speak of the clang and clatter and hubbub in which we live. I was talking to an older lady in a doctor's waiting room awhile back and a fire alarm test suddenly erupted - horns, whistles, etc.

My friend, Sue (Minton) Hawkins was killed in a traffic accident last Tuesday, and I have to wonder why.  She was just forty-eight years of age, and her life had finally taken on the kind of direction and purpose that she had always wanted it to.