Columns & Editorials

Dear Aunt B,

I’m not a betting person. If I were, I’d wager that December 26th is probably the biggest sales day for plastic containers. After all, the Christmas decorations have been up for at least a month at this point. That tree positioned a bit too close to the foyer, catching all the elbows and shoulders of those who enter, and the wreaths and the garland and the glitter that seems to procreate overnight now seem downright irksome after the 25th. We are done with festive holidays. It’s time to put away the wonder and pack away the joy and issue a yearly happiness postponement until Thanksgiving of 2022. And, we need new, shiny containers with working lids because someone threw away all the cardboard boxes. After all, January is somber. January is woeful. It’s time to mourn all the bad decisions of the holiday season. I spent too much money. I ate too much sugar. I drank too much eggnog. And now, I just want to make all the reminders of my less than perfectness disappear. Worst of all, it’s time for resolutions. Katie bar the door. It’s time to pay the piper. And, there’s no Mekhi Phifer. I just blew on my fingertips and rubbed them on my imaginary lapel. I deserve an award for that line.

RECONNECTING WITH THE SIMPLE LIFE

I had a Twitter conversation with someone and mentioned that public education should take a lesson from professional football. The NFL will fire a coach that produces losses for too long. That person reminded me that football teams are private entities that expect success. The franchise’s profitability relies on the coach’s ability to produce a winning, money-making team. If a coach is not demonstrating the expected level of success, that coach expects to be and will be fired. Publicly.

It seems that all people crave attention. Young kids will often do something naughty to get attention knowing they will be punished in the end. Actually all people have inherited that longing for attention. It started at the beginning of creation. The devil was not satisfied with his position and wanted to move up even with GOD. GOD will not share His glory with anyone or anything. The Bible teaches that no one or anything can come close to GOD and survive. I believe His glory and brightness is so intense that anyone or anything would be burned up instantly.

Dear Aunt B,

Lori and I are about to share a new and exciting adventure in our lives. As I sat down to tell you about it, I saw that this column from April 9, 2018 was liked on FB by an old friend.

A little teacher humor.

On December 8 and 9, the Forney Education Foundation’s Grant Train rolled through Forney ISD awarding the teacher requested grants that had been funded for the 2021-2022 school year.

The purpose of a school board is to oversee and govern school districts. Board members are elected by the community and are responsible to represent the community in meetings and decisionmaking. Board members should have student achievement as their first and ultimate goal of serving as a trustee on a school board. With the increasing chaos surrounding school board meetings, student achievement is clearly not the priority.

The Bible answers that question in JEREMIAH 17:9. “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart.” That Bible verse indicates that people are born with that kind of heart. I am not talking about the big muscle that pumps our blood and keeps us alive. I believe that means the heart of our souls.

Dear Aunt B,

Recently I got to meet a gem of a man named Edward Grady from Ennis, Texas. He is the father of 12 kids. Six are grown and six live at home. To make ends meet raising all of those kids he picks up scrap metal and sells it. Edward’s work ethic, punctuality and kindness are remarkable. Of course, there is a story about how I met him and I will gladly pass it along.