Opinion

In a story that rivals that of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, the Old Testament tells the tale of how King Solomon was granted a supernatural wish. In a dream, God offered the young king anything he desired. He asked for wisdom. He asked for common sense, for “an understanding mind and discernment.”...

Have you given any thought to what Holiday Island will be like in 10 or 15 years? It’s easy to sit back and congratulate ourselves on finding such a pleasant place to live and enjoy the golf, fishing, boating, hiking, churches, music and theater, etc.  A community garden is even available now. Most of us live on paved roads and enjoy the benefits of utilities and city sewers in place when we buy or build a home. ...

Board games are a big deal in my family. When I say that, I mean it. My most vivid memories center around my grandparents’ dining room table, where we’d play every board game you can think of. Our favorite was Wahoo, a marble game most know as Aggravation...

Bryan Stevenson is an inspirational figure who founded and leads the “Equal Justice Initiative.” The mission statement of his organization reads: “Ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, challenging racial and economic injustice, and protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.”...

Last week, a Van Buren man rammed down a statue displaying the 10 Commandments at the Arkansas State Capitol building. I’ve read a lot of misinformation about this case, and I’m hoping to clear it up in this column. Let’s start with the facts. Michael Reed, a born-again Christian who calls himself a “Jesus freak” on his Facebook page, filmed himself driving into the monument and live-streamed it to social media. ...

“Won’t you help to sing these songs of freedom?” Bob Marley asked a generation. In a few minutes of music he retold the story of African slavery, the continued pursuit of liberty, and quoted a line from Marcus Garvey that is now almost a hundred years old...

July 21 will mark the five-year anniversary of my father’s death. It’s been on my mind lately. My dad and I were never close; I’m not sure if that’s because we were so different, or if it’s because we were so much alike. Certainly, there were a lot of things we didn’t agree on. ...

Ninety-three million miles away from our planet is nature’s most perfect nuclear reactor: the sun, the center of our solar system. Eleven thousand degrees at the surface and double that at its core, it squashes atoms like we squash bugs. If you could capture a pinhead’s worth of that glowing hydrogen and helium, it would radiate enough heat to eradicate everything for 400 city blocks. ...

My mom raised me on her own, pretty much from the moment I was born. She did it so well I didn’t realize most kids have two parents until elementary school. That’s when I started making friends and having sleepovers, where both parents were present. The more I got to know kids my age, the more I saw differences between my life and theirs...

Two years ago Saturday, nine beautiful people were shot and killed inside the historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. As it has been with a growing list of terroristic tragedies in this world, I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news, and I remember the revulsion and bereft I felt...

As of Monday, it’s been a year since the shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. It is the worst mass shooting in American history, with 50 dead and more than 50 injured. It’s no secret that we have a problem with madmen having access to guns in our country, but this column isn’t about that. This column is dedicated to those 50 lives we lost last year...

A much-employed, psychological coping mechanism we all use from time to time is called “projection.” We project onto others what is going on within ourselves. For example, if I have deep, simmering anger I might subconsciously project that emotion on to those around me — rather than face it for myself — and thus perceive others as angry...

Last week, my boss covered a story about the Eastern Carroll County Ambulance District. He reported the information given to him and continually updated the story as it evolved. He did exactly what a good reporter is supposed to do, and somebody still accused him of reporting fake news...

As a general rule, I don’t write columns about local news stories. The reason is that I might have to cover a story that I’ve written about, or at the very least be involved in supervising coverage of that story. I don’t want anyone to think that our reporting of any particular story is anything less than 100 percent objective...

More than two million couples get married in the United States every year and the most popular month for such nuptial agreements is the one now upon us: June. This custom is at least as old as the Roman Empire, what with June being named after “Juno,” the mythological goddess of marriage...

As I write this column, it’s Memorial Day. Across Carroll County — and across the country — ceremonies are being held to honor and remember those men and women who gave their lives in military service. One of those ceremonies took place this morning in Green Forest, where longtime Green Forest High School teacher and coach Jim Goins was among the speakers. ...

Carina Chocano wrote a timely column earlier this year titled, “Laying Low,” her premise being that we have lost the virtue of humility in our society. The loss has been so complete, per Chocano, that we have even inverted humility’s true meaning. She wrote: “These days … to pronounce yourself ‘humbled’ is to announce your greatness. ...

Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the Notre Dame commencement ceremony on Sunday, and several students silently walked out in protest. Some disagreed with the Trump administration’s actions. Some disagreed with the sentiment behind Pence’s speech. No matter their reason, they all had a right to do what they did...

If all goes according to plan — and that’s a mighty big “IF” — this weekend I will be in attendance at two high school graduations. These are decidedly important ceremonies for me and my family. They are for my two oldest sons: Blayze and Bryce McBrayer...

This past Sunday, Gideon and I visited his mom in Fayetteville to celebrate Mother’s Day. We played a game of Catan, drank coffee and talked for a few hours before heading back to Eureka Springs. It was a nice day, but I couldn’t help but miss my mom...

A longtime friend of mine says there are only two kinds of real music: Country and Western. His pun aside, there is plenty of what might be labeled “country music” out there today, though most of it is just drivel with an Oklahoma accent. “Western music,” however, is a bit more difficult to locate. It has become almost extinct in the mainstream, though in the niche market there remains some outstanding talent...

Sunday is Mother’s Day. For some of you readers, it will be a day to celebrate and honor your mothers by spending some time with them. There will be flowers, special meals and time spent together. For others, and for me, it will be a day to remember the mothers that we can’t spend the day with — we’ll celebrate and honor our moms, too, but we’ll have to do it more quietly, in our hearts...

On Christmas Day of last year, the German city of Augsburg ordered the evacuation of 50,000 of its citizens. It was the largest such evacuation in the country since World War II. This wasn’t precipitated by a chemical leak or a terrorist attack, but it was the result of a bomb — a very large, old bomb — an unexploded ordnance weighing more than a ton...

This past weekend, our little community was hit by a series of storms so strong that some roads were still blocked off on Monday morning. The rain was relentless and never-ending, pouring down fast enough to create one of the largest floods Carroll County has ever seen. Several cars were lost in the flood, and one local woman lost her life. She was only 24...

In the legendary “Cheers” sitcom of the 1980s, there is an episode where Norm (played by George Wendt) walks into the bar and is greeted by the always cheerful Woody Harrelson. From behind the bar Woody asks, “How’s it going, Mr. Peterson?” Norm, trudging along to his usual barstool, answers cynically, “It’s a dog eat dog world, Woody, and I’m wearing Milk Bone underwear.”...

“Well, it’s cancer.” That’s the message I received a few weeks ago from a dear friend. She had feared as much, and I had tried to reassure her that everything would be OK. In the wake of the diagnosis, I asked if there was anything I could do to help. ...