The Invalid

By Renae Brumbaugh   I’m a big chicken when it comes to my mother. Don’t get me wrong. She’s a wonderful lady. She’s my biggest cheerleader, my best friend. But still. She scares me sometimes. Not that she’s scary.

The Media’s Absurd NFL Hysteria

By Rich Lowry   During the past few weeks, two sets of initials have dominated the news -- ISIL and NFL -- and the casual listener would be hard-pressed to decide which is more odious. It’s a wonder that President Barack Obama hasn’t pledged to bring NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to justice.

Flip-flops until November

By Lynette Sowell   It’s been many years, but I think I’m finally able to admit that I’m used to a central Texas fall. As in fall, where the leaves seem to die overnight and then just, fall. If you’ve lived here for years, you might be used to it too.

Recognizing schoolmates after six decades

By Willis Webb   Spending the better part of six decades editing and publishing country newspapers, as penned here before, includes enough seven-day work weeks that trips to my hometown were quite limited.

Sharks and Pirates

By Renae Brumbaugh   Last week, it was two years since my daddy died. And I miss him, so much. But lest this article turn into a mourning session, which believe me, Daddy would not like at all, I have to tell you how we remembered him. We mowed the lawn.

Congress should vote on ISIS

By Rich Lowry   We have as close to a national consensus as possible in the war against ISIS. Polls show the public wants strong measures. Practically everyone on the political spectrum says the terror group should be destroyed, even Elizabeth Warren and Rand Paul.

Greatest football pain: mistakes

By Willis Webb Few would dispute the claim that, in Texas high school sports, football is king. That’s changed some over the years but that headbutting game is still dominant. Friday night frenzy is adequate testimony to that claim.

The boys of fall

By Lynette Sowell I’m dusting off this column for Homecoming week and thinking of a great Texas tradition. On Friday nights throughout Texas, as the sun goes down, the stadium lights glow in hundreds of towns as the local “boys of fall” take to their football fields.

Obama’s foreign policy collapse

By Rich Lowry   President Barack Obama’s stated goal in the fight against the Islamic State, aka ISIS, is to reduce it to a “manageable problem.” What this means, he hasn’t spelled out in great specificity. Presumably fewer beheadings. A slower pace of Western recruiting.

Moving On

By Renae Brumbaugh   Yesterday, my coffee maker died. It just quit working. No warning. No sputtering or strange noises. It just died. My first reaction was one of those deercaught- in-the-headlights panic moments. No coffee? How will I make it through the day with no coffee?