After a country supper in the days of my growing up, Mama would often stand up from the table and say, “Ronda, you clean up the kitchen. I need to call Idell and see how she’s doin.”

The lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II wrote many beautiful songs for Broadway musicals. One that was not beautiful, but powerful for what it said about race relations in 1949 when the show opened was "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught." The song was about being taught to hate.

Responding to Democrats in her party who are troubled by the massive $3.5 trillion spending bill that would forever transform America into a debtor nation, Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked a question: "Where would you cut?"

The 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and in the skies over Pennsylvania, demands considered reflection.

For 20 years since Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. presidents have been saying their anti-terrorism policies have worked, as evidenced by no new attacks on America. 

For sure, we will never forget the pictures and sounds of Sept. 11, 2001 — those hijacked planes and crumbling buildings; the immense human suffering; those heroic public servants and citizens; the memorial services; a nation under attack; a nation at prayer and a nation responding.

There once were summertimes when the living was easy, as the song from the Broadway musical "Porgy and Bess" melodically reminds us. But not this summer, not with COVID-19 still spreading dangerously across the land and uncertainty over what happens next after the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

Through the years "Jeopardy" has been one of my favorite television programs. I’ve liked trying to answer the questions along with the three contestants. Regretfully, however, most of the time I missed more questions than I got right.

Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

It was many years ago now that I stopped by the post office to gather mail. Among the bills was a small ivory envelope. My name, though misspelled, was presented in printed hand. The postmark was from a Midwestern state.

The visit of newly installed Prime Minister Naftali Bennett of Israel to the United States could not be more timely. On Aug. 27, he met at the White House with President Joe Biden. The photo op handshake between the two is especially important right now.

In his address to Congress on Dec. 8, 1941, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt said: "... we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph, so help us God."

When I was in public school, a TV ad asked: "It's 10 o'clock Do you know where your children are?"

In the unique world of Charlie Brown, happiness is “a stack of old comic books,” “a Christmas vacation with no book reports,” “a fuzzy sweater,” “a warm puppy,” or “singing “Blessed Assurance at Camp Meeting.”

Sometimes in the twilight of a fading day, I sit for a spell on the back porch. Occasionally, I read but often times I just watch and listen.

What has happened in Afghanistan will not stay in Afghanistan but will have a ripple effect throughout the region and beyond.

One of the great strengths of the Bible is that it is so graphic.

After searing criticism from Democrats and Republicans about how he has mishandled the withdrawal of the remaining American forces, diplomats, their families and contractors from Afghanistan, President Biden interrupted his Camp David retreat to return to the White House for a speech in whic…

Almost everyone thinks they’re a storyteller and that there’s little to retelling something seen or heard.

You have to give President Biden credit for consistency. Unfortunately, he has been consistently wrong. As Robert Gates, former defense secretary in the Obama administration once put it, Biden has “been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four…

If a crisis is a terrible thing to waste, how terrible would it be to waste two simultaneous crises?

A few years back I was invited to address a group of business executives on the subject of “High Tech With High Touch.” It was a daunting task then and remains so today. However, it is an important issue, and I want to share a few thoughts.

They have been called many things: amoebas, spineless cowards, weaklings, and other names not suitable for print in a family newspaper.

In the South Alabama town of Bay Minette, just outside Mobile, lived a great man and an American hero.

Semantics are important for how we communicate and define issues. One who controls words controls the narrative.

My husband and I are both storytellers. This is how we make a living and we consider ourselves blessed that people buy our words.

Not long ago I read about a man who audited a doctoral seminar on leadership. One day the professor asked each of the 16 participants in his class to tell one thing at which they excelled. The man said he dreaded questions like that because he still was not sure of what he did best. And besides, it sounded to him like bragging. But when his time came all he could think to say was this, “I am best at not quitting.”

When the credibility of the federal government declines like TV ratings for the Summer Olympics, we are in trouble.

We have always had them among us: fortune tellers, diviners, readers of palms, tarot cards, tea leaves, stars, horoscopes, discerners of animal entrails, calling on gods of wood and stone, and all sorts of other "seers" who have attempted to convince the gullible that they have the power to predict the future.

I don’t think I have ever known a person who did not live and/or work under some hard times. Hard times, which can be identified as difficulties, defeats, discouragements, struggles, battles and losses, are common to us all. 

When my niece, Nicole, asked me to pay a surprise visit to a nursing home patient of hers, Mrs. Wanda Parks, I never dreamed of the friendship that would develop.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem likes to present herself as a "normal everyday" person "who enjoys life."

The Interviewee: “If you are recording this, will it be for private use or end up on the air? As I’ve mentioned, anything for public awareness has to operate under my pseudonym, Tom McIntosh. If I was making a presentation to a gathering of Vietnam veterans only, I wouldn’t worry about it.”

People on the far left have become so predictable that their statements are no longer "breaking news." They would be hilarious if they weren't outrageous or if they didn't contribute to the undermining of human rights and freedom in other countries.

Several years ago, my niece, Nicole, called to ask a favor. This is something she rarely does.

The last 10 years of her life, Mama once said, were the happiest of an extremely happy, fulfilling life.

Get a grip! Get a life! On just about everything it is crucial to get a proper grip. This is true whether we are climbing rocks, gripping a golf club, throwing a football or baseball or simply shaking hands. 

In the 1950s there was a quiz show called "To Tell the Truth." It has been reborn several times but retained its original format. A celebrity panel would try to discover which one of three contestants was telling the truth, as all claimed to be the same person with identical backgrounds.

By any standard, Zaila Avant-garde is a remarkable 14-year-old girl with a positive and compelling outlook on life.

All of us know what it is to be defeated and discouraged. More than once we’ve spread our wings only to get shot down in flames. Welcome to the club — it’s called the human race!

It’s been 25 years or so since I first stayed at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. Proclaimed as the South’s Grand Hotel, I have since stayed a couple of dozen times, at least.

Retirement plans warn of a "penalty for early withdrawal." Might that also apply to the withdrawal of American and NATO forces from Afghanistan?

The Communist Party of China (CCP) turned 100 years old on July 1. A century is a major benchmark, clearly even for communists.

How long have we Americans been singing “God Bless America?” I suppose since it was first published in 1938, even though it was written in 1918 by Irving Berlin during World War I

Is there anyone who can say what is always right and always wrong and present an unchanging standard by which all behavior can be judged?

From the moment that George Elliott stopped in for a bite at the Dawsonville Pool Room in the mid-1970s and told the joint’s owner, Gordon Pirkle, that the Elliott family was going to take a run at NASCAR, Pirkle was fully on board.

Most of us recall as children getting into a dispute with another kid and then blaming him for starting a fight. When Mom approached you said, "He hit me first." The other kid denies it and accuses you of hitting him first.

To halfway understand Gordon Pirkle – no one will ever fully understand any mountain man – you must first look at the rocky, dusty, thirsty ground that helped raised him.

“The partnership between Afghanistan and the United States is not ending.”

That was President Joe Biden’s declaration of support as he met on June 25 with Afghanistan leaders Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah.

Books and articles -- scientific as well as theological -- have been written on human nature. Still, most people don't understand it, or refuse to learn from it, or worse, play to its dark side.