Winter solstice is today. This is the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere and by default the longest night. (In the Southern Hemisphere, Winter Solstice is in June! How weird does that sound?) Thi...

Christmas is the season of giving and sharing time with loved ones and friends. For some of us, it is a time of sadness as we just recently lost someone who meant so much to us and was such a large pa...

DEAR ABBY: I am a 61-year-old widower. A year ago I faced a bleak future and expressed a desire to kill myself. My cousin in another state, whom I hadn't seen since childhood, invited me to move in wi...

Even the wise among us limp. . . Gaspar sat atop the beast, his body swaying with its rolling gait. Memories played on his mind, most of them good. Indeed, he savored such times when he could, without...

It’s hard to remember a time when the real meaning of Christmas was the same as what the world was celebrating. By and large, Christmas as we know it is about giving and receiving presents, Santa comi...

This month, I have been writing on a topic I believe is very important to the future of Okmulgee—growing our local economy by scaling our community. We are already a community that understands the ben...

The Living Faith When God created human life he said ‘good’ because of its simplicity. Regrettably human life today has become so much complicated. We are torn to pieces by our own getups, setups, dre...

The motorbike’s gear stick resisted the touch of my left heel. Normally the gear is shifted by the shoe toe. But polio left me with no upward “lift” so I would improvise, moving my foot over and beyon...

As we enter the week before Christmas, I would like to take time to reflect on the many people who have worked so hard to make a difference this year for the children of our state through the efforts ...

Have you ever made fresh homemade cider? The scent fills my small home every time I make it. It is warm and inviting. It reminds me of Christmas with its cinnamon and nutmeg odors. Then it warms from ...

DEAR ABBY: I have been with my husband for five years, and we have two children together. It's my husband's second marriage and my first. He and his first wife, "Gretchen," had no kids, but they did h...

With the Christmas parades beginning and holiday decorations lining our towns, it is certainly beginning to look a lot like Christmas. For my family, Christmas means getting the whole family together ...

Okmulgee is a diversified town, not only socially and ethnically, but in other ways that also matter. Consider that most towns identify themselves primarily in one of three ways: rural, suburban, or u...

If you ever want to know what it feels like to hang out with an A-list celebrity, go to a Norman Walmart with former coach and OU legend Barry Switzer. This is what I learned last week when Coach Swit...

Cornerstone’s Christmas series is “The Child: More than a Baby” and to help emphasize this Gregg Johnson will be sharing a critical message for our city in the Sunday 10:30 a.m. service. Gregg and his...

Adulthood in humans’ life is not only the most precious period of life but also the most crucial and risky one. Not having a right and healthy idea about its greatness as well as its intricacies some ...

I received a Christmas card a few days ago. I want to say I was very touched. I work hard on my column every week and have to squeeze it in between all the other things I do at the office. I have been...

Distraction: That which divides the attention, diverts or draws away the mind; prevents concentration. “Jerry Lout! What are you looking at out there? You come right up here.” Elementary school. I lim...

Jean de Brunhoff (12-09-1899 to 10-16-1937) French writer and illustrator who created the Babar books. We have one (B-2 Babar the King. December 13th we celebrate Santa Lucia Day, festival of lights c...

It’s the holiday season which means that the yearly holiday movie has taken over theaters. This year’s offering is a re-telling of the classic Dr. Seuss story How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The story...