It's been cold in Texas this week, to say the least. Believe it or not, the good folks in New York City, Boston, Washington and Philadelphia saw warmer weather this week than Abilene. Snow and sub-zero wind chill factors have turned Abilene into a bone-chilling, frozen wasteland. In fact, the Green Bay Packers had to move their practice inside in ... [Read More…]

Electronics are replacing everything. Machines now check out customers at Walmart, letters are becoming an archaic form of communication and texting is replacing face-to-face conversation. Since we as a society have some generally accepted rules of etiquette regarding face-to-face conversation, I think it's high time we lay down some rules for ... [Read More…]

When I was buying my schoolbooks for the upcoming semester, a particular shelf caught my eye. Instead of being filled with textbooks, it had multiple clothing items. On closer examination I discovered that this year we had to buy our exercise science clothes for the first time. Surprising yes, but no big deal. I approved of the change. In years ... [Read More…]

My name is Ryan Self, and I am an only child. It's a confession I usually hesitate to make because it means I'll have to respond to a number of misconceptions about only children, "Oh, you must be really spoiled," or "Gee, you must have been really lonely growing up" being common ones. I may not understand a few of the odd traditions some ... [Read More…]

"They think he'll walk again," Renee's voice wavered, almost imperceptibly, as she strung together five words no one wants to say about their little  brother. From my dorm room in Abilene, 300 hundred miles away, I continued to listen as my typically matter-of-fact friend became uncharacteristically silent over the phone. This couldn't ... [Read More…]

I tasted my very first Girl Scout Cookie when I was in second grade. My older sister had recently joined the classic American organization popular among young girls and naturally my mom bought a few different boxes of the cookies. It was a Samoa, or Caramel deLites as they are also called, and after just one bite of the hexagon-shaped cookie, I was ... [Read More…]

Public restrooms wrecked my faith in humanity. The whole idea of sharing a toilet with hundreds of my closest strangers has always made me a bit queasy, but once I started to notice how many people left the restroom without washing their hands my faith was shattered. People I saw at school and church on a regular basis  would walk out of the ... [Read More…]

The buzzword for 2011, at least so far, seems to be bipartisanship, with America's "reds" and "blues" both promising cooperation and civility. However, history dictates it won't last. Responses from Congress and President Obama to the tragic shootings in Tucson, Ariz., earlier this month were commendable. The assassination attempt on ... [Read More…]

Barbarossa By Matthew Woodrow When I was younger, I really liked cars. I even had a bed frame that looked like a racecar. Preparing for the day, I would get to drive at high speeds, I would race around the house pell-mell, never looking where I was going. Being the awkward, gangly boy I was, I often ran into things. My mom would yell at me, ... [Read More…]