An Ounce - For Your Consideration

Christmas Greetings. The way folks seem a bit nicer, and happier at Christmas time. Reaching out to friends and family has seldom been more important than it is today.

 Christmas greetings used to be …

In the words of the entertainer and Storyteller Burl Ives, ‘Have a Holly Jolly Christmas, it’s the best time of the year’ – well it is, except that as a result of live Christmas trees drying out and …

Why is it that as soon as Halloween is over the Christmas displays show up at the stores? And as soon as Thanksgiving in full swing Christmas music invades the radio stations. 

 It’s not that I’m agai…

The Santa we have become familiar with in the US gets around with a very unique, and perhaps archaic, mode of transportation. 

 Santa Clause cruises in an open sleigh pulled by reindeer.

 At first glan…

There is s recent tradition that started in the south-eastern United States in the 1900s. I really can’t pin it down any more accurately than that, but I have witnessed it. Allow me to tell you the s…

At the Birth of Christ in Bethlehem, of Judea, the meridian of time, the event was heralded in many ways. Among them, signs in the heavens such as angelic hosts, and by a New Star.  Well, Something l…

She was born way back in 1940. This adorable little black girl was born prematurely. She weighed in at 4 ½ pounds and was the 20th of 22 siblings. Born in the segregated south her future would not be…

The satellite Santa Tracker we enjoy now was made possible as the result of a misprint in a newspaper in 1955.

 The once dominating American retailor Sears decided to publish a phone number, in a Chri…

The legend of the Stockings. And, by the way, if you find this one a little misogynistic it not my fault, you’ll have to take it up with the folks who perpetuated the story.

 Legend has it that hundre…

Santa Clause – Saint Nick - Has morphed quite a bit over the centuries.

The fourth-century Christian bishop, Saint Nicholas, gave away his abundant inheritance to help the needy, and rescue women from…

Did you know Chewing tobacco and Christmas trees have something in common? Stay with me now - His name was Prince Albert, who married Queen Victoria – Well known and popular royal power couple in the…

In the lyrics of the song Merry Xmas/War is over, John Lennon penned the words, “ And, so this is Christmas” – But, is it? Traditionally in our time, we celebrate it on December 25th of each year. Th…

Got a great story about a real character who almost everyone has heard of. But, We’re going to explore his childhood and some of the other attitudes and behavior he exhibited later in life.

Al was bor…

I’ve got a really fun little story about a boy and his dog. You’ll find it a bit different than other ‘boy-and-his-dog’ stories. Because, this dog was supposed to be a hunting retriever, meant to swi…

Have you ever heard of the fabled lemming?

A Lemming is a small rodent, a bit like a small mouse but more of a vole, with a short tail. 

Every five to seven years, they are said to instinctively recogn…

I have a question for you. How do you get from where you are to where you want to be?

That’s a question not only of geography, but also one vision, self-identity, and personal worth.

Well – I believe t…

In the mid-1950s, in Bangkok Thailand, a well-loved and centuries-old statue of Buddha was being moved from its tin-roofed pagoda to a more permanent location. This statue of the Buddha, covered in a…

So why do they call it a hummingbird?

Because it remembers the melody, but it can't remember the words.

 OK sorry – but how about this. A flock of hummingbirds can be referred to in many ways. Grouped …

Lynne Cooper was born on October 4, 1916, in St. Louis Missouri. 

But, Who was she?

In her early years, she worked as a school teacher. 

And, Lynn was a graduate of Washington University in her hometown…

This little bean has been around delighting the tastebuds of humans for thousands of years. 

What Little Bean you ask? Well, we’ll get to that.

Around 4000 thousand years ago the Olmec’s of Central Ame…