Public

I've been reading newspapers all my life, and during this entire time the pages of the newspaper have been about the same size. A curious thing has been happening to newspapers lately, however. They have been getting narrower and narrower. I suppose it's not too curious because newspapers are under a lot of pressure these days. With the advent of the Internet, more people are getting their news on-line rather than from traditional newspapers. So, many newspapers have seen their circulation declining.

As most of you know, our son Blake is adopted. He was eight days old when we brought him home. He is now 27 years old. A lot has changed in these 27 years. One of the most striking changes has been in his height. Twenty-seven years ago he was 19 inches long. Today he is 6'5" tall.

Twenty-five years ago Oscar Masters died. I grew up on the farm next to that godly deacon. When he died, I wrote this letter to his wife:

Dear Vera:

In a “Shoe” comic strip last year, a friend said to “Shoe,” “You don’t get much exercise, do you?” Shoe responded, “What makes you say that?” The friend said, “Because there’s moss growing on your north side.” That’s always a dead give-away.

When I was growing up in Plainview, we boys used to make fun of Mr. Nat Hilton and Mr. Willie Withers. The reason? Both of them wore their “longhandle” underwear almost year round. For boys who had to be forced by our parents to put on “longhandles” in the dead of winter, such voluntary wearing of “longhandles” seemed ludicrous.

I could identify with the line used by Errol Castens in a recent column in the Daily Journal. He told about the kid who was raised out in the country and who experienced great anxiety every time he heard the song “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” Sure, he’s coming to town. He’ll make it to Many and Leesville, but what about all of us kids living out in the country? What about Route 1, Box 147, Hornbeck, Louisiana?