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The Tulsa Beacon

 

Dr. Marcus O. Durham

An analysis of the Musk – Trump tiff

Tulsa Beacon

[Looking at history and our area’s unique political and religious attitudes.] Tiff. The term is almost an onomatopoeia, a word that sounds like what it means. Tiff is a petty quarrel which often gets blown out of proportion. A synonym, spitting match, is only slightly different sound. Recently, the world stage has seen a world…

Tending the garden, third time is a charm

Tulsa Beacon

[Looking at history and our area’s unique political and religious attitudes.] Tending the Garden is a term we use at the ranch when managing the forest and other natural events. This hearkens from the first humans who did not plant the Garden near Babylon, but were charged with tending the plants. Similarly, we did not…

The origins and intent of the Memorial Day Holiday

Tulsa Beacon

[Looking at history and our area’s unique political and religious attitudes.]   Memorial Day. What is it besides the last Monday of May? Ah, yes it has the sweet memory of the first day of summer adventures. The aroma of rib-eye burgers and all-beef smoked sausage with Louisiana spices roasting over a hardwood barbecue is…

Fear of Success and Fear of Failure can paralyze you

Tulsa Beacon

[Looking at history and our area’s unique political and religious attitudes.] Fear of success sounds like an oxymoron. This week I encountered two seemingly contrasting situations, but both brought recall to the title statement. The first was the high school graduation of a grandson. This event is highly anticipated all year for the protoadults. This…

What would your mom do if there were no constraints

Tulsa Beacon

[Looking at history and our area’s unique political and religious attitudes.]   Before you ask a substantial question, be sure you are willing to live by the answer. When Mom was seventy, we asked her, “What have you long wanted to do, if there were no constraints?” In less than half-second she replied, “Go on…

Unique talents should be used suitably in dogs & humans

Tulsa Beacon

[Looking at history and our area’s unique political and religious attitudes.]   Gone to the dogs. Who has not heard the idiom? Historically, it meant deteriorate or going down hill. Today’s treatment of the pups puts a different spin. Have you ever wondered how humans and dogs developed such a co-dependent relationship? In our state,…

Pres. Jefferson set the precedent to stay out of wars

Tulsa Beacon

[Looking at history and our area’s unique political and religious attitudes.]   Who wants war? That is a strange question. Do civilized societies promote war? Are there any new wars? A rather interesting phenomenon revealed itself with the President calling for an end to war and killing in Ukraine and on other fronts. He is…

Drinkable water like lunch is never free

Tulsa Beacon

[Looking at history and our area’s unique political and religious attitudes.] Water. This is one of the critical ingredients to support life. Unfortunately, it is often in a form that is not particularly usable. With the massive amounts of rain this week, we could easily relate to Samuel Coleridge from his 1798 poem, “The Rime…

Actions speak louder than words, so does body language

Tulsa Beacon

[Looking at history and our area’s unique political and religious attitudes.]   “What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” Variations of this quote are attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson about 1841 and had migrated to the listed iteration by 1900 in a sermon by John Barnett Donaldson. My grandmothers…