Skip to content

The Tulsa Beacon

 

Columns

Drive-in dinners, drive up TVs and one-way grocery stores

Tulsa Beacon

Here are few observations from life while living under the dark cloud of a coronavirus. About one third of the people who shop in grocery stores with marked one-way aisles go the wrong way. They are: In too big of a hurry to care. They didn’t notice the arrows taped to the floor. They don’t…

The squirrels in my backyard are half nuts

Tulsa Beacon

The epicenter for the COVID-19 virus in the United States is New York City. The epicenter for squirrels in the United States is my backyard. We have lived in our current home for 17 years. When my wife and I bought the house, it had four huge trees in the backyard: one oak, two maples…

Seeing my grandchildren qualifies as ‘essential travel’

Tulsa Beacon

On June 11, I have bought a ticket on American Airlines to fly to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with one stop at DFW Airport in Dallas. I have a return ticket on June 14. My lovely wife has the exact same schedule to Sioux Falls one week later, beginning on June 11. We take short…

On the road of life, sometimes you fly over the handlebars

Tulsa Beacon

During the first part of my early childhood, I lived on a dead-end street. It really was a dead-end in the truest sense of the word. Our house was the last one, and if you went any farther, you would find yourself going down an embankment and into a cemetery. It was in this space…

Michael Moore agrees – wind, solar, biofuels do damage

Tulsa Beacon

Never in my wildest dreams did I envision a day when I’d agree with anything filmmaker Michael Moore said – much less that he would agree with me. But mirabile dictu, his new film, Planet of the Humans, is as devastating an indictment of wind, solar and biofuel energy as anything I have ever written….

How nutritious are our crops? Improving the soil is important

Tulsa Beacon

When COVID-19 forced Americans to eat more meals at home, the opportunity was there at least hypothetically to switch to a healthier diet, giving the body’s immune system a much-needed boost at a time when fighting off disease is critical. Unfortunately, many crops grown on American farms aren’t as healthy and nutrient-rich as they could…

The Quarantine Files: ‘Chef Jeff’ copes with social distancing

Tulsa Beacon

Things I’ve learned during this time of semi-isolation and social distancing: Even though I’m not as busy with work related tasks, I still seem to be very busy and haven’t accomplished everything on my “honey do list.” Friends still die during this “stay-at-home” period, not from the coronavirus, and then you can’t attend their funeral…

The Chinese coronavirus is affecting our supply of meat

Tulsa Beacon

One of my favorite summer hobbies is grilling outdoors. Several years ago, my kids got me a Kingsford charcoal grill. I can cook 18 large hamburgers at one time. That comes in handy when we have company in the summer. But it’s not much fun when you don’t have meat. I have cooked vegetables and…

Two kinds of fishing need to be taught to grandchildren

Tulsa Beacon

Today I got my first fishing license. My dad hunted and fished, but that was for him and his buddies. The only fishing I did growing up was on my grandfather’s farm. He had a pond in the back 40 where my brothers and I would take our bamboo poles, hike out to the pond…

The Quarantine Files: Spending more time with your family

Tulsa Beacon

Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a ministry to students and coaches in high schools and colleges all over the country, and with schools closed for the spring semester, local FCA staff members have had to become creative on how they continue to minister to these athletes. Chris Kaiser, is the area director for Northeast Oklahoma,…