Skip to content

The Tulsa Beacon

 

Columns

Sometimes war movies can provide a good history lesson’

Tulsa Beacon

For some reason, there has been a rash of war movies released in the past few months. I have always had a keen interest in the history of warfare, especially World War II, since my late father, Harley Biggs, served in the Army in the European theater. I have seen some of these recent movies…

Secession would require a lot of approval from the government

Tulsa Beacon

It was with some satisfaction that a story appeared on January 24 that Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma had issued an executive order to deny state-paid travel of employees and officials to the State of California. This was in response to such a ban imposed by officials of the City of San Francisco (San Fransicko)…

I kept losing my focus, so I sold my photography business

Tulsa Beacon

I used to be a professional photographer. For years, I worked at Community Press Photo in Chillicothe, Missouri. Not only did I take wedding and commercial pictures, but I spent a lot of time in a darkroom developing film and making prints. My partner in the business was an older man named Ted Blankenship; he…

Environmentally speaking, pipelines are better than trains to ship fuel

Tulsa Beacon

Sixteen-year-old Swedish student Greta Thunberg admonished global leaders at last year’s United Nations: “We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!”  But it’s her parents who are daring. Why terrorize children with fairy tales of mass…

Growing up was special around Marvin and Patty Harp

Tulsa Beacon

I grew up four blocks from the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harp, who lived on 8th Street, just east of Sheridan Road. They were Marvin and Patty Harp and their son Ronnie was one of my best friends ever when I was growing up. We were pals with Tim Herron, another great guy we…

‘Yada Hoodies’ provokes further study of what words mean

Tulsa Beacon

I don’t how or when or even where we were when my wife and I started labeling all three grandsons collectively as the “yada hoodies.” Many times when they come walking up to our door, they are goofing around like the Keystone Cops, so calling them “yada hoodies” seemed appropriate to us. My wife got…

A coronavirus pandemic could affect your vacation plan

Tulsa Beacon

I was on a Carnival cruise ship headed to the Caribbean when I got up early to go get a cup of coffee in the main restaurant. As I walked down the stairs, I noticed a member of the crew who seemed to be polishing the banisters on the stairway. I was impressed. I thought…

You are much more valuable to God than a Rolex Oyster

Tulsa Beacon

I have written before that I am a fan of the Antiques Roadshow. It’s not that I am that much into antiques; I just like the challenge to see if I can guess the value of an object. I like competition shows; I have always had a desire to be on Jeopardy, but there is…

Climate change is not the cause of wildfires in Australia

Tulsa Beacon

Recent climate change has not caused Australian bushfires. Besides the fact that many of the fires are set by people, either intentionally or by accident, a major cause of Australia’s fire problem has been the high “fuel loads,” underbrush that, left to accumulate over years, acts as a tinder box for bushfires. Craig Kelly, Liberal member of the…

The tribal casino’s self-exclusion lists are ‘almost worthless’

Tulsa Beacon

It’s an all-too-common headline: in June of 2018, an accountant employed by an Oklahoma City company entered a guilty plea in federal court to embezzling almost $400,000. The money had come from company credit cards and flowed into the coffers of tribal casinos. Before he headed off to serve 19 months in prison and begin…