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This week I had my yearly Medicare Wellness Exam. For the under the 65 crowd, this is the annual bloodletting and the visit where you’re overwhelmed with questions about falling, anxiety, depression and tested on two biggies you don’t want to screw up – the clock and remembering three important words! And I don’t mean ‘I love you!’ Being in a mood that day, I wanted to know if the questions just tick boxes on a form that ends up in some government file or do they really help my doctor.
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Friends, this article is the latest edition of a series of articles honoring and recognizing the strong women who have been a part of my life. But first, let’s sharpen our grammar skills and look into the literal meaning of the term “steel magnolia.” If you are of a certain age, you can most likely recall the 1989 movie of the same name, but if not here is a brief definition of a “steel magnolia.” Technically it is an oxymoron where two opposing terms are used without opposing meanings. Clear as mud?
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It took some time, but a set of new laws and rules passed by the Texas Legislature in 2023 went into effect on Sept. 1, the Houston Chronicle reported. Prominent among these are the SCOPE Act, or Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment Act, which tightens restrictions for online users younger than 18.
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A 26-page report from the Texas Comptroller concludes that the state needs 306,000 additional homes, a shortage that has sent housing costs soaring, The Texas Tribune reported. Homebuilding hasn’t kept up with the booming economy as millions of new residents have moved here over the past decade, leaving more than half of the state’s homeowners and renters struggling to find and keep affordable housing.
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Who hasn’t ridden a Ferris wheel? Have you ever been stuck at the top of one? I have. It was decades ago in my little hometown of York, Nebraska. I wasn’t a teenager yet. I was stuck alongside my terrified mother and younger brother. The ordeal was over in about an hour.
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Bear with me this week as this post is a little more personal than usual and without an interview. The past few days have been extremely (and surprisingly) emotional for me. I know who I had planned on interviewing next, yet I had the perfect person this week – my son, the cause of my emotions.
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Benjamin Franklin, who earned fame in early Texas, had his beginning April 25, 1805. He was born in Georgia as the eldest son of Abednego and Mary Graves (Cleveland) Franklin.
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Friends, this article is the second in a series recognizing the strong women that have been in my life. My maternal grandmother, Martha, most certainly belongs in this category. Born in 1922, she lived on a farm in north Louisiana and saw the devastating effects of the Great Depression firsthand.
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