Opinion

Buffalo National River Bureaucracy

2022 is the 50th year anniversary of the establishment of the Buffalo National River. It was hailed as a milestone in the protection of a pristine river by taking it from a state park to a national park with the main effort in halting the river from having a dam put in place. However, as with most federal bureaucracies, they have taken more and more authoritative power to the point of dictating how the state should conduct government affairs outside the boundaries of the national park. They have accomplished this by refusing to publicly acknowledge their own limitations that have been put into place, not only by the National Park Service, but by the federal government as well.
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BEYOND REASON Dry

So, January is many things, but I think the word most people use to describe it is “long”. Yes, technically it’s tied for the longest month of the year with others but I’d like to see any other month look hard and long into the cold, grey eyes of January and see who blinks first.
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The opinion of sheep . . .

If you met or were introduced to yourself, perhaps a clone, would you like that person? Would they be a good influence on you? Social media has provided a microphone to all users to express an opinion on everything, 24 hours a day. Long gone are the days of the adage, “If you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all.” These days many brag about the fact they have no filter. I’m all for people being themselves, but if being yourself means harming others with word or deed; I’m out.
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Too Soon Old

My maternal grandparents, Bert, and Hilda McNew had a little farm out southeast of Houston, Mo, a few miles. I was born in their old farmhouse. They were wonderful people whom I dearly loved and still do. Scratching out a living with a few milk cows and chickens and a hog or two was a difficult thing in those days, so Grandma sold some eggs and milk and butter, tended a big garden, and canned and sewed a lot. Grandpa did a little work on the side when he could find it. One of the things he did for a while was pick up trash each Saturday morning from businesses along Main Street to haul to the city dump in his old faded red pickup.
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