Opinion

It did not take me long to realize that, as grateful as I am to have this opportunity to write, having a weekly column is not without its own challenges. Some weeks the topics – and subsequent words – flow easily. Other weeks, they trickle. And then, occasionally, the flow is completely damned up. This has been one of those weeks. I still have quite a number of special memories to share, but I’m determined to find accompanying photos before I go with them.

Without your immune system you will die so it is a good idea to learn more about just what it is and how it works. Bull Shoals Library has just the book to help you understand this very complex system on which your health depends. Immune by Philipp Dettmer explains elements of the immune system including defenses like antibodies and inflammation as well as threats like bacteria, allergies, and cancer.

If you take financial advice from this column, in the future, you may not be able to afford to read this column. That said… let’s talk digital currencies. There are more than 18,000 cryptocurrencies on the market but what is it? Most agree it’s a digital currency that operates outside the traditional government/banking control, instead using public ledgers known as blockchains. But did you know that anyone can make a digital currency with a little coding? Yes, you and I can make our own digital currency. Late Show host Stephen Colbert’s crypto is called Ijustmadethatupeum. But is it a currency?

Summer is a favorite time of year for many children, and with good reason. The long days of summer provide a much-anticipated break from school and are often filled with swimming, cookouts, travel and outdoor fun. But summer can also carry danger for children. Drowning incidents increase during the summer months, and the hot sun puts kids at risk of sunburn, dehydration and heat-related illness.

As much as technology has done for our society, there are a few things that it has taken away, like privacy, and the ability to work on a vehicle. Gone are the days of driving through a neighborhood and seeing fathers and sons or daughters, working under the hood of the family car or truck. These days you practically have to have a degree from MIT to figure out how to change a spark plug. I’ve always loved old cars and trucks. I get that from my dad. Over the years, he has had an old Chevy truck, a Packard, a ’55 Chevy, ’64 Mustang convertible and at his death a couple months ago, he had a 1946 Ford truck he tinkered on. For the past couple of years, I’ve been wanting an old truck. There’s something about the heavy clang of the door slamming shut, and the roaring sound of the engine. My husband and I purchased a 1965 Chevy truck to work on a little at a time. My dad was helping on the project. So far, we have a wiring harness installed. The way the previous owner had everything connected, he must have had stock in electrical tape. You know, you can tell a lot about a person’s work ethic by the decisions and shortcuts they make when working on a vehicle.

I usually tune out criticisms of the modern mess of humanity that come with phrases such as “late-stage capitalism.” That’s a gussied-up way implying that everyone knows the game is over, the plutocrats are making a killing while they can, and when the rubble is cleared away, we’ll find ourselves in a gentle and just Age of Aquarius.

Washington — President Joe Biden signed a suite of veteran’s legislation into law today including several bills led by U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and ranking member of the appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).