Half a Century of Six Flags

It isn't unusual these days to see a "Six Flags" amusement park in several places across this country — from coast to coast.You'll even find them in foreign countries.Some have always been "Six Flags" parks. Others began their existences with other names and under different management, but they were later absorbed into the "Six Flags" corporation. In all, there have been nearly three dozen "Six Flags" amusement parks.But the very first one opened...

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Everything Old Is New Again

"Peace is at hand."Henry KissingerOctober 1972A few hours ago, the president announced a tentative agreement in the debt ceiling debate.Barack Obama told the nation that "both parties have found their way toward compromise," which will be good news, indeed — if it comes to fruition.And that is the as–yet unanswered question. Will both sides agree to it? Or will support break down as each side has an opportunity to examine the deal more closely?I am reminded of the day in October 1972 when, with Richard Nixon a week away from facing the voters in...

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How Hot Is It?

It's been nearly 20 years since Johnny Carson left The Tonight Show, but, if you can remember when he was the show's host, you can probably remember many of his ongoing routines.I'm thinking of one in particular that was usually likely to surface during Carson's monologue, but it could happen at any time. It frequently popped up when something really extreme had been happening — for example, a lot more (or a lot less, for that matter) rain than usual.He...

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Foresight in Hindsight

I taught journalism on the college level for awhile in the 1990s, then I was sidetracked by other things.(I liked the way Robert Redford used that word to describe, in "The Natural," why he had been away from pro ball for so long. I think it frequently applies to life in general.)Nearly a year ago, I returned to the classroom. I've been teaching journalism again, and I've also been teaching developmental writing, which focuses on the fundamentals of written English (subjects, verbs, prepositional phrases, dependent and independent clauses, etc.),...

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Prosperity Is Just Around the Corner

I am a concerned American.I am concerned for many reasons, and I have been concerned for a long time. The debt ceiling crisis that is consuming so much time and energy is an additional concern that no one really needs.I know I don't need it. It's just more stress for me.That stress level wasn't eased by the tenor of the debate over the debt ceiling that played out on TV tonight.Now, if you read this blog on even a semi–regular basis, you know that I don't always agree with Barack Obama. In fact, I have frequently disagreed with him — and, although...

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Free Man in Paris

"The way I see it," he said,"You just can't win it.Everybody's in it for their own gain.You can't please 'em all.There's always somebody calling you down.I do my best,And I do good business.There's a lot of people asking for my time.They're trying to get ahead.They're trying to be a good friend of mine.I was a free man in Paris.I felt unfettered and alive.There was nobody calling me up for favors,And no one's future to decide.You know I'd go back there tomorrowBut for the work I've taken onStoking the star maker machineryBehind the popular song."Joni...

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When TWA Flight 800 Went Down

In the waning hours of July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800 began what was supposed to be a rather routine flight from New York to Paris.But there was nothing routine about it.Less than 15 minutes after takeoff, the plane exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. All 230 people aboard were killed — including, as I recall, a group of high school students from a small town in Pennsylvania, all members of their school's French Club, and about half a dozen chaperones.For four years, the National Transportation Safety Board reviewed the wreckage that had...

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Burning Down the House

The seemingly irreconcilable conflict over the debt ceiling has the potential to burn down the nation's economic house — and, with it, the political house as well.Let me backtrack a bit.There just wasn't anything good about last week's jobs report. It was bad news across the board. For all incumbents. No matter on which side of the fence you may stand.It's probably worse for Democrats right now since they hold the White House and the Senate. Republicans hold only the House, but there is no reason for them to feel smug, either. And that certainly...

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Grits and Fritz

I have a strong picture in my mind of my family's living room on this night 35 years ago.It was on this night that Jimmy Carter became the Democrats' nominee for president, and it was truly an incredible accomplishment. Carter literally came out of nowhere in 1976 to become his party's nominee, taking the unprecedented approach of entering every primary contest.People often forget that segregationist George Wallace was one of the leading Democrats...

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They Call Him 'Chainsaw'

When I was a child, my parents took my brother and me on several summer road trips through the eastern United States.I think that statement requires a little context.In the years before my brother and I came along, my parents were missionaries in Africa. While they were there, they became close friends with their colleagues. I don't know if their friends returned to America before or after my parents did, but it turned out that all their friends...

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There Will Come Soft Rains

"There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;And frogs in the pool singing at night,And wild plum trees in tremulous white;Robins will wear their feathery fire,Whistling their whims on a low fence–wire;And not one will know of the war, not oneWill care at last when it is done.Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,If mankind perished utterly;And Spring herself when she woke at dawnWould...

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Give Peas a Chance

"[I]f we think it's hard now, imagine how these guys are going to be thinking six months from now in the middle of election season where they're all up. It's not going to get easier. It's going to get harder. So we might as well do it now — pull off the Band–Aid; eat our peas."Barack ObamaJuly 11, 2011I'll be the first one to admit that the headline on this post is not original. I heard that Rush Limbaugh used it on his radio program (sneeringly,...

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A Tale of Two News Stories

For many years, I worked as a writer and/or editor for newspapers and a trade magazine.In fact, one of my standing assignments for awhile was to write a weekly column about events that were coming up. That column was titled, "The Week Ahead." In that column, I told readers about things that were coming up.I didn't confine myself to the county in which I lived and worked. I wrote about events that were scheduled in just about every part of Arkansas. I know it is difficult for natives of a place like Texas to understand, but, unless the weather is...

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Rest in Peace, Betty Ford

I always admired Betty Ford.When her husband became president in 1974, the initial consensus (at least, until he pardoned Richard Nixon) was that he was a "breath of fresh air." And, compared to Nixon, he was.But Betty Ford really was, as I observed on her birthday last year.And it was with sadness that I learned of her death at the age of 93.I didn't support her husband when he ran for a full term on his own — which didn't matter, I guess, since...

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Wrong Way

Gilligan's Island only lasted three TV seasons in the 1960s, but I recall seeing (in reruns) a couple of episodes in which Hans Conried played a character named Wrongway Feldman.Feldman, if my memory serves me correctly, was a World War I era flying ace who got his nickname because he always flew in the wrong direction.I mention that because, after hearing today's jobs report, it occurred to me that Barack Obama should be called "Wrongway Obama."Now,...

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