One of the great pleasures in life is watching our kids grow to achieve their dreams or reach their goals. It’s one of the many things that gives us so much fulfillment in being a parent. From the day our kids are born, we as parents want nothing more than for our kids to be happy. Today, I’ll talk about some of the sacrifices my parents (especially my mother) made for me to have the life I’ve enjoyed so much. 

Most of you already know my story from past articles. But in case you haven’t, my aunt and uncle rescued and adopted me at the age of 10 and turned my life completely around and literally saved me from the streets of Houston, Texas. They put me on the path to success with sacrifices and dedication of their own free will. 

Again, the good Lord above blessed me with some athletic ability that only He can give. But it was my parents who made sure that my talent did not go to waste. So many days my mother made sure I was at every practice and every game on time. 

She sat in a hot car for hours waiting on practice to be over knowing she still had supper to cook, clothes to wash, another child to tend to and a husband to take care of. Getting home after 7 o’clock each evening, she cooked dinner and made sure our homework was complete before ushering me and my brother off to take a bath.

She made sure uniforms were always washed and ready for the next game. She had very little time to herself as she worked full time as a nurse at a local clinic. But not one time did she fail to make sure I was where I needed to be whether it was a baseball or football practice or a Boy Scouts meeting. Mom sacrificed!

You never fully appreciate these sacrifices until the day comes when you have kids of your own and realize the effort it takes to make sure your kids are where they are supposed to be. She did this not just for me but my younger brother Chad, who was about six years younger than me. 

All of my years growing up, we never took a vacation as a family. Mom never took one of those much-needed “getaways.” Sure, we made the occasional trip to Six Flags in Dallas or maybe to see the Texas Rangers play, but never a trip to the Caribbean or the mountains of Colorado to enjoy the scenery. 

Pretty much every trip we took revolved around me or my brother playing baseball with All-Star playoffs. Even as I got into high school, she followed me to every game (home or away). She made the trip to Austin as we reached the state baseball tournament and won our first state championship in 1978. 

Not one time did she ever complain or say “no” to any sport I wanted to play. Her devotion was unlimited, and her sacrifices were intentional. All to make sure I had every opportunity to achieve success! 

I think it goes without saying that I was one of the lucky ones who had parents wanting their kids to have the best — the best opportunity to achieve and be successful in life. Sometimes I think we forget just how important those sacrifices are. 

But at the time, we just think that’s how it’s supposed to be, but in reality, that’s not true. It takes parents willing to make those sacrifices unselfishly and make their kids a priority and their main focus. 

For parents, the reward comes much later in life when they sit back and brag about all the accomplishments their kids have achieved all because of the sacrifices made. In the end, it’s worth every second and hour we set aside to make sure our kids are the priority!  

Without sacrificial parents, kids don’t stand a chance! So, to all you young adults out there looking to have children of your own, make sure they are your top priority. Thank you Mom, for your dedication and commitment to ME! Remember, sacrifice is unspoken love. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms who make sacrifices for the benefit of others.  

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com.

Since I was a little bitty kid, squirrel hunting was high on my list of fun things to do. Following along behind my dad, careful not to step on dry sticks or big brown leaves, I watched him as he sneaked up on a feeding squirrel.

Observing the way he did it, sneaking up behind a big tree to conceal his movements, he would get the squirrel in his sights, hit the trigger and to a kid, it was thrilling to watch the squirrel tumble to the ground in a shower of leaves. He would let me go pick up the squirrel, bring it to him as he slipped in in his vest.

As I grew older, dad got me a second-hand .22 rifle, gave instructions about how to handle the rifle safely and taught me to shoot it. Eventually, I was permitted to take my .22 with me as I tagged along with him, finally letting me try my hand at downing a squirrel. I’d miss; he’d finish the job with his shotgun until I was finally proficient at bagging a squirrel or two myself.

Once we got home, I helped him clean squirrels we had bagged before they were turned over to my mom who would convert a freshly cleaned squirrel to a fine meal. Older squirrels, too tough to fry, were slow cooked until tender. If it was young enough to fry, she would place the pieces of squirrel, all crispy and tasty on a platter alongside a bowl of rice and the gravy she made from the drippings. Adding a pile of her homemade biscuits, this was a meal that would rival anything Col. Sanders could produce with his yard birds.

Squirrel hunting, especially on opening day, became a tradition for me and I hunted them early in season for decades until walking the woods and sneaking up on squirrels became more than an aging body could handle.

A few years ago, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, (LDWF) opened a spring season for squirrels that took place during the month of May. I decided to try it but it just wasn’t the same as being in the woods on chilly mornings going after squirrels. Something about being there in woods that had greened up with purple martins twittering overhead just didn’t seem the same, so I never went back.

That time is on us once again as our spring season started on Saturday May 3 to run through May 25. Daily limit is three with possession limit of nine.

There are some who look forward to the spring squirrel season for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a great time to take a youngster out without having to worry about coming in contact with other hunters after deer or turkeys. Secondly, the quality of squirrels taken in spring is better on the dinner table than those you get in fall. According a friend of mine from Arkansas who loves to squirrel hunt in spring, the meat is sweeter because the squirrels are feeding on tender buds and shoots while in fall and winter, the diet is hard mast, and this apparently makes the taste stronger.

Season is open on private lands while some state wildlife management areas are closed. If you decide to give it a try on a wildlife management area, you’ll need to check with LDWF to see which areas are open.

Now that spring turkey season is coming to a close but you still have a hankering to hunt, you might want to give spring squirrel hunting a try. As for me, I think I might sneak out to a private pond where the bluegills are bedding. That just seems more natural to me.

Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com.

If the Bible tells us that “God laughs,” could it be that humor is divine? If so, it would explain why some of us are blessed with the spiritual gift of dad jokes.

The Library of Life, Love, and Laughter has compiled some eye-opening statistics—literally, if you’re laughing hard enough. Did you know…

• Studies have pinpointed 18 different kinds of smiles. The most recognizable is the smile of enjoyment. (Who has this job? Can I apply? I imagine their college transcript starts with Upturned Mouth 101 and ends with Advanced Guffawing. Do they have pop quizzes where you must correctly identify a smirk from across the room? I need answers.)
• Thirteen muscles are used for smiling, but frowning demands a whopping 50? (Want to preserve your face value? Smile! You need to frown nearly a quarter of a million times to make a single wrinkle. So, in the battle against premature aging, laughter is basically skincare.)
• Laughter lowers cortisol levels, which in turn boosts your immune system? (So technically, giggling at cat videos is self-care.)
• Laughing stimulates your heart and lungs, elevates blood pressure, and temporarily improves breathing capacity. (In terms of exercise, laughing 100 times a day is like rowing for 10 minutes. Who needs a gym membership when you have a sense of humor?)
• Charles Darwin believed that facial expressions influence moods. (Bio-feedback studies back him up. So, if you’re having a bad day, slap on a grin—even if it’s forced. Of course, people might start wondering what you’re up to.)
• Laughing for 15 seconds adds two days to your lifespan? (So if you binge-watch stand-up comedy, do you achieve immortality?)

Impressive statistics, right? Laughter is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself—unless, of course, you belong to the Chicken Little League, whose members believe humor is suspicious behavior.

Psychologist Patricia Keith-Spiegel, in The Psychology of Humor, references a researcher who analyzed laughter like a malfunctioning engine. According to him, it involves spasms of the diaphragm, upper-body movements, nostril dilation, bulging eyes, and jaw vibrations. Keith-Spiegel observed, “One gets the feeling that a person engaging in this act must be critically ill rather than enjoying himself.” Ever met this serious person? The one who treats jokes like an unnecessary disruption to the universe? They’re probably a frequent flyer in the Chicken Little League.

Yet, sinners, prostitutes, and children loved hanging out with Jesus. Do you think it had anything to do with His laughter? Maybe He cracked a few legendary jokes, maybe His smile could light up a room. Either way, His presence was joyful. And if joy is holy, maybe humor is, too.

By Brad Dison

In 2002, Michael and Kelley Flamoe were house hunting in Tacoma, Washington. They saw several houses which were all nice and would have fit their needs, but something held them back each time. They were all nice houses, but none felt like home to them. Then, the realtor took them to a house at 1112 North J Street in Tacoma. The neighborhood was nice. All of the houses on North J Street were at least two stories. The houses were built on a hill about six feet tall, which gave them the appearance of being taller than they actually were. To get from the sidewalk to the front doors of the houses took two flights of stairs sided with wrought iron hand railings which added to the charm of North J Street. Across the road sat a large grey stone Catholic church. It was a picturesque neighborhood. This house had a unique feature in that it was the only house on the block which had numerous groupings of square columns rather than single round columns supporting the porch and roof. Michael and Kelley loved the craftsman style of the home they were considering, and they had not even walked in the front door. After viewing the house’s interior and large backyard, Micheal and Kelley decided their search was over. At first glance, this house felt like home.

Michael and Kelley moved in a short time later. They were in the process of emptying their mountain of moving boxes when they heard a noise coming from the front of their new home. It was a pleasant noise. Michael and Kelley paused to listen more closely. They heard people singing. They remembered the large Catholic church across the street. Perhaps the parishioners were singing, but they were certain they would be unable to hear the singing through the solid stone walls. Michael and Kelley walked to the front room and peered from the picture window. There, at the base of their two flights of stairs, stood a gathering of people who were singing to their new home. Michael and Kelley gave an awkward smile and wave, their singing neighbors returned the gesture. After three or four songs, they ended on a Christmas song, but Christmas was months away. As soon as they finished singing, the crowd began returning to their nearby homes as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do.

To the crowd, it was perfectly normal. They gathered once a week to sing to the house. Michael and Kelley were not bothered by the act, or by the other strange happenings that occasionally happened in front of their home. Carloads, and sometimes busloads, of tourists would stop in front of their home on the normally quiet street, pile out, take pictures of and selfies with the home, some would sing to the house, then they reboarded their mode of transportation and disappeared as quickly as they had come. The weekly singings and the random visits by tourists happened long before Michael and Kelley moved in and it continues to this day. You see, when Michael and Kelley moved into the home, they paid little attention to a bronze plaque embedded into one of the steps leading to the home. It read, “Birthplace of Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby.”

Source: Steve Dunkelberger, “100+ Years Later: A Look Inside Tacoma’s Historic Bing Crosby House,” South Sound Talk, September 3, 2015, accessed May 4, 2025, southsoundtalk.com/2015/09/03/bing-crosby-house-tacoma/.

National Tourism Day, observed annually on May 7, highlights the significant role tourism plays in the economy and cultural exchange. As the world gradually recovers from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry is experiencing a resurgence, bringing renewed attention to  its importance.

Tourism contributes trillions of dollars to the global economy and supports millions of jobs. In the United States alone, the travel and tourism industry generated over $1.6 trillion in economic output in 2019, according to the U.S. Travel Association. The industry encompasses various sectors, including hospitality, transportation, entertainment, and retail.

Beyond economic benefits, tourism fosters cultural understanding and global awareness. Travelers gain firsthand experiences of different cultures, traditions, and histories, promoting empathy and global citizenship.

However, the industry also faces challenges, such as environmental concerns and the need for sustainable practices. Over-tourism can strain local resources, damage ecosystems, and disrupt communities. As a result, there’s a growing emphasis on responsible tourism, encouraging travelers to minimize their environmental footprint and respect local cultures.

On National Tourism Day, stakeholders in the industry, including travel agencies, hospitality businesses, and government agencies, often host events and campaigns to promote travel and highlight its benefits. It’s also a time to reflect on the importance of sustainable practices to ensure the longevity and positive impact of tourism worldwide.