John Moore is a 1980 graduate of Ashdown High School who lived in Texarkana and worked at KTFS Radio during the 1980s. His books, Write of Passage: A Southerner's View of Then and Now - Volume I and II, are available on Amazon. You can email him through his website at TheCountryWriter.com.
I didn't strike out with Joyce
I was too small for football and too slow for track. I played catcher, but was a lousy hitter.
My dad had been the captain of his football team and had even been offered a football scholarship.
In my case, the apple fell pretty far from the tree.
Apr. 5 2021 @ 12:11am
The doctor will see you now
"You're 24-years-old. You really need to find a primary care doctor," my wife said.
"But, there's nothing wrong with me," I responded. "Why go get something I don't need?"
Mar. 29 2021 @ 12:31am
Remembering my grandfather's blacksmith shop and lessons learned there
My grandfather's shop seemed cavernous. Every room was filled with tools that a man with a strong back could use to make a living and feed his family.
Mar. 14 2021 @ 4:44pm
The cure was worse than the hurt
When I was little, every time I got sick, I was certain that every medication the adults dispensed was designed to kill me.
Mar. 7 2021 @ 5:26pm
Something with a ring to it
Most of us have a box or other container where we keep items we feel are important enough to carry with us throughout our lives. Mine is a cardboard box. It includes things that might not mean much to others, but do to me.
Feb. 21 2021 @ 10:36pm
Those tiny paper towels are terrible
Do you ever wonder why they couldn't just leave paper towels like they were?
Feb. 15 2021 @ 4:57pm
Youthful ramble to blackberry bramble
My father would load my sister and me into his '52 Chevy truck, and he'd steer down the gravel road leading to the homestead where my mom was raised.
Feb. 7 2021 @ 11:39pm
A different kind of 'toon back in the day
Nixon was in the White House and Scooby Doo was on our school lunch boxes. It was 1969. For a kid, life was good.
Jan. 25 2021 @ 12:02am
Getting into that old groove once again
One of neatest feelings of youth was saving up enough money to buy that next record you wanted.
Jan. 17 2021 @ 9:44pm
Sewing 'seams' to be making comeback
My mom used to make our clothes. This was true for most families we knew.
Jan. 10 2021 @ 10:38pm
JOHN MOORE | 'Tis the season of resolutions
In my previous column, I mentioned my resolution to help others during the New Year. Some readers felt that resolutions were a waste of time, while others felt resolutions were admirable but not sustainable.
Jan. 3 2021 @ 11:51pm
Family matters in vintage television and real life
When trying to decide on a 2021 resolution on how to improve myself, a thought that had popped into my head recently came back to the forefront.
Dec. 28 2020 @ 1:25am
Search for Santa's sled in Ashdown skies
Each Christmas Eve In the 1960's, my sister and I would take a ride in my grandmother's sled.
Like most grandmothers back then, her sled was a Ford Country Squire station wagon that was about the same length as an aircraft carrier and came complete with fake wood paneling on the sides.
Dec. 20 2020 @ 9:46pm
Wife-speak: Lots can be lost in translation
The ways of the South are not the ways of the rest of the country. I've never been to New York City, but from what I hear, the folks there say exactly what they think.
And it isn't always sugarcoated.
Dec. 13 2020 @ 10:37pm
A break from holiday decorations
The days after Thanksgiving: When married men go to the ER for a new cast from falling off the roof while installing the Christmas decorations their wives insist on, and single men sit around in their underwear watching sports and consuming adult beverages.
Dec. 6 2020 @ 8:56pm
The Norm and his Freedom series
For someone named Norm, he was anything but.
Norman Rockwell was my favorite artist even before I had any idea who he was. From a young age, I recognized his work as easily as I knew a sparrow when I saw one.
Nov. 29 2020 @ 9:47pm
OPINION | Let's put the thanks back in Thanksgiving
Let's put the thanks back in Thanksgiving
Nov. 23 2020 @ 10:23pm
Going out on a limb
When we moved into our house several years ago, it was during the month of June. A scruffy tree with small green leaves was blocking our view of the pond. I said I was going to cut it down.
Nov. 15 2020 @ 10:28pm
Navigating the weird world of dreams
I'm fairly certain my dreams have a drug dealer.
What is it with dreams? Sleep is supposed to be an 8-hour window (mine's never that long) when we rest, regenerate, and arise feeling as good as the person in the Folger's commercial who throws back the covers and stretches with a smile before jumping out of bed and heading to the kitchen to commence guzzling a gallon of java.
Nov. 8 2020 @ 9:42pm
They've Got Our Numbers
I'm old enough to remember needing to dial only four numbers to call someone. And when ZIP Codes weren't necessary.
Nov. 1 2020 @ 9:47pm