Columns

We must continue to set goals. Remain vigilant and always have a vision. How successful you are in setting the right goals is how successful you are you’ll be in achieving them. Having goals without the right plan is like building a new airplane and forgetting to attach the wings. The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. Remember in order to live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong.

Speaker Johnson released the following statement in response to President Biden’s radical proposal to upend the Supreme Court: “President Biden’s proposal to radically overhaul the U.S. Supreme Court would tilt the balance of power and erode not only the rule of law, but the American people’s faith in our system of justice.

“This proposal is the logical conclusion to the Biden-Harris Administration and Congressional Democrats’ ongoing efforts to delegitimize the Supreme Court. Their calls to expand and pack the Court will soon resume.

“It is telling that Democrats want to change the system that has guided our nation since its founding simply because they disagree with some of the Court’s recent decisions. This dangerous gambit of the Biden-Harris Administration is dead on arrival in the House.”

It has been observed by the writer of this article that over the past several years “History Buffs” like articles on history’s little tid-bits. Of course, it could be possible that this writer likes the history of things that are not common knowledge and thinks that everyone else likes them, too. Never the less this article is about little known facts of history and primarily of past Presidents.

Let’s start with the undisputed “Father of Our Country” George Washington. George grew up in Virginia; raised mostly by his mother and older brother, Lawrence, after his father died when George was eleven years old. Lawrence died when George was in his early 20’s and the young man then took over the command of his own regiment of soldiers. He left the military and was elected to the first Continental Congress and was appointed to take over the Continental Army.

Summer steps to a stunning fall garden

Summer is the best time to just sit back and enjoy your garden. While you’re at it, you can start thinking about fall gardening and planning bigger landscaping projects.

You still need to keep up with watering, occasional fertilizing and weed control (mostly mechanically because chemicals shouldn’t be used in the heat of summer on turfgrass, although they can be used in flowerbeds). But it is best not to take on any extensive landscape updates in the next couple of months. Phew! You’re off the hook.

Hamburg Steak

Have you ever wondered why there’s no ham in a hamburger? Well while doing some research on the subject of this week’s column on Salisbury Steak I found out. Thanks to ole Tommy Craig I found out about an LSU Sports themed website called “Dandy Don’s Sporting News” started by Don Long. He talks about and updates all LSU sports but is really heavy on baseball and football and a real necessity for me now especially during the season. Reading Dandy Don every day during last year’s magical championship season was very rewarding and I recommend this site for any of you that are Tiger Fans. It’s a free site but I send in a small donation every year to help out with expenses so tune it to it and repeat after me, “Geaux Tigas” as Coach O growls.

Mansfield reached its pinnacle of high society at the end of the 1800’s and early 1900’s. The editor of the DeSoto Democrat Newspaper on April 26, 1895 made the statement that Mansfield should have a first class opera house. This statement evidently put the proverbial “Bee” under Mansfield’s “Bonnet” for with two years the Belle Taylor Opera House formally opened.

Miss Belle Taylor contracted B.F. Jenkins to build a two story “Business House” on her lot where the post office stood in September 1896 at the southwest corner of Polk and Jefferson Streets. The new two story building would house the post office and a store on the lower floor and the public hall or opera house on the second floor. The proposed 75 foot by 30 foot structure would be of red brick. By mid-December 1896 Johnson Brothers had moved into the lower floor and finished final touches for the post office and upper floor opera house.

With the heat of the summer upon us, we just want to find something productive to do and stay cool in the process. You can ‘think cool’ and take advantage of the heat and start planning ahead for the holidays. Grab a notebook, pencil, and a cool glass of lemonade, and get started with these tips!

Create your Calendar: Start by creating a holiday calendar that includes important dates such as family gatherings, parties, and other events to help you stay organized and prioritize your commitments.

Set a Holiday Budget: Your holiday budget should include expenses for gifts, decorations, food, travel, and any other holiday- related costs. A budget can help you stay on track, keep you from overspending, and even possibly prevent holiday debt altogether. No one wants exorbitant credit card bills in January!

Make Lists — and check them twice. This includes gift lists, menus, activities, and others.

Summer is here, and many of us have travel plans. But trying to stuff all those suitcases full of everything we need can bring tears to our eyes! Rather than start your vacation off with tears, use these handy tips to pack what you need, and possibly have room left over to bring back some fun souvenirs!

Plan Outfits in Advance: Consider the activities and weather forecast for your destination, and pack accordingly.

Pack Smart — Be Versatile: Choose clothing that can be mixed and matched to create multiple outfits, reducing the number of items to be packed.

Roll Clothes Instead of Folding: Rolling clothes instead of folding them saves space and minimizes wrinkles.

Use Packing Cubes or Compression Bags: These are designed to compress clothing items which maximizes the available packing space in your suitcase.

Eggplant Cubed

Or, more accurately, a tasty combination of three very good Eggplant recipes from my three favorite Recipe Books that I’ve had for years. Just out of curiosity I looked up Eggplant on Wikipedia and found out that it is generally believed to have originated in India but has be cultivated in southern and eastern Asia since prehistoric time.

We know it here in Louisiana as an excellent ingredient in a lot of Cajun recipes like Eggplant Seafood Casserole, Eggplant Dressing or as a meat substitute in Italian recipes like Eggplant Parmesan. Susan has had some White Eggplant vines growing in her back yard and they have all started coming in. I brought several home planning on doing a little research online on a good way to cook them. However, the cable crew was replacing lines in my neighborhood and my Internet was down. I remembered how much fun I’d had in the past researching recipes so I started breaking out my old recipe books.

Those of you who have followed this column over the past several years know my true historical love is local history with an occasional deviation. Up front this writer does not claim a great deal of knowledge in today’s subject — only love and interest. “A Brief History of the Holy Bible in English”. Being a Mason some 70 years we are exposed to the subject with the Knight Templars as the principal information source. J. Luther Jordan, of Mansfield and world leader of masons back in the mid-1900’s, could have done a much better jobs with this subject.