J. Davy Crockett III

As I entered the county courthouse in the small Southern town where I grew up, it was a special day for me. At age 14, I was going to take my license exam to obtain a driving permit! While I waited my turn, I walked around the old building with its high ceilings and creaking floors. This was the time of the racially segregated South. In an alcove, I saw two identical water fountains, side by side.

In 1836, a very significant battle took place on the American frontier. In an old Spanish mission known as the Alamo, a poignant scene played out. As the sounds of “Toque a Degüello,” a battle anthem that signified “no quarter,” were heard from outside the mission walls, the besieged defenders knew that General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was giving notice that there would be no survivors if they did not promptly surrender.

There it is, the rainbow flag, proudly waving at “Gay Pride” celebrations throughout the Western world, as the homosexual and transgender community demonstrates its political and social clout. This small demographic has pressed for recognition, shattering millennia of societal taboos and resulting in a forced acceptance of behavior that is universally acknowledged to be a high-risk lifestyle—physically and psychologically.

Some expressions in the vernacular, that is “words used on the street,” express an idea in a way that more formal expressions just can’t match. Such an expression is “on Easy Street.” Someone who has just received a great windfall that transforms their economic circumstances from being meager to being set for life might use the expression, “I’m on Easy Street now!”

Does it frustrate you that so many things are made with “planned obsolescence” built in? You know, the product falls apart or quits working soon after the warranty expires? As you walk the aisles of your favorite store, are you appalled at the flood of cheaply made merchandise that becomes worthless soon after being put to use? Then, there are activities that soak up a lot of our time without resulting in anything positive or productive.