by Phil Houseal | Dec 11, 2024 | All Articles, Education, Food, History, Philosophy
Dec 11, 2024–A recent kerfuffle about changing a street to one-way caused unanticipated effects at adjacent intersections, brought to mind other blanket declarations with unexpected and opposite consequences. In 1918 pure prairie leagues and women’s temperance unions...
by Phil Houseal | Dec 4, 2024 | All Articles, Education, Events, History, Music, People of the Hill Country, Venue
Dec 4, 2024–When we put a violin in our granddaughter’s hands last year, I would have been happy to listen to her saw away at endless Suzuki songs. But unexpectedly, and due to encouragement from her instructor, Theresa Britt, she has developed an affinity for fiddle...
by Phil Houseal | Nov 27, 2024 | All Articles, Education, History, Music, Philosophy
Nov 27, 2024–Young people today think they are hip. When we were in high school, we thought we were cool. But before there was “hip” and “cool,” there was “hep.” I’m reading a history of the big bands from 1920 to 1960. It’s fascinating how their popularity followed...
by Phil Houseal | Nov 13, 2024 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
Nov13, 2024–Again the great re-ordering of time has side-whacked us. Twice a year we reset the clocks to align with the great solar cycle, compensating for the tilt of our earth to calibrate clock readings to sunrise and sunset. Long ago I came up with an elegant...
by Phil Houseal | Oct 30, 2024 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
Oct 30, 2024–Lick a Battery. That is the first of “Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do),” a book that our son gave us. His friend, author Gever Tulley’s simple premise is that we need to go back to letting kids play dangerously. Readers who grew up...
by Phil Houseal | Oct 23, 2024 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
Oct 23, 2024–If you share an idea with an old man and he is for it, do it. If he is against it, do it anyway. An old man told me that bit of advice. And it is good advice. Throughout history, you’ll find examples of men and women of all ages and stations in life who...
