by Phil Houseal | Feb 18, 2026 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
Feb 18, 2026–If I had to learn to read today, I would be illiterate. Like most of you, I learned to read and write a lifetime ago. I’ve been a teacher, author, columnist, songwriter, and I even wrote letters in cursive when stamps only had presidents on them....
by Phil Houseal | Feb 4, 2026 | All Articles, Education, Philosophy
Feb 4, 2026–I love making and keeping a “To Do” list. Little is more satisfying than changing a “to do” to “done.” But I have discovered a more important list–a “Stop Doing” list. This concept was formed while I was working in an administrative capacity. During a...
by Phil Houseal | Jan 28, 2026 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
Jan 28, 2026–Once you’ve reached midlife, you are the least stupid you have ever been or ever will be. That’s why every person who has passed that milestone should write down wisdom from their life that worked for them, and that might work for future generations. I am...
by Phil Houseal | Jan 21, 2026 | All Articles, Education, History
Some wily entrepreneur in the Old West understood marketing. This coffee bean supplier wanted to make his beans stand out among the grizzled cowboys and settlers who swarmed up the cattle trails and carved out the west. He made and sold Arbuckles’ coffee, one of the...
by Phil Houseal | Dec 31, 2025 | All Articles, Education, History, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy, Venue
Dec 31, 2025–What if your life were a sitcom? SCENE: Breakfast table, cluttered with opened cereal boxes, butter dish, crumbs and coffee. He: Good morning, dear. What are your plans for today? She: Plans? You think I PLAN my existence. I believe in foreordained fate...
by Phil Houseal | Dec 17, 2025 | All Articles, Education, Philosophy
Dec 17, 2025–Do you name your bread machine? I have just been made aware that there is a whole sub-section of humanity that names objects in their lives. It is not an affliction; it is a life hack. In a previous column I posited how we dehumanize our opponents in...
