by Phil Houseal | Sep 17, 2025 | All Articles, Education, Food, History, Philosophy
Sept 17, 2025–When you make any transaction, what are you really paying for? Someone complained about paying $20 for a fast-food sandwich (future archivists–$20 is a LOT to pay for a basic sandwich in 2025–although that is changing daily). Another someone pointed...
by Phil Houseal | Sep 10, 2025 | All Articles, Events, History, Music, People of the Hill Country, Venue
Sept 10, 2025–How does it feel to take center stage at The Grand Ole Opry? “Well, it was wonderful.” So saith Gary Nicholson, who as a Hall of Fame Songwriter and Grammy Winner, got his first solo spot under country music’s biggest spotlight at the age of 75. Not that...
by Phil Houseal | Sep 3, 2025 | All Articles, History, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
Sept 3, 2025–How many connections to “important” people do you have because they were neighbors? I am curious about how connected we are to well-known/accomplished/famous/key people simply due to randomness. Many times, when I am looking for a favor or trying to find...
by Phil Houseal | Aug 27, 2025 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy, PR Tips
August 27, 2025–I must take a pause here to acknowledge hitting a milestone: This month marks the 20th anniversary of writing these Full House columns. For those counting, that is 1040 original columns with never a missed week. Even during a 10-day stay in ICU,...
by Phil Houseal | Aug 13, 2025 | All Articles, Education, History, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
Aug 13, 2025 “My nose itches. I smell peaches. Someone’s coming with a hole in his britches.” That is an example of an ominous adage delivered in a pleasing rhyme. I don’t know what it means, but it’s fun to say because it could portend doom while sounding like...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 11, 2025 | All Articles, Education, Food, History, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
July 9, 2025–What if Texas was a country (some say it is) and each of the other 49 states represented a foreign culture (some say they do)? How would you describe new arrivals in the frame of all the other “hyphen-Americans?” Here’s how that might sound from my...
