by Phil Houseal | Aug 16, 2023 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
Aug 16, 2023 “Yes, young girls need role models. But whether these are male or female is irrelevant. We admire other people for certain qualities. For me, these are honor, courage, talent, kindness, intellect. Decency.” Claire Lehmann This quote got me...
by Phil Houseal | Aug 9, 2023 | All Articles, Music, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
Aug 9, 2023–Here’s a life lesson for aspiring musicians: “The more you play, the more you play.” That’s the motto of a recent Hill Country resident, who also, oh, happens to have been the fiddler for Asleep At The Wheel for eight years. “I still feel like a student,”...
by Phil Houseal | Aug 2, 2023 | All Articles, Events, History, Music, People of the Hill Country
Aug 2, 2023–In one of those anomalous alignments of the universe, I’ve been asked several times recently how I came to live, work, and write in the Texas Hill Country. There’s a romantic version, a Hitchhiker’s Guide version, and a screenplay version of my origin...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 27, 2023 | All Articles, Events, History, People of the Hill Country
July 26, 2023–From time to time I tire of “real” news and turn my hand to “Not Newz.” It’s outrageous, obtuse, and yet, increasingly plausible. Camels Return to Texas Hill Country The U.S. Agricultural Research Station has received federal funding to reestablish...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 19, 2023 | All Articles, Philosophy
July 19, 2023– All words are made up. The very purpose of golf is to get good enough to play less of it. We need more respect for bullies. Without bullies, there would be no children’s stories, sit-com plots, or pulp westerns. Why does every other post on a Breaking...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 12, 2023 | All Articles, Philosophy
July 12, 2023–If golf is a good walk, ruined, then fishing is a good nap, wasted. This won’t make me popular with fisherpeople (not a big deal–the USS Popular has long sailed from that dock), but I simply do not understand the appeal of fishing. You buy costly gear....
by Phil Houseal | Jul 5, 2023 | All Articles, Education, Food, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
July 5, 2023–Soap in a sock, batteries in the dishwasher, and banana peels on burns. These are a few of your favorite hacks, according to responses to my online request. I always regret crowd-sourcing my column, but sometimes it’s fun to let people try at home what I...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 28, 2023 | All Articles, Education, Philosophy
June 28, 2023–“Ghostie did it.” My 4-year-old grand has come up with a handy hack for avoiding blame, getting out of boring chores, and explaining mysterious happenings in the house. You see, he has an invisible friend–Ghostie. For someone no one can see, Ghostie is...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 21, 2023 | All Articles, Philosophy
June 21, 2023–You know my biggest fear about getting older? It’s not senility. It’s not immobility. It’s not hair growing out my ears or having a house that smells like mothballs. It’s getting the “repeating disease.” Repeating disease is the tendency to tell the same...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 14, 2023 | All Articles, Philosophy
June 14, 2023–A friend posted that she needed to get her life back on track. She mentioned a strategy called the 5-Second Rule. It involves counting down from 5-4-3-2-1. What’s this? Half a Top Ten list? A Wisconsin Zip Code? Your first AOL password? Amazingly, the...
