by Phil Houseal | Jul 29, 2020 | All Articles, Education, Philosophy
July 29, 2020– Sir Christopher Wren Said, “I am going to dine with some men. If anyone calls Say I am designing St. Paul’s.” That is an example of a poetic form called the clerihew. I am stunned that as a writer it was today I learned about this absurd...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 22, 2020 | All Articles, Philosophy
July 22, 2020–My remaining role in life is to feed things. A wise man told me if you want to know who controls you, figure out who buys your groceries. For my menagerie of critters, that person now is me. How did I become a zookeeper? I mean, there was a time I only...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 15, 2020 | All Articles, Philosophy
July 15, 2020–More thoughts about things that don’t matter… Proof that time travel will never be invented: We would have been visited by someone from the future by now. Does anyone else get cuts on their hand and not remember how you got them? Fortunately, using...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 8, 2020 | All Articles, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
July 8, 2020–We have a quarter-mile drive I’ve tried to repair for 25 years. When dry, it’s dusty and bumpy; when wet, it’s a muddy obstacle course. I’m convinced it has ruined the suspension on all my vehicles. Over the years we’ve patched it, bringing in loads of...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 1, 2020 | All Articles, Education, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
July 1, 2020–Last week I ventured out. Out of the house, out of town, out of my comfort zone. I took a class. I’ve always been fascinated by the art of script writing. Which is unusual, because writing of any kind was not a plausible path out of the corn patch, and I...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 24, 2020 | All Articles, History, Philosophy, PR Tips
June 24, 2020–Note: This column is not a metaphor for any current situation, nor is the writer responsible for any lesson readers may take away. M&Ms have always been my favorite candies. So much so that when I was banished overseas for two years, it was one of...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 17, 2020 | All Articles, Education, History, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
June 17, 2020–When I first moved to the Hill Country, I was not prepared for how seriously Texans take their history. Growing up in one of the 49 non-Texan states, I arrived unaware of the colorful story of how this 6-flagged region became the Lone Star State....
by Phil Houseal | Jun 10, 2020 | All Articles, Philosophy
June 10, 2020– “Our diversity is our strength” “We are all in this together” “Due to an abundance of caution” “Thoughts and prayers” How many empty phrases can one language tolerate? Our minds are a file cabinet of sayings. When a certain situation arises, we...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 3, 2020 | All Articles, Philosophy
June 3, 2020–They call themselves Influencers. We called them the cool kids in high school–cheerleaders, quarterbacks, the guys who could play the chords to Smoke On The Water, and the seniors who drove nicer cars than the teachers. We science fair nerds and future...
by Phil Houseal | May 27, 2020 | All Articles, Philosophy
May 27, 2020–As are many of you, we are using this time to clean house. We call it The Great Purge. So, so much stuff. When we moved to our little property, one of the perks was a 600-square-foot barn. Forget your hot tubs, decks, and “oak-covered views.” This place...
