by Phil Houseal | Aug 24, 2017 | All Articles, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
Aug 23, 2017–This column will eventually be about my mom. But it starts with my first and worst phobia: fear of water. As a kid I was terrified of swimming. Looking back, this fear was not irrational. I grew up in Iowa, a good 2000 miles from any sizeable body of...
by Phil Houseal | Aug 17, 2017 | All Articles, Education, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
“Go outside and get the stink blown off.” Aug 16, 2017–Those loving words passed through my mama’s lips every time we kids got underfoot and on her nerves growing up. Turns out, although phrased more diplomatically, that advice might be the best way to raise kids....
by Phil Houseal | Aug 11, 2017 | All Articles, Events, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
“The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad.” Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad Aug 9, 2017–As another summer simmers down, many of us have been guilty of over sharing travel photos of our adventures. You...
by Phil Houseal | Aug 2, 2017 | All Articles, Education, People of the Hill Country
Aug 2, 2017–When it comes to whistles, Jeffrey Wanek would rather overblow than suck. Wanek is a basketball referee. The Fredericksburg High School and Texas Lutheran graduate is in his sixth year officiating games at the high school level and for college Division II,...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 27, 2017 | All Articles, Food, People of the Hill Country, Venue
July 26, 2017–I was just trying to get my manos on a bottle of Inca Kola. Inca Kola is a soda that is popular in Peru. I don’t remember liking it–it’s a sugary sweet concoction whose color can only be described as anti-freeze yellow, with a name appropriated from an...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 20, 2017 | All Articles, Philosophy
July 19, 2017–It took me 40 years to take Aunt Betty’s advice. Back when I was a know-it-all college student, I stayed overnight at my Grandma Cupp’s house. Aunt Betty happened to be there, and we were enjoying one of those rare things–a conversation. I say rare,...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 9, 2017 | All Articles, Education, People of the Hill Country
July 12, 2017–I always thought it was called cursive because I cursed it when my 4th-grade teacher gave me a C in Penmanship. Even my immature brain wondered why we started school painfully learning how to print letters, then had to unlearn it and switch to making...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 6, 2017 | All Articles, Education, People of the Hill Country
Update: Mensa will administer the Mensa qualification test on Friday, Oct 6, at Schreiner University from 1:45 to 4 pm in the “Fishbowl.” For details, call Gary at 830-739-1730. Sample Mensa test and answers at end of column. July 6, 2017–When I entered...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 29, 2017 | All Articles, Food, People of the Hill Country, Venue
June 28, 2017–This may be blasphemy, but biscuits weren’t that big of a deal where I grew up. It was not until I arrived in Texas that I realized the foundational role a good biscuit played in a typical southern breakfast. Here, biscuits were buttered, jellied,...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 22, 2017 | All Articles, Events, People of the Hill Country, Venue
June 21, 2017–As a sound guy, Greg Stone usually deals with guitar feedback, making sure backup vocals don’t bury the lead singer, and keeping drums out of the monitors. So when Nimitz Foundation staff approached him about setting up the sound system for the Pacific...
