Opinion

LIKE MANY AMERICANS, the protests and civil unrest across the country this past week have given us pause to reflect upon our great nation’s promises and ideals, as well as its injustices and shortcomings.

LIKE MANY OF YOU I watched yesterday’s events in front of the White House unfold in real time.

Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis condemned President Trump for making a “mockery of our Constitution” in a statement to The Atlantic on Wednesday, saying he was “appalled” at the president’s response to mass protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing.

CONFUSED? NERVOUS THAT WHAT YOU HEARD Tuesday about how to vote in Texas was illegal again Wednesday? Fretting that you might accidentally commit fraud by casting your ballot incorrectly?

A POST ON FACEBOOK late last week was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

Yessir, yessir, six bags full. Of garbage, in this case. Two frequent visitors to the Canadian River Wagon Bridge collected this fine assortment of humanity’s discards along the river banks on Memorial Day.

IN MY OWN VERSION of social isolation, I’ve spent as many free hours as possible studying the birds and squirrels and hummingbirds that inhabit my backyard, thinking perhaps I could learn something of solitude.

IN TEXAS, WE VALUE community. And right now, community looks a lot different than what we’re used to. No large weddings or birthday parties. No band or orchestra recitals or spring plays. No Little League or youth soccer.

A FEW DAYS AGO, I got one of those calls no parent wants to get. “Dad, I am at the emergency room.” Our elder daughter, Mary, channeled her father’s innate clumsiness and broke her leg.