Alva Review-Courier -

In our country there are entire families who will suffer through a severe issue that eventually severs family relationships for many years. Eventually, someone might tentatively extend an olive...

No credit taken for this column’s title today. Before it hit File Thirteen, I read it on the front of a magazine that was promoting one of the articles inside and it stuck with me. Courage in a c...

She finally looked up from her computer and stretched her neck after several hours of working nonstop. As she glanced around the room, she noticed the blinds were still open on the window of her home...

Don’t kid yourself. It’s not just criminals attempting to escape punishment. It’s not just a teenager who missed curfew and is coming up with excuses. Not just the employee who walks in the door an ho...

Generation Z – young adults that older generations have a difficult time understanding. And a generation that, in turn, holds a lot of contempt for the lifestyles of generations before them. B...

Ever sit around and wonder ‘Just what is the difference between fear, dismay or panic?’ Well, now that you have brought up the subject, let me give you my illustration of the differences. Fear – w...

Jim and Nick had been neighbors for years. Not necessarily close friends who knew each other’s daily habits and dislikes, but friendly enough – except when Jim did something that got under the skin of...

The young lady had fallen in love. Radiant with happiness, she absolutely glowed like a softly lit Christmas tree. The young man she loved so deeply had recently admitted he felt the same. She...

It’s not exactly a terrific ego-booster to forever be ‘the belly’ – the body part that doesn’t clear the fence last, but still, you’re not the tip end of the nose that always goes first, either. It...

Physical pain – it turns your life upside down while it lasts. Instead of concentrating on having fun or getting your job done, a person experiencing pain suddenly finds themselves with a new goal: g...

• Be continually grouchy with your family and expect them to love, honor, and want to be around you. • Demand miracles from your staff at work and expect total loyalty from them – and to just love...

We all know how it feels to have done it. We wanted to be brave, but at the last minute we pulled up stakes and ran for the hills. Self-preservation was the only thing on our chicken-liver minds. Then...

Have you noticed that in these recent years, you really can’t believe anything anymore? If you see a photo on the internet, it’s most likely been doctored. Photoshop creates its own reality. Hear som...

• Cheating – taking what you didn’t earn. Yeah, that’s a real self-esteem builder. “I’m not brainy enough or strong enough to do it myself. I have to ‘borrow’ from someone else.” • Stealing – So,...

Do this one. (If your spouse is a bit squeamish, then best accomplish this without them being in the kitchen.) Catch a live toad. Fill a large pan with cool water and place the pan on the stove. Put...

Customer Service: the belief that every person walking in through the door of the store needs to be treated as vital to the financial life blood of that business. When did it become “Customer to be T...

Our country, home sweet home, the United States of America since 1776 – to we citizens, it is the best country in the world. At least, to the citizens who still believe in the values of our great, g...

My husband was walking recently on a sidewalk near our home, when he saw a male who was definitely not in good humor, coming toward him. The dude was quite a bit smaller in size, weighed a lot less,...

Being a dad involves a definite fact. Your kid craves and needs your attention. Some do more than others, but make no mistake, every child from your loins needs you to want to spend time talking and...

Recently we were in a lot of different churches, where we were introduced to a bunch of people and made a lot of new friends. We met a lot of smiling, friendly folks – but also a few who probably w...

The batter is warming up on deck – meaning he is the next one to come to the plate to face the pitcher. The man on the pitching mound is known for sinking the dreams of wannabees – the home-run hit...

For anyone, reading and understanding the title of this column is pretty impossible. The reason is plain – I just closed my eyes and pressed random keys, so it makes absolutely no sense to anyone. W...

Ducks and people. You begin comparing male and female ducks to us human counterparts, and you will find a drastic difference. And I’m not referring to our non-webbed feet and wings. One cold m...

Susie and her older sister went for a walk on the country road near her home. As they stepped onto the arched bridge that spanned a rushing creek, Susie stopped midstride. Her sister, not realizing...

Seems my own version of ‘tough men’ are rarely found any more, and the modern version of tough men are weak in comparison. Politically, today the phrase characterizes a person who fights for the cause...