Alva Review-Courier -

If you walk around your home, you will notice that there are areas that are hard to navigate. Throw rugs are aptly named. Most people are happiest in their current home – surrounded by memories and...

Thinking about my Army experience, I recall that Bill Sperry and I worked out getting in shape for basic training. I wish I were in that shape today, but age has taken its toll as walking replaces jog...

C.S. Lewis said, “The sun looks down on nothing half so good as a household laughing together over a meal.” I agree, and some of my fondest memories involve the family dinner table. I was an only...

Nicki and I spend nearly $14,000 on premiums, deductibles, co-payments, and travel for treatment in an average year. Should universal health care become the law of the land, the private insurance...

Tiger Woods won The Master’s and The Oklahoma City Thunder is in the NBA Playoffs. These are highly-paid professionals who are paid to play. Play is important to all of us; entertainment at its...

“Everyone, deep in their heart, is waiting for the end of the world to come.” –Haruki Murakami, 1284 Constant worry is responsible for debilitating headaches, mood swings, insomnia, depression...

You know from football injuries that concussion often can’t be prevented even with a helmet. The KTH Royal Research Institute in Stockholm claims that the blame for at least two-thirds of head...

“What the world needs now is love, sweet love.” – Jackie DeShannon, 1965. According to Kristen Bahler in Money Magazine, what the world needs now are more tradespeople: skilled workers,...

"I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space." – Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2 This quote gave Stephen Hawking the title for his 2001 book "The Universe in a...

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, March was named for Mars, the Roman god of war. This was the time of year to resume military campaigns that had been interrupted by winter. With March comes...

New Year’s resolutions rarely take so, Kiwanis Magazine gave me some ideas on what not to do in 2019. Several I had already decided in favor of, the first of which is not leaving voice mails....

“What this country needs is a good 5 cent cigar.” –Thomas R. Marshall What this country needs today is self-repairing pavement. The Dutch are experimenting with a stretch of asphalt laced with...

It doesn’t take much to make a difference in another person’s life, positively or negatively. It’s also easy to overlook someone who is being bullied, and so difficult to think independently or...

When the National Geographic subscription expires, I try to make justification for not renewing the $39 magazine when most other periodicals are $6-$10. The next issue contains an article that blows...

“Up from the ground came the bubblin’ crude, black gold, Texas Tea.” Great news for the Clampetts, soon to be the Beverly Hillbillies. As the demand for alternative fuel vehicles grows, so does...

Last year’s calendar was weary with special days, celebrations, anniversaries and appointments while 2019 is stacking-up to be the same. February was, for the second year, the slowest month at the...

In the hit “Drivin’ My Life Away,” Eddie Rabbitt sang: “Well, the truck stop cutie comin’ on to me. Tried to talk me into a ride, said I wouldn’t be sorry. Oh, but she was just a baby....

Fortune magazine devoted a 28-page section to “The Shrinking Middle Class.” While most Americans consider themselves to be middle class, it is an elusive formula that decides. If you’ve ever...

On the cover of Time magazine we see the picture of the first baby born in the U.S. to a mother with a transplanted uterus. Reading further, I discovered that one in 1,450 women worldwide are born san...

Counter checks had only the name of the bank. That meant your signature was used to identify the account. Each signature was identifiable but it was a very poor system. Then came personalized checks,...

“You never know when you need to look like you have a little bit of sense and a little bit of money.” Those were the words of Charles Johnson IV as he accompanied his wife to the hospital as she...

A human’s life on earth is ruled by natural rhythms established in each individual’s cells. Many of us rebel against daylight savings time, cloudy days and schedule changes brought about by jobs...

Thousands of Americans reach retirement age each year. Many of them plan to “age in place.” If that brings up connotations of grab bars, toilet seat risers and access ramps, you’re not alone....

Ann Hodgman, in Smithsonian Magazine, says, “This season, 65 percent of Americans will send Christmas cards or letters.” It’s a tradition for many and the bane of others. The custom of sending...

Flooding in Houston, storm surge on the East Coast, fires in California team-up to raise insurance rates all across the country. The purpose of insurance is to spread the risk among the...