Small Business Saturday on November 24 looked like it was well-received by a lot of people. I haven’t seen First Street that packed on a Saturday in a long time. Cars lined the street, causing some to spill over into the side streets for the morning and majority of the afternoon.
It was good to see.
Watching the news reports about the Black Friday frenzy, I couldn’t help but feel sorry. I felt sorry for shoppers in the larger cities. I’m sure they are normally nice people, but that day transforms them into Black Friday crazies.

This week is Homecoming Week for the Tri-City United School District.
As is common during this week of celebrations, it is also a time for schools to welcome back former students and members and celebrate an organization’s existence. It is a long-standing tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada.

If you are a longtime resident of Montgomery and subscriber to the Montgomery Messenger, the name Marlene Kolars will be familiar to you. Marlene worked at the Montgomery Messenger for more than 15 years before passing away on October 1, 2007. 
 
Her columns were called “Easy Reading” and were very popular with our readers. She wrote about a variety of things from root canals to her beautiful peonies or television commercials. 
I didn’t know she could predict the future. 
 

I found my first arrowhead last summer.
Last week, I found my second.
And now, I have the bug— the desire—to know more about the fascinating old points that washed up on the shoreline of the lake my family has lived on for more than 60 years.
I came across both arrowheads by chance.
I enjoy taking walks along our beach in the evening, and one night last summer, I came across a perfectly formed arrowhead on top of the other rocks and sand, at the lake’s edge.
It took me by surprise. I remember thinking, “No… It can’t be…"

When your child invites the neighborhood over for brunch, you have two options.
You could refuse. Crush her plans and have her renege the already delivered invitations.
Or... Just go with it.
Last Saturday morning, my house was filled with friends and neighbors.
Having the brunch inside was not the plan, but the morning proved too cool to hold the event in the garage and / or on the driveway. So, we cleaned and set up tables and rearranged a few things to make room indoors.

I am faced with a dilemma. Do I help save the bees or be happy with a dandelion-free yard?
 
On January 11, 2017, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service placed the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) on the list of endangered species. The listing became effective on March 21, 2017, making it the first listed bee from the continental United States. 
 

Parenthood conundrum
I’m hesitant to write this.
Parents are judged at every turn—every decision.
And, I’m a parent. I’m mom to two young ladies, Anna (8.5) and Ellen (6), who enjoy playing outside with the kids in our neighborhood and exploring.
They climb trees, fish, build forts in old woodpiles, campout in the backyard, and try to catch little critters.
They get dirty, sometimes injured, have touched poison ivy, and have wiped out on their bicycles.

My wife is into scrapbooking.
 
Scrapbookers have stuff. A lot of stuff.  If you are the husband of a scrapbooker, you will know what I am talking about. 
 
My wife has carts and totes of different kinds of paper, trinkets, embellishments, and empty binders just ready for the filling with (I admit) beautifully-designed pages. 
 
This is her hobby, and I am happy with it because if it were left up to me, our memories would be crammed into photo books, you know the way people scrapbooked a generation ago.

April and spring are here, according to the calendar and the position of the earth to the sun. Yet we continue to have to shovel thanks to the wintery weather we had earlier in the week that forced TCU to call another snow day on Tuesday and the continued cold days. 
 
Despite our crummy weather, there are plenty of activities happening that can keep us busy. Here are a few: 
 
• The Montgomery Library starts one of my favorite events - the annual Book Sale. It starts Saturday, April 7 and runs to Thursday, April 12.