Wyatt Earp was born on this day in Monmouth, Illinois , in 1848 . Earp gained fame from notorious Wild West scrapes includ ing the Gunfight at the OK C orral. Earp, a sort of Renaissance man, created businesses, was sheriff in many towns, and searched for gold, usually ended his capers in better standing than when he started. Earp must have loved a good challenge. He said, “F ast is fine, but accuracy is everything. ” Can we benefit from this wisdom honed from a gunslinger? B ecause speed is

“It’s like they don’t want us to get ahead.” An African-American friend said that to me recently as I gave her and her son a ride so they did not have to stand in the cold March chill waiting for a bus. As a single mother with two children she struggles to keep food on their table. Her teenage daughter found a $9 an hour part-time job trying to save a little for college, and then the household was hit with a cut in benefits. A common story with those who struggle to get above the poverty line if

When I was a young teen, what I wanted more than anything was a pair of Levi’s jeans. In my mind, Levi’s would make the difference between acceptance and rejection by my high school peers. I can still hear my mother’s refrain to my plaintive pleas, “Levi’s won’t make you popular. It’s who you are, not what you wear, that really matters.” Two recent higher education news stories brought back memories of the “Great Levi’s Debate.” Education, as a commodity, can be bought and sold at multiple

When I was in first grade, my music teacher called my mother to thank her for her gift and to praise my performance in the Christmas pageant. I never was much of a singer, but unconsciously, I had swayed and clapped in time to the music. As a seven -year- old, Mrs. Voss’ praise was an unexpected surprise. A few years later, I was in choir, but this time a different music teacher told me to stand still. I felt chastened and thought I’d done something wrong. Somehow, the joy of music faded a bit

Do you ever notice the trees in your life — the ones you look to without thinking? When I was a girl, I’d look to the white pines that bordered our road. They reminded me of great kings and queens. I’d look to them when my dad’s headlights flashed a mile away. Nowadays there’s an oak I look to in the corner of Peterson’s field. Its branches tilt as though a south wind permanently blows. It catches light, especially the golden light the sun throws at slate storm clouds. Sometimes a rainbow. We

The president's national emergency declaration is of dubious legality. As a policy, it is worse than dubious. First, the law. Although the president is commander-in-chief, the problem of border security is primarily a law enforcement problem, not a military problem. It is to be managed through civilian processes. Trump notes correctly that there are national emergency laws, but we must note that none has ever been used as is proposed by him. There is a justly famous Supreme Court precedent

I was studying journalism at NIU in DeKalb in the ‘60s when I got a summer job at the local paper. Not in the newsroom. In the Circulation Department. We tied up individual routes and tossed the bundles on the dock. Drivers lined up to hustle them out. Speed was important. The clock was king. I have learned to appreciate and love the sound of those bundles hitting the dock. And now I see more than bundles. There are not as many hitting the dock as there used to be. Newspapers are shutting down.

In the wake of the revelations that Jussie Smollett may have fabricated the reports of a homophobic and racist attack, how should we respond to future reports of violence? It’s simple, really. Start by believing. When a victim reports an experience of violence, there is no cost to stepping up and saying, “I believe you.” Mr. Smollett’s false allegations change nothing when it comes to how the system should work. In fact, Mr. Smollett’s case demonstrates that the system works as it should. A

In his 1932 essay, “My Lost City,” F. Scott Fitzgerald introduced his classic quote, “There are no second acts in America.” That is pretty stark and hopeless. Fortunately, the line is taken out of context. Fitzgerald actually wrote, “I once thought that there were no second acts in American lives, but there was certainly to be a second act to New York’s boom days.” Written only a few short years after the beginning of the Great Depression, Fitzgerald’s iconic and prescient words uncover American

Happy Mardi Gras! The first time I went to New Orleans my parents thought I was in Alabama. I was a freshman at Memphis State University, and it was my first spring break. My friend, Jan, her boyfriend and I set off in a 1940-something Plymouth that required watering the radiator every 25 miles. Jan’s mother lived in a small Alabama town where we stopped overnight on our way to stay with her cousin who lived in the French Quarter. We found the cheapest, best meals and entertainment - not too