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Holiday season habits have changed, but I still love fruitcakes
By Edward A. Forbes The Bulletin Sugar Plums have danced; champagne has been drunk. The holidays are a wonderful time of year. Time and age seem to have affected the celebration in many ways. Christmas, it seems, has changed as we are called upon to say “Happy Holidays” as it’s more politically correct than “Merry Christmas.” New Year is the same; we make resolutions to diet, exercise and more and then immediately proceed to break them all before February. In the olden days
Jan 202 min read
I did the dreaded task of changing Bulletin computers
By John Toth The Bulletin Changing Bulletin computers is no tea party, which is why I don’t do it all that often. But when I saw a deal on Black Friday, I could not resist, and now The Bulletin’s main computer is brand new and has all the features that I need - and want. A few weeks ago I wrote about the process of buying this magnificent addition to the Bulletin’s Production Department, which had not been upgraded for four years, mostly because the old computer I was using w
Jan 203 min read
My personal New Year's resolution picks
By John Toth The Bulletin I cannot promise that I’ll resolve to exercise more, because that would give me less time in the gym to play with my phone. So, that’s out. Saving money is great. I like doing that. I have always stretched the life of my cars to extinction and beyond. Making smart financial decisions when you’re young will be rewarding in your later years. It has worked for me very well. Remembering peoples’ names when I first meet them will be a challenge, but I’ll
Jan 122 min read
Christmas ‘79 was first time mom enjoyed ‘summer’ in winter
By John Toth The Bulletin I drove 1,688 miles in 1979 to take a reporting job at the Bay City Tribune, not really knowing what I’d get into, only that I had a job right after graduating from college in the field that I got a degree in, which was rare at the time. I knew that it was hot in these parts of Texas, since I got here in May and made it through my first summer here in a car without air conditioning. Just wait, they said. You won’t regret coming to Texas. I never did
Dec 15, 20252 min read
December birthday sufferers, I may have found a solution
By John Toth The Bulletin I was born on Dec. 13, in the middle of the holiday season, and in one of the worst months to have a birthday. It would have been better to be born in a month when there is not all that much going on, like any summer month, but I had no say in this matter. Everyone knows Christmas kids are doomed from day one. The holidays are in full swing the second that Thanksgiving ends. So really, anyone celebrating a birthday in the last month of the year is in
Dec 8, 20253 min read
Krampus shadowed St. Nick in my early childhood
By John Toth The Bulletin When I was a child, and December rolled around, we anxiously awaited Dec. 6, St. Nicholas Day - anxiously because there was a good and a bad side to that day, and the night before. I was born in a country where, for some reason, our ancestors decided that a good guy and a bad guy should visit the children on the same night. After all, what would a celebration of St. Nicholas be without an antagonist? St. Nicholas was a fourth-century Greek bishop of
Dec 1, 20253 min read
My memories of Thanksgivings when our children were little and our holiday hunt to find a Furby
My memories of Thanksgivings when our children were little and our holiday hunt to find a Furby
Nov 25, 20253 min read
Win free Dickens on the Strand Tickets! How free ballpoint pens grow this writer’s collection
Win free Dickens on the Strand Tickets! By John Toth The Bulletin Being a writer most of my life, I became a long time ago a connoisseur of pens. “Use my pen,” I suggested to a clerk recently. “It has a smooth roll. I think it’s one of the best pens I’ve gotten for free.” She agreed. The pen glided on paper like a knife cuts into butter, but not as messy. Her signature looked like a work of art. She tried to give it back, but I told her she could keep it. I have several more.
Nov 11, 20253 min read
Would you buy a candle scented like motor oil?
By John Toth The Bulletin When Sharon and I owned and operated Wicks ‘N’ Sticks at Brazos Mall, we found out that connoisseurs of fragranced candles don’t deviate much from the norm. The trick was to come up with products that stayed within that bubble. But not all the time. Most food-scented candles were not a big hit. We experimented with a few, and they were not big sellers. When I tried to pitch them to customers, they came back with: “Why would I want to buy a candle tha
Oct 27, 20253 min read
Return to sender, address unknown, no such number, no such zone
By John Toth The Bulletin An invoice I sent out in June just came back to me marked as “undeliverable.” Maybe it was, but why did it take...
Oct 6, 20253 min read
I set out to search for a younger doctor after my middle-aged physician decided to retire
By John Toth The Bulletin A while ago, my primary physician told me that he was retiring, and I needed to find another doctor. I chose...
Sep 29, 20253 min read
Toothpaste becomes expensive once the ship sails
By John Toth The Bulletin I love cruising, but there are some problems that are harder to solve in the middle of the ocean than on dry...
Sep 22, 20253 min read
Who says summer is over?
By John Toth The Bulletin As I recently rolled my shopping cart up and down the aisles in one of the big box stores, I passed by...
Sep 8, 20253 min read
Pesky calls remind me of past mischief
By John Toth The Bulletin We have been inundated every day by calls to The Bulletin for weeks, but not in a good way. Within the good...
Aug 25, 20253 min read
Why the death of a spider reminded me of my mortality
Why the death of a spider reminded me of my mortality
Aug 18, 20252 min read
After 40 years, we made it back to an improved Nassau
After 40 years, we made it back to an improved Nassau
Aug 18, 20254 min read
Did Ernest Hemingway’s great, great, great grand cat steal my sunglasses?
By John Toth The Bulletin During our recent visit to Key West, Florida, one of our must-see stops was Ernest Hemingway’s home. When...
Aug 11, 20253 min read
Goldie the spider was about to get smashed to bits, but I stepped in to save her life
By Edward A. Forbes The Bulletin “OMG, there is a huge spider on the storm door; kill it,” the females of the Forbes clan shrieked loudly...
Aug 4, 20252 min read
We weren’t all that certain what would happen if the Y2K Bug reset computers to year 1900
By John Toth The Bulletin The year was 1999. Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” topped the charts; “Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom...
Aug 4, 20253 min read
Radio has played a big role in my life since childhood
By John Toth The Bulletin I have found the almost-perfect radio, although my search continues for true perfection - for a good price, of...
Jul 21, 20253 min read
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