“Blah, blah, blah.” That was the inspired headline on Rex Nelson’s column on the editorial page taking Little Rock to task a month ago. In the process Rex also rejected the word “Journalist” to describe what he does and asked that he be called, instead, a “newspaperman.” As a “newspaperman” myself for a good part of my life. I am in total agreement with Rex and the thrust of his column. I hope our readers feel the same way. I should stipulate that I have strong opinions … [Read more...]

Men are on the hot seat these days. Read the daily headlines and Tweets. Once again, we are reminded that some men are predators who take sexual advantage of women, abetted in part by the social media. And we ask ourselves the question, what do real men do? For the answer, my first choice is to refer you to the selected works of Dr. Robert Lewis, a co-founder of Little Rock’s Fellowship Bible Church with Bill Parkinson and Bill Wellons in the late 1970’s, founder of the international … [Read more...]

When it comes down to it, I suspect that all most of us really want in life is a little peace and quiet, someone to love who loves us back and a sense of achievement. Most of us don’t exactly know how to go about it and some of us—at least 10 percent--turn to drugs and alcohol and other self destructive substances for relief. A lot more have mental health problems they cannot help without treatment. I became a disciple of 12 Step programs when I went to my first AA meeting almost 40 years … [Read more...]

The young man, Ryan, looked stressed. He couldn’t sit still and left the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting repeatedly only to return, pacing and lighting one cigarette after another. The older man watched as his grandson, 29, fidgeted and paced, obviously in distress. He knew the feeling. He'd been there, struggling to overcome the acute discomfort of being wired, his body craving the alcohol that had possessed him. His grandson, he knew, was desperate and longed to hit the streets where he … [Read more...]

Joe McQuany, a Little Rock native, dedicated most of his adult life to helping alcoholics get sober before his death in 2007. An alcoholic himself, he was an active sponsor, ran a men’s treatment center for many years, and added a women’s treatment center days before his death. Joe was a big deal. He had the capacity to bring out the best in people who sought his help overcoming their addictions. And he was funny. He took a serious subject and made us laugh at ourselves in our pathetic … [Read more...]