All Saints students to perform ‘10 Ways to Survive Life in Quarantine’

The following is the original version of a story that ran on the Beaumont Enterprise website. BEAUMONT, Texas — When All Saints Episcopal School closed its campus in response to the coronavirus pandemic, middle school drama teacher Ramona Young decided that what the students needed to distract them was production. Meanwhile, playwright Don Zolidis was …

Celebrating independent booksellers

I knew I had found a spiritual home as the hardwood floorboards serenaded me with creaks and groans as I moved from shelf to shelf, from room to room.

Internet wandering leads to ‘Something Else’

In a time of isolation, one must beware of falling down a rabbit hole and killing hours on idle nothings on the internet. But sometimes, as one falls, one accidentally finds what was not sought. One such Carrollean free fall took place the other day. I followed a Facebook link to a short YouTube video …

Editing student copy in a pandemic isn’t easy — or as much fun

To say we live in interesting times is an understatement. Things we thought we definitively knew a month ago have turned out to be nothing but illusions. However, one thing I thought might be true has been confirmed — I am not a fan of online teaching. As it turns out, my students are not …

Why am I so bad at watching TV?

The thought of having to sit and watch 8, 10 or 13 episodes of a show that was just released makes me feel anxious and overwhelmed.

Patti Smith, The Big Easy, and me, part 1

Patti looked up and smiled, then laughed, and we cheered and laughed with her.

Cleanliness is next to…

This is the latest in a series of random thoughts while being holed up during the COVID-19 pandemic. How much hand sanitizer does it take to kill one’s credit card? I have no idea, but I’m convinced that before this pandemic is through, I will find out. I’m trying to stay in as much as …

Goodbye to breakfast

This is the first in a series of random thoughts while being holed up during the COVID-19 pandemic. The alarm went off at 5:40 a.m. I really didn’t want to get up. After all, what’s the point of teaching from home if I still have to get up? There are few advantages to getting old, …

Dickerson offers insights into craft

'60 Minutes' host, long-time journalist visits Lamar Journalist John Dickerson visited Lamar University, March 9, the latest presenter in the 2020 Judge Joe J. Fisher Distinguished Lecture Series. Prior to the main event, Dickerson spoke to members of the local media in the Rothwell Recital Hall. Members of the University Press joined journalists from The …

Review: ‘Francis Bacon: Late Paintings’

This is a review of the exhibition “Francis Bacon: Late Paintings" at Museum of Fine Arts Houston published in the March 2020 ISSUE arts magazine. For a link to the story, click here. To see a digital version of the pages, click on the image below.