Opinion

The real crisis The Supreme Court decree eliminating a constitutional right to privacy and bodily autonomy for women and banning abortion by the Texas legislature were myopic and cruel acts based on a myth that the only acceptable purpose of sexual behavior is to produce more babies.

I’m a lucky American. Thanks to my wife Colleen’s job as a travel agent, in the last two weeks I’ve been to Europe and back.

Comedian Carl Reiner was good at living well, and he lived well until the age of 98. I recently watched his 2017 HBO documentary, “If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast.”

Luke chapter 14, verses 25-33. I love this passage that contains a specific teaching from the Lord Jesus Christ on the reality and cost of discipleship.

Dear Neil: What is the life expectancy of a Bradford pear? We have one that was planted when our house was built 35 years ago. It’s between our drive and the neighbor’s yard. I wanted to take it out five years ago, but our neighbors asked us to keep it.

My father is turning 89 this week, and he’s getting especially sentimental of late. The other day, from his hospital bed, he said he hoped he’d been a good father.

The U.S. economy is teetering on the edge of a recession. Prices are up. Job creation appears to be slowing. People are seeing the value of their wages decline.

Dear Neil: I planted red yuccas last year, and they bloomed beautifully. Last winter when I started to prune the old bloom stalks, they were so brittle that I just pulled them out. This year I had no blooms. Will they bloom next year, or do I need to plant new plants?