Opinion

Dear Neil: We have a giant oak in our yard. This August it started dropping leaves by the hundreds. They’re covered with bumps and spots. A neighbor had to have a tree with similar issues removed a year or two ago. What is happening, and what can I do?

Here’s another interesting COVIDenabled trend to ponder - More Americans are leaving big cities and the suburbs to live in rural communities, according to NextAvenue.com. I hope the trend grows because it would be good for the American psyche.

Prior to his death, Los Angeles Sunday night talk show host Terry Anderson used to open his broadcast with a heads up to his listeners - “If you ain’t mad, you ain’t paying attention.” Most Americans are paying attention to the wide-open Southwest border, and the Afghan nationals influx. But, to use Anderson’s vernacular, Americans ain’t paying enough attention, and they ain’t angry enough.

A favorite story of faith and healing happened as Jesus was going through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. The road was crowded with fellow travelers. Jesus would likely have had his disciples and others that were listening to him teach following in his wake. Plus, it was the law that any Jewish male over 12 years old and lived within 15 miles of Jerusalem was required to attend Passover.

Dear Neil: Are these caterpillars harmful? Should we kill them? You’ve attached a photo of an asp, or puss caterpillar. If you were to brush against one, it would inflict a very painful sting from that row of bristles down its back.

September is Apple Month. When school starts and September is here, who doesn’t start to think about all those wonderful apples ripe for the picking. Apples are a pomaceous fruit of the Malus domestic species. They are perrenials in the rose family, and are one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits.

Many parents my age are currently experiencing empty nest syndrome/euphoria as they send their children off to college in hopes that, someday, their “babies” will graduate and come back home to pick up all of the junk they left crammed under their beds.

This week Texans, Americans, and all those who love freedom throughout the world will mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Already we are bombarded with remembrances, the replay of minute-by-minute telecasts from that day, and the more scientific analysis of what happened to explain the horrific destruction of the World Trade Center towers.

It seems that many of us are always hooked up to earbuds, iPods, computers, and video games. We are in constant states of listening to something or to someone.

Hurricanes are on the forefront of everyone’s mind. September is Emergency Preparedness Month.