Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas

08/24/2008

E. Kyle Steinhauser of Frisco: A nation in decay
The way that the National Mall has been allowed to crumble literally in front of the government serves as a tragic metaphor for the way our nation has slowly crumbled while government grows in size and power.

Melissa Nelson of Rockwall: Last-minute lessons
In a scene repeated thousands of times all across America, we took our older son, Josh, to college last Sunday. We helped him move into his dorm at Texas A&M, and we left him there. Trust me, it's not for the weak.

Jeanná Mead of Fate: Doing the two-step
This might seem like just another honky-tonk where single people go looking for love and drunken strangers make fools out of themselves. Strangers laugh at the down-to-earth grittiness that makes this club what it is. I wish they could see it as I do, walking down memory lane.

Osley Cook Jr. of Dallas: My job is clear
No matter who is on the school board or who the superintendent is or who the administrators are, my job is clear. I'm going to educate my students to the best of my ability. And when they call me, I will make myself available.

08/23/2008

Sounding Off: Keep on truckin'?
Editor's Note: Starting next week, Sounding Off will appear on Thursdays.

Sounding off:
Editor's Note: Starting next week, Sounding Off will appear on Thursdays.

08/22/2008

Greg Silva of Flower Mound: Passion for the rings
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." – The Olympic Creed, Pierre de Coubertin

Lorraine Brock of Richardson: Back to school shortcuts
Have you ever wondered if the morning routine of heading back to school always has to be like boot camp? The whistle blows, and your child jumps out of bed, straight into yesterday's pants lying on the floor. Running downstairs, they grab a granola bar for breakfast ... and lunch. Then, deciding to brush their teeth on the way to school, they hide a bottle of Scope in their pocket.

Beverly Biehl of Frisco: The hen in the foxhole
I know what it's like to be unpopular. After all, I'm a parent to teenagers. But it's nothing compared to the angst that the tree-huggers must have felt while battling Big Timber to save some cute little spotted owls, or the embarrassing revelation for the Chinese government when the news about the Olympic singer switch-up first aired.

Cheryl Renee Evans: Black in North Texas

08/21/2008

Sara Koehn of Allen: Play fair with free parking

Buzz Priestley: High school at warp speed
Haven't given give much thought to school this summer, have you? Not the coming school year, but the summer sessions that finished awhile back.

08/15/2008

Debbie Cartwright of Arlington: Farewell, working world

08/17/2008

Davia Madariaga of Allen: The truth about teachers

Betsy Simnacher: Become a backyard environmentalist
My mother has a green thumb. She has gardened in Houston, Dallas and the rocky soil in the Texas Hill Country. Each location required a little more expertise.

08/16/2008

Sounding Off:
The increasing cost of suburban living should remind us of our most pressing concern: keeping our children here to preserve our past and ensure a future.

08/15/2008

Toni Armenta Andrukaitis of McKinney: Get out of debt for free? Yeah, right.
How did we get here? Where are we going? I often ask myself these questions when I see all these outrageous commercials and claims that seem to be brainwashing Americans. The ones that really frost my cupcakes are those commercials that show the couple holding a stack of unpaid bills with their forlorn faces and desperate eyes. Next, fade to their elated expressions after a convenient phone call to a local debt-consolidation company.

Darrin Swartz-Larson: I can't see (or taste) Texas from here
I want someone to ask me if I want my iced tea sweet or unsweet. And then I want them to serve me a glass of iced tea so big I almost need both hands to lift it to my mouth. I want it to be so icy that drops of water coat the outside of the glass as I hold onto it and let the chill sink in.

Carolyn Tebeau of Rockwall: Dying to eat out again
What industry would want to kill or injure its customers?

Mike Sims of Dallas: Thankful for second chances

08/14/2008

Gina Perales Hethcock of Plano:
OK. I admit it. I'm sometimes a procrastinator, especially with tasks that are repetitive or mundane. But does that make me subject to cruel and unusual punishment? Plano Independent School District thought so. And I wasn't the only parent who was slapped on the hand and sent to time-out hell for two hours on a recent Thursday.

Doug Farrow of Rockwall: A tribute to teachers
I missed an opportunity seven years ago that I can never have back. Two "Charlie Brown" trees came with our brand new house in 2001. One was vertical, the other slanted, just a little bit, but enough to be noticeable.