“Peanuts” First To Introduce Minority Character

by Kevin Burton    “At the time of Charles Schulz’s death he had produced 17,897 strips, and Peanuts had run in more than 2,600 newspapers worldwide and been translated into 21 languages,” reports http://www.interestingfacts.com.    Today we continue yesterday’s post, presenting more facts from that website.    I know for a fact that the Peanuts gang speaks …

Coffee Chain Creating Jobs For The Disabled

by Karen Shimizu Food &Wine    Bitty & Beau’s is a civil rights movement disguised as a coffee shop.   Bitty & Beau’s has everything you could want from a neighborhood café. The coffee is hot and strong, there’s ample seating, and the free wifi encourages you to linger.    But the experience it offers is rare …

Embrace Your Mother While You Still Can

by Kevin Burton    Hug your mom.    Hug her today if you can. Hug her tomorrow because tomorrow is Mother’s Day, but don’t wait for a prompt from the greeting card companies. Hug her any time.    Hug your mom.    You see this on Facebook all the time. Hug your mom because you will …

Studies Say Music Is The Way To Brainpower

by Kevin Burton    My father wanted me to study computer programming in college. He had that charming way of pushing his desires for himself onto other people.    I wanted to be a journalist – an unblinking champion of the truth and a painter with words. I had that charming way of evaluating ideas …

Here’s The Very Definition Of Happiness

by Dictionary Scoop    For Charles M. Schulz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip, happiness is a warm puppy. For some, it’s a habit. For others, it is a philosophy, a quest, or an ideal, among many other things.   Join us on a linguistic journey through the lexicon of happiness, discovering the many shades and …

Nebraska Town Divided Over Immigration

by Didi Martinez, Julia Ainsley and  Laura Strickler, NBC News FREMONT, Neb. — Big-city mayors may be complaining about the economic impact of an influx of migrants, but the residents of a small city near Omaha can’t decide how they feel.    Fremont, Nebraska, population 27,000, has three massive meat-processing plants. As young locals leave in …

Songwriters Day, A Musical Day Of Reckoning

by Kevin Burton    I grew up mostly at the school for the blind in Ohio. But I had (still have) some partial vision and I played a lot of sandlot baseball in my day.    The school used to hire recreation leaders to work with us restless kids. I think these were students from …

Enid Voters Reject White Supremacist

by Brandy Zadrozny NBC News ENID, Okla. — Voters in Enid decided by a nearly 20-point margin Tuesday to remove a City Council member over his ties to white nationalist groups.     Judd Blevins lost his seat on Enid’s six-member City Council by 268 votes, according to unofficial results from the Oklahoma State Election Board. Nearly …

Driver Saves Children From Schoolbus Fire

by Kevin Burton    Kia Rousseve’s job change came under fire. But not to worry. This is a happy ending.    And she is being called a hero.    Some other heroes in England are saving food from being wasted and feeding hungry people. These are our two happy stories today, from reporter Andy Corbley …

Leap For Joy Leaplings, Today Is Your Big Day

by Kevin Burton    Steve Mingori was an excellent left-handed relief pitcher for Cleveland and Kansas City in the American League.  He finished a 10-year career with an ERA of 3.03.    I always thought of him as a “minus” pitcher. That means in my baseball board games, if a certain number came up and …