By Nancy Black I’ve spent the last 21 years teaching my children not to holler out at me by saying, “Hey, Mom!” Artificial Intelligence (AI) has destroyed my life’s work in one fell swoop. “Hay is for horses,” I would tell them. “When you need my attention, you politely say, ‘Mom, will you please …’” […]
By Nancy Black I feel like Steve Martin in the movie, “The Jerk” when he jumped up and down and shouted: “The new phone book’s here. The new phone book’s here!” “The signs are up. The signs are up!” is what I am shouting. White Rock Lake Weekly is now the proud Adopt a Highway […]
By Nancy Black I heard it on a radio ad. And it was for an outdoor sporting goods company. But they called Americans the first “indoor species.” An indoor species? Yes. I looked it up. People spend 95 percent of their time inside, the REI YouTube video says. That adds up to about 70 plus […]
By Nancy Black I never used to do it. At least I don’t think I did. It must be something that happens with age — winking at people. So, I must be getting old because, during the holidays, I caught myself winking at someone. I wasn’t flirting. I wasn’t responding to a shared secret with […]
By Nancy Black They don’t know it yet, but they are our future. The sixth and seventh graders I spoke to on Tuesday have no idea how important they are. But one day, hopefully, they will. The students are part of a journalism class at Robert T. Hill Middle School. Taught by professional journalist and […]
By Nancy Black It’s really not their fault. They are a product of their upbringing. But it was a harsh reality shocker in my life this past week when I found out my youngest child did not know how to use a vacuum cleaner. Granted, said teenager grew up in my elderly mother’s home, which […]
By Nancy Black I don’t know about Buzz Lightyear, but I was pretty darn excited when I saw the InSight Mars Lander touch down on the red planet this past week. But what was even more fun for me to see were the NASA scientists celebrating. By this time next week, I predict that the […]
By Nancy Black Now is the time of year I do three things: start freaking out about the holidays; pull out all our hats, coats and gloves; and head to a German bakery for Advent calendars. (I know I can find them elsewhere, but it just puts me in a festive spirit to walk […]
By Nancy Black I’m blaming Snoopy. Yes, Snoopy, the beloved dog from the “Peanuts” comic strip. Curse him! If I hadn’t grown up watching Snoopy interact with Charlie Brown and his friends, I wouldn’t be the softy (read: sucker) for animals that I am now. I’m not sure if it’s me or my van, but […]
By Nancy Black I knew the moment I looked into my rear-view mirror something was amiss. From my point of view, I was witnessing an obnoxious-looking Jeep — you know, one of those big ones with strobe lights on top, an open cab and huge, over-sized tires? — speeding up behind me on Peavy Road, […]