On boots and bars and motorbikes...

Luling lost one of its most tireless volunteers, a champion for local civic improvements, and a dedicated yet selfless newswoman last week when she passed away peacefully at her home on Wednesday, June 14. Karen McCrary, longtime writer, photographer, and former editor and publisher at the Luling Newsboy, would have celebrated her 70th birthday on Saturday, July 1. She leaves behind her four younger siblings, nine nieces, three nephews, and scores more family members and friends. While her many decades of dedicated community service and willingness to help almost anyone is what many say they remember most about her, those who knew her best say it was Karen’s razor wit which stood out most. It’s why we’re almost certain that Karen’s having the last laugh, even now. You see, rather than a birthday party next Saturday, July 1, friends and family are asked to gather from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Zedler Mill in Luling to celebrate the remarkable life she led. That way she had you coming or goin...

It’s almost that time again, boys! No, I’m not talking about Superbowl LVII, set Sunday, Feb. 12, in Glendale, Arizona; the 65th annual Daytona 500, coming Sunday, Feb. 19, live from Daytona Speedway; the gravity-defying Winter X Games, scheduled Jan. 27-29 in Aspen, Colorado; nor even the John Beargrease Marathon, which as everyone knows is the grueling 400-mile race for the finish line held the final week of January along northern shores on Lake Superior that serves as a major qualifying event for the incomparable Iditarod, the most famous of the sled dogging events starting the first Saturday in March and running almost 1,000 miles from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska. No, we’re not talking about any of those. Sadly, we’re not even in the same neighborhood of TV channels. No, gentlemen, we’re talking about Valentine’s Day— which by the way, fellas, that falls on February the 14th, a Tuesday this year—and that’s press day for me, which means I’m already in the doghouse. But it’s her...