How outdated beneficiary choices can derail your plans

FocusWhen you open a retirement account or buy a life insurance policy, you’re asked to name a beneficiary. It might seem like just another form to fill out, but this simple step can affect your family’s future.

Texas Women finally get the vote

The Texas house of representatives passed the Primary Election Bill on Mar. 16, 1918, and ten days later Gov. William P. Hobby made it official in a special signing ceremony at the state capitol. At long last the women of Texas got the vote.

I wonder about thing

“Man must rise above the Earth, to the top of the atmosphere and beyond, for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.”— Attributed to Socrates, Greek philosopher (470-399 BC)------ I wonder about things.

Blackbirds Don’t Win

Awasp whipped past my ear, and Spring made her entrance. Nobody called it that. The sky was blue, the air warm, East Texas signing her name in pollen across every surface that would hold it. But free is rarely as simple as it looks.The blackbirds came first. They always do.

Marketplace Issues

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) East Texas will host its next Lunch.Learn. Lead business workshop, “Finding Customers in an AI-Driven World”, on Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at 11:30 a.m. at the BBB offices located at 6115 New Copeland Rd., Tyler, TX.

Not wasted at all

While observing cherry blossoms in the movie “The Last Samurai,” samurai leader Moritsugu Katsumoto (played by Ken Watanabe) says to 7th Cavalry Captain Nathan Algren (played by Tom Cruise), “The perfect blossom is a rare thing.

Aggies muster before the end on Corregidor

Before he boarded the PT boat on Mar. 10, 1942 that would carry him to Australia, Gen. Douglas MacArthur told the highest ranking Texas Aggie on Corregidor to “keep the flag flying.”Col. George F.

International Women’s Day: Thriving after gray divorce

March 8 is International Women’s Day, a time to celebrate everything women have achieved and to honor their strength and resilience. It’s also a chance to have honest conversations about real-life challenges many women face.

The last message from the Alamo

Before the messenger disappeared in the pre-dawn darkness of Mar. 3, 1836, the hollow- eyed colonel whispered, “Every morning at daybreak, I will fire a cannon as a sign that we still hold the fort, but when the cannon is heard no more, its silence will tell the Alamo has fallen.

Picking up sticks

When I was young and complained of being bored, one or the other of my parents would point me outside and tell me to go pick up sticks. Put them in a pile. Tie them up. And the next time you’re bored, you can go pick up some sticks out of the neighbor’s yard, just to be neighborly.