There was a great crowd at the Firemen’s Bar-b-que on Saturday evening and I believe they did very well raising funds for the continued operations of the Fire Department. This is a special group of men, and their families, who volunteer to help others whenever and wherever they are needed, and show up every time there is an emergency in our County, so if you see them around town tell them a special “THANK YOU”.

Royal Jelly is an old folk remedy that is often overlooked. It is also known as bee’s milk, and is a concentrated super food that is a powerful anti-aging tonic. Royal Jelly contains many essential nutrients for humans. These include B vitamins, vitamins A, C, D, E and K, 12 important minerals, 18 amino acids, collagen, and lecithin.

Brooke and I love pineapple, especially fresh pineapple. It has been very inexpensive for the past few weeks at our local grocery store, so I wanted to share some ideas on how to use it. It is such a refreshing treat! When you’re shopping for one, try to make sure that the outside is free of mold - you have to look for it to see it.

“If you don’t like the weather, just wait a few minutes, and it will change!” Growing up in Texas, we’ve seen that truism proved right more often than not. Last week was a perfect example, going from an 80° day to freezing the next night. But whatever the weather, the Cup and Chaucer snack bar in the library is a good place to get some refreshment.

Introspection of retrospection should never be taken lightly. Generally, getting on with life is preferable to dwelling on what might have been. On rare occasions, though, it is profitable to re-visit bad decisions, declare intent never to make them again, and share details of painful experiences. Perhaps I can help others avoid the pitfalls which open wide to me. I was “chewed up and spit out,” and can just now smile about an avoidable ordeal which a month ago caused me to shed tears…. ...

Around. And around. And around again. Around the May pole. Final spin. Taking note of more. Joe Marquez Landscaping. Toni Hurlbut, Jewelry Maker. William Beaty, Mechanic. Janice Ponder, Money Pit Expert. It keeps on going. And going. David Holt Custom Tree Cutting and Lawn Services. Debbie Owen, Farmer. Tommy Splittgerber, Actor. Carolyn Copeland, Jewelry Maker. And going. And going. Nothing scientific about this. Jim Mangum, writer and artist. Tyler Magnus, roper. Zack the ...

The Chinese, I’m told, invented gunpowder sometime during the ninth century, but did very little with it, besides making bombs (to blow one another up) and fireworks (to blow themselves up). They may have used crude ‘guns’ made from bamboo and stuffed with powder and projectiles, but I’d classify those under one of the above uses.

The Mason Lions club met Tuesday, April 23rd, for its regular weekly luncheon meeting. There were 35 members in attendance. Lion Glenn Ruthven was responsible for the program and introduced Scott Zesch who spoke about happenings in Mason. Scott first talked about the Mason Community Kitchen, which is a group of volunteers that meet once a month at the school cafeteria to make and freeze casseroles to be distributed at the Food Pantry each month.

I’ve noticed that Z and I keep repeating the same old stories. I wouldn’t dare tell him he’s told me that before, because every time he tells it, it keeps getting better. Embellishing comes into our family, both old and young! I really have nothing to say this week that I haven’t said before, so I’ll not repeat nor will I embellish!

In some of the past articles I spent time talking about “saddlebag” maps that were the early examples of traveler’s or glove box maps that we know from our own recent past. Of course now many travelers, particularly younger adults, rely on GPS and “voices in the dash” for directions and never even have to look at a map.

The primary thing going on in my office at the current time is Early Voting for our municipal elections. Since we are efficiently using every square foot of the City offices these days, my office seemed to be the only available space to set up the early voting booths, so I am working around some extra activities and space uses.

After last week’s article on cleansing, I thought it would be a good time to bring up parasites - the thought of which makes most of us queasy. In spite of that, they are an often overlooked cause of certain health problems today. Parasites are actually very common in nature and more common in humans than we would like to think.

As everyone is probably aware, the Wild Flowers of Mason County were some of the best in our region! Though the bluebonnet crop is smaller compared to previous years, our landscape is still beautiful and filled with Wild Flowers. We have had visitors in Mason from many surrounding counties, 12 other states and five different countries this spring alone.

If you’re looking for lovely note cards, you should try these on sale here at the library. Second Chance has handmade notecards with the cutest dogs and cats, and the Mason Study Club’s handmade cards feature a variety of Mason County scenes. You can send one-of-a-kind cards unique to Mason, and at the same time help support these two organizations whose members do so much for our community. NEW ARRIVALS: (All quotes are from publishers’ summaries) Non-fiction: National Geographic’s ...

Mason County AgriLife Extension Service and Mason County Chamber of Commerce are offering a Food Handler’s Course on Tuesday, May 21 from 3-5 p.m. in the meeting room at Willow Creek restaurant on the Square. The Course is $20 a person, and each participant will earn a Texas Food Handler card which is good for 2 years.