Opinion & Entertainment

I grew up in a house where silence was safer than speaking. My father was a truck driver, gone more often than he was home, either for work or at his girlfriend’s house. You’d think the distance would be better, but it wasn’t in the way a boy needed a father to show me how to become a man. When he returned, the air changed; it was heavy and suffocating as I waited for what would come, what always came at some point, the beatings and the words that cut me deeper than the leather belt, board, or fist. His presence meant tension, anger, and too often, violence. I learned early that home wasn’t a place to grow; it was a place to survive.

Small-town patriotic pride is more than a feeling; it is an experience woven into the rhythms of everyday life and passed down through a family’s generation or community. In many rural communities, patriotism is not expressed through grand gestures or national headlines but through the quiet, consistent acts that bind us together. This pride grows from a deep sense of belonging, a shared history, and the belief that one’s community reflects the best of the nation’s character. In small towns, patriotism is not just an idea. It is personal.

Director of Behavioral Health - Hamilton Hospital Heritage Senior Adult P rogram, Olney, Texas Have you ever woke up in life and asked yourself this question: “Who am I?” This is the hardest question anyone can answer in their lifetime. We are influenced by social media, public expectations, and constant comparison; many people find themselves wondering who they truly are beneath the roles they play. Yes, everyone plays roles and is an actor to some degree.