Submitted by Neal Murphy

"The Christmas Song That Almost Wasn't" by Neal Murphy

December 21, 2018 - Many secular Christmas songs have been written over the years, some successful, but most never made it to the big time. The second most popular song behind Bing Crosby’s White Christmas almost didn’t get recorded. Had it not been for Gene Autry’s wife, Ina, the little song may have languished for lack of attention and faded away into the trash can of history.

"What's for Dinner?" by Neal Murphy

November 15, 2018 - In the early 1950s I was dating a young lady from the small town of Hemphill, Texas. Her father was the pastor of the local Baptist church. In those days pastors were paid very little in salary. However, there were other “perks” that automatically accompanied being a pastor.

One of these perks was offerings of food from the parishioners. Almost daily a member of the congregation would stop by his home and leave some food. On the surface this seems a very nice thing to do, and it was. However, some of the food often was unidentifiable.

The Accidental Bootlegger by Neal Murphy

October 26, 2018 - I never did like to live in college dormitories, so when I was attending Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas, I lived in a boarding house near the campus. It was a large two-story frame house with eight rooms upstairs, and one large bathroom. Our meals were prepared and served to us in a large dining room down stairs. As a 19 year old freshman in 1955, this set-up was about as good as it could get.

“The Addiction” by Neal Murphy

October 2, 2018 - I suppose that anyone can get addicted to anything. People get addicted to alcohol, drugs, shopping, and all kinds of other things. My addiction happens to be to popcorn.

It started at an early age. My parents used to pop popcorn in a deep skillet with a lid. They usually put a bit of butter in with the oil and shake the skillet until the corn was all popped, except for a few “old maids”. I got addicted to that wonderfully tasting corn which has lasted a lifetime.

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