Opinion

Colorado State University researchers are calling this year’s hurricane season forecast “the most aggressive” ever, the Texas Standard reported. They say there is a 54% chance a hurricane will strike the Texas coast, and a 25% chance it will be major.

What separates us from the light? Early this week, it was an eclipse. A strange phenomenon where the moon passes between the Earth and the sun in the middle of the day. None of this is news to us in North Texas. What appears noteworthy is the sheer attraction the event garnered.

Enough already. The eclipse of April 8 has been smothered with coverage by both mass and social media. Americans--some who flail at things that go “bump” in the night-yearned for even more darkness! They carved out time from busy schedules and squeezed funds from their budgets to make their way to a slice of the globe where the solar eclipse darkened the day for some four minutes--give or take a few seconds.

The name “Blackwood” has been as closely linked to Southern Gospel Music as ham and eggs to diners, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz to TV, and Tarzan and Jane to jungle movies. The family has endeared itself to a grateful nation for their renditions of gospel music for some 125 years.

We recently celebrated the holiest week of the year on the Christian calendar. In my house, we do not pursue Easter bunnies and egg hunts like other groups do. Our celebration remains very personal and, generally, very reflective. We enjoy a household Bible story, collective prayer and worship at our local church, and we almost always partake in communion with our immediate family.

State agencies and regulators were heavily criticized at a Texas legislative hearing for failing to communicate during the deadly Panhandle wildfires, the Texas Tribune reported. The three-day hearing, held in Pampa, investigated the Smokehouse Creek fire and others that burned more than a million acres, destroyed hundreds of homes, killed up to 10,000 cattle and resulted in two deaths.

One economist is calling it “the most profitable 22 minutes in Texas history,” according to the Texas Standard. The total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8 is expected to draw up to a million visitors to the Lone Star State, especially in its narrow path of totality.

Spring is in full swing and staying true to Texas trends. Just when you think its going to be hot, it gets cold again. The emotional oscillation keeps the outdoorsman on edge, wondering what each day will hold in store. While the suspense is engaging, the fickle weather does not stop one thing, baseball.

Texas A&M University--a major educational institution respected throughout the world--emerged unscathed from a litany of “Aggie jokes” that were shared for decades, though not so much now. They were, of course--exactly thatjokes.

Hills are greening up, fiddlers are tuning up and visitors from around the globe are showing up as the entertainment mecca of Branson, MO, gears up for a record-breaking season in the beloved Ozarks. It’s a magical place known for musical excellence where God is honored-- and where there are so many fiddlers--it’s difficult to predict whether “Cotton-eyed Joe” or “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” gets more play.