Richard Crowson

Do we really need a “Space Force”? Extremely Stable Genius Donald Trump seems to think so, and that should be good enough for most of us.

This commentary originally aired on April 4, 2018.

Some months ago we decided to add to our family and we adopted a labradoodle. His calm and demure personality at the time caused us to name him Perry. It was in honor of Perry Como, the calm and demure crooner from years ago.

You're listening to me right now, so you may be aware of the latest NPR controversy: The new Morning Edition theme song.

Hey! Remember Reddy Kilowatt? Loved that guy! What a stroke of genius it was for electrical monopolies to adopt a cute little cartoon figure mascot.

But as I’ve been following a local controversy involving Westar, I’ve been mindful of a glaring omission in their public relations. They don’t have a cute little cartoon mascot of their own.

And, boy, does Westar need an image-softening cute little cartoon mascot right now.

Right now. Right in the earliest, blooming-est, greening-est weeks of springtime, the season of rejuvenation, right now comes a soul-wilting tragedy: the devastating fire at France’s Notre Dame Cathedral.

These days, I take hope from whatever small corners of my world I can find it in. After all, we live among folks who can easily get outraged about a former vice president who has two accusers who say he made them feel uncomfortable. One woman says he kissed the back of her hair and the other says he rubbed noses with her.

Today’s the first day of spring and I welcome it with all of my heart. Every year at this time when the birds start their early morning singing, I get excited about it. Lately they’ve almost been loud enough to drown out the drumbeat of tragedy. Almost loud enough, but not quite.

So I stopped in at the Dollar Tree yesterday. Tempted as I was by the one-dollar bamboo back scratchers and the one-dollar iridescent purple pineapple trays, I had something else on my mind.

I finally got the attention of the clerk who was diligently arranging an attractive display of one-dollar 30-inch plastic shoe horns. “Excuse me, but could you direct me to the acerage?” I inquired.

Oh, give me a home, now that Brownback is gone
Where the schools get the money they need
Where seldom is heard that their funds are deferred
So our kids get educated to succeed