Columns by the Columnist

Oh, but I do love this city, you know

BY DAVID A. JOHNSON

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I was at Ogi’s Restaurant and Bar one Friday night, drinking with several coworkers and enjoying the night air on the patio as we waited for closing time. We talked literature, Dan Brown to Mark Danielewski, Ann Rice to Voltaire. The bartender... Full story

Truly our collective individuality is wonderful

BY DAVID A. JOHNSON

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My Grandpa Rod was an accountant, but even he had questions when it came to doing his own income taxes. When he called the help line, he never asked questions he needed answered, not right off. He asked several to which he already knew the answer.... Full story

Either the rabbits go, or I do

BY DAVID A. JOHNSON

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It began harmlessly enough. One over-sized rabbit downtown commemorating I don’t know what for tourists to come and take their pictures next to.In the ’90s, Jack Ben was even popular enough to make it in a promotional commercial for the... Full story

I used to work nights at a gas station

BY DAVID A. JOHNSON

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Because I worked alone and because the manager opened most mornings, it was my responsibility to make sure everything was clean and ready to start the new day. In theory, everyone cleaned whenever they got a chance in their shift, but in practice it... Full story

Children’s cartoons aren’t as good as when I was a kid

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Now, it’s true that nostalgia often confuses the tastes, but I’m disregarding nostalgia when I say modern cartoons put a deep worry in me. There are almost no good modern cartoons, not in the way there used to be.... Full story

My dad is a terrible pastor, but he preaches peepholes

BY DAVID A. JOHNSON

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As many people know, my dad is a man of the cloth. That cloth is usually shorts and a sweatband, but then he is the Running Preacher, after all, so this isn’t much a surprise.As pastors go, he’s really not a very good one. Terrible,... Full story

To be perfectly honest, nobody is

BY DAVID A. JOHNSON

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The implication of the phrase “to be honest” is that when you don’t say it, your statement is a lie. And the sad thing is, this is probably true.The Cynic philosopher Diogenes is said to have walked through the streets of Athens,... Full story

Libertarianism is right and beautiful

BY DAVID A. JOHNSON

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I love July Fourth. Not so much the holiday, I suppose, but what it represents. The sentiments and ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence are something almost holy.The government doesn't rule by rifles and cudgels but the consent of the... Full story

Vaya con Dios, Coach Neely

BY DAVID A. JOHNSON

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Mike Neely, longtime president of the Odessa YMCA, is retiring. Maybe you saw the article in the paper or, like many, knew him personally. I didn't, or at least I never knew anyone by that name. There was a Mike Neely who seemed to practically... Full story

A short history of everybody for the past 13,000 years

BY DAVID A. JOHNSON

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Editor and fellow columnist Gene Powell reads much more than I do and usually does the book reviews. Well, I've read two books, written by different authors for different reasons, and written years ago, but together they're histories of the world,... Full story