The Long Road

The State Department of Education in Oklahoma is providing a series of teacher education courses around the state to help prepare educators for the new school year. On Tulsa's local KMRG AM 740 radio show with Dan Potter this morning, Oklahoma State Superindentent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister was interviewed. It was a nice interview about all the great topics being covered then they got in...

How did Americans arrive at the point where we accept children leaving their academic school settings for up to a week at a time to play sports for a club team that has nothing to do with their own school? Some thoughts on the team sport money grab, soaring youth sports injuries, and a breakdown of intellectual culture to glorify youth sports championships. *"Line of Fire" courtesy of Stanley Jay...

"Things left out" can tell you a lot about a community's culture. Here are some thoughts that can be helpful for anyone looking to relocate...

I was listening to "For What's It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield last night on my deck after sunset...because I had the time to be still and deeply reflect upon their lyrics, I started thinking more about what they were saying and how it applies to our current events too. Photo Credit: "Buffalo Springfield in 1966" (Wikipedia Public Domain)

Here's a simple way to polish a couple of bright spots--with little books you can find used for just a few dollars each. Here are two great finds of mine for $5.00 or less. "PEP: Poise-Efficiency-Poise" by Col. WM. C. Hunter published in 1914 and "The Book of Success: Ideals of Great Men" edited by Margherita Osborne published in 1927. Reading some vintage books is a wise use of our "leisure time"...

I'm back! It's truly been a "Long Road" to bring my podcast shows back online. Here's what I've been up to and how I'm adjusting my format to move forward better and stronger. Fasten your seat belts...I'll be quite active with new shows moving forward. Onward and upward!

On June 1, 2020, I had the rare opportunity to sit down and interview a WWII veteran--this was my second interview with a Greatest Generation veteran. Mr. Lee Graham was in the US Army as a Technician and discharged as a corporal (Technician 5th Grade). Mr. Graham was assigned to the infamous Sugamo Prison in Toyko, Japan which contained some of the worst war criminals of WWII such as Prime Minist...

There is a lot of disturbing news today, and at times it's quite overwhelming. Using the historical wisdom of JB Nash who advocated to "polish the bright spot" instead of focusing on negatives--enter Pastor Brian Hawkins who is an African-American ex-con running for US Congress in California. If there was ever an American success story--this is it. Pastor Hawkins not only turned his life around in...

Biden and the Democrats blaming the American oil industry for not producing enough oil through available permits and lands really hit a raw nerve with me. I spent 30 years in the oil and construction trades from blue-collar labor and heavy equipment operation to white-collar health and wellness. Here's the real truth about the current American oil crisis and what you need to know. *Photo: Ron Jone...

JB Nash wrote in his 1942 book entitled, "Building Morale" that "Morale in a nation means unity of purpose." Let's break this down a bit in relation to the current war crisis in Ukraine.

It was 27 degrees yesterday at the park before my hike, and I needed to use the bathroom. I walked into the bathroom and was surprised to find it heated up like a toaster! There were NO homeless living inside, NO graffiti, NO vandalism, and NO trash. What does this say about my community? Plenty if you are talking about livability.

I had the honor and privilege of working closely with Dr. Rocannon MacGregor in Glendale, CA--also known as the "ZenKahuna." I worked with "ZK" for over a couple of years in private sessions and with his wonderful Monday night movement group who met outside at the park to start off each week with joyous movement and learning. I still have contact with him as a close friend and we often share stori...

I posed a deeply reflective question to my US History students last week, "What should Americans know about Black History?" I got the expected responses like they need to know about oppression, racism, slavery, etc., but then I also got some deeper reflective and less reactionary responses like, "Mr. Jones, we need to know more about the contributions of blacks and about people in black history we...

I came up with a creative way to teach "symbolism" to my 8th-grade students by re-creating the official U.S. Seal. Here's how I set it up and what they learned. Symbolism is everywhere, yet few people really see it or understand what they see.

"You can grow stronger, or you can grow weaker; you can grow greater, or smaller; but it will be impossible for you to stand still." -Booker T. Washington In 1902, Booker T. Washington published a small book composed of his fireside chats to his students and faculty at his Tuskegee Institute in Alabama entitled, "Character Building." Booker T. was one of the leading blacks in American history and...

"I'm back in the saddle again I'm back I'm back in the saddle again I'm riding, I'm loading up my pistol I'm riding, I really got a fistful I'm riding, I'm shining up my saddle I'm riding, this snake is gonna rattle" -"Back in the Saddle" by Aerosmith Welcome everyone! I'm back in the saddle again for 2022! Here's a short show on my reflections regarding my relocation hiatus and future show plans....

"Make up your mind that in spite of race or color, in spite of the obstacles that surround you, in spite of everything, you are going to succeed..." -Booker T. Washington In 1902, Booker T. Washington published a small book composed of his fireside chats to his students and faculty at his Tuskegee Institute in Alabama entitled, "Character Building." Booker T. was one of the leading blacks in Ameri...

In 1902, Booker T. Washington published a small book composed of his fireside chats to his students and faculty at his Tuskegee Institute in Alabama entitled, "Character Building." Booker T. was one of the leading blacks in American history and was truly a founding father of America and one of our greatest educators and philosophers. Here are a few short sections, and I'll be sharing more in the d...

In 1902, Booker T. Washington published a small book composed of his fireside chats to his students and faculty at his Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Booker T. was one of the leading blacks in American history and was truly a founding father of America and one of our greatest educators and philosophers. In this show, I provide an introduction to Booker T. and his book "Character Building." In the...

I was out and about the other day when a younger woman came inside in her thirties who was morbidly obese--while wearing a tightly stretched "Monster Energy Drink" T-shirt. I was actually rather startled to be honest. I started asking myself a rational question, "How did we get to this place?" Here are some thoughts on the disconnect between true life energy and the American mindset on health thro...

I was in my favorite Sunday morning cafe having breakfast the other day when a younger couple sat down at the table next to me. After a few minutes, they appeared to be anxious and impatient and walked out before the server could bring their water and ask for the order. It made me reflect upon my trip to Spain a few years ago and how different it was there to dine out in terms of being a far healt...

I just did a trail run right after a rainstorm and tripped then fell. It's extremely rare for me to fall while running, but I wanted to do this show and talk about why I fell and how I have trained myself to catch a fall and how these things can help protect you from injury.

Many people have been moving around the country and migrating from one state to the other much like happened right after the 1918 pandemic at the end of WWI too. Here are a few comments on what it was like for me to leave everything in Los Angeles and migrate to the midwest city of Tulsa, OK.

Well my friends, today is my last show for at least a couple of weeks as I relocate from Los Angeles to Tulsa, OK where I have accepted a teaching job in social studies. I have really enjoyed doing the shows and all the various topics. I will be expanding The Long Road Show once I get to Tulsa plus building a podcast studio in my new house where I can do some of the shows live. Later this fall, I...

I saw a very weathered and elderly homeless woman with serious mileage on her body and soul. She was pulling a heavy shopping cart down the sidewalk with her whole life inside of it...I started thinking, "What's her story?" We never know what people have gone through or are going through, and sometimes it can change a person's life just to give a damn.