I just got a new camera: It's nearly one hundred years old. It's not in the greatest of shape; it's had a rough life. Maybe that's why I felt an immediate kinship to it. Collectors would say it's not worth...

Advertising has been good to me. If it wasn’t for advertising, I wouldn’t have had a career in newspapering. Advertising provides roughly 80% of revenue to a newspaper.  That’s what pays the bills – including many simoleons in my wallet for 40 years +/-. But good lord, I hate ads. But I love ads. I [...]

Golf great Seve Ballesteros has died. He was 54. According to a statement on his website, Ballesteros died early Saturday surrounded by his family at his home in the northern Spanish town of Pedrena.

More than a quarter-century after her mother, Mary Lou Rettton, pressed on in the wake of injury, former Houston gymnast McKenna Kelley chose to compete Friday at a regional gymnastics competition despite suffering a stress fracture in her right ankle at an event two weeks ago.

As we were traveling across the ridge the other day, I happened to look at the roadside and saw...



Poke! That most delicious of wild greens was thick in a most unexpected area. I usually look for it in places where the soil has been recently disturbed or a building torn down, but this was happily growing right beside a little-traveled road. We made a note to come back for it later in the day. (And we remembered, an amazing thing in itself.)


We were working away when an SUV with a young woman at the wheel pulled up. "Yall picking ramps?" she asked.

"No, we're getting poke," my husband answered.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Well, it's a wild green, tastes a lot like spinach, only better," Larry explained.

The girl wrinkled her nose. "I think I'll pass," she said with a grin as she pulled away. We continued to pick,






That young woman doesn't know what she's missing. Prepared properly, poke is about as good as it gets when it comes to greens. BUT...

There are many websites with preparation instructions, including this one. There are also abundant warnings about poke's poisonous properties which should be well heeded before attempting to gather or cook this wild plant. I'm serious--this is not a plant to mess with if you don't know what you're doing.


I first learned about poke from a book by Euell Gibbons called Stalking the Wild Asparagus. Fortunately, Mr. Gibbons gave very careful instructions for preparing poke and I followed that advice then and now. I usually wash the plants, strip the leaves from the stems and boil in at least 3 waters before eating. Most poke recipes call for cooking it with bacon grease; I don't. I boil it in 3-5 waters, drain and add butter, salt and pepper. That's all. It's delicious.

There is some research now into poke's medicinal uses for such things as HIV and cancer. I hope the researchers find that this beautiful plant can be used for such purposes.

As children, we called poke "inkberry" and used its berries and a stem of grass to write secret messages. We knew even then that the berries were poisonous to eat and never were tempted to try them, thank goodness.

Native Americans believed that poke had magical properties and used it as a purge. They also used it as a dye for feathers, body paint and clothing. According to Dave's Garden, pokeberry ink was used to write the Declaration of Independence, but official government sites state that the document was written using iron gall ink, which I would think may or may not have been made using pokeberries for dye. It seems that the folklore about the Declaration's writing may have begun with a Wikipedia article since a lot of website quote verbatim the same language (which immediately makes their information suspect in my book), but I have not been able to find that source article. If you know of a site that can confirm this legend, I would like to know about it.

Another website details one blogger's experiment making her own pokeberry ink. I'm not quite ready to try that but it does sound interesting.



For now, I'll be content to gather poke where I find it, cook it carefully and enjoy its tender taste.

GapingVoid.com has these business cards for sale…

After five hours of contentious, emotional debate, a bill banning "sanctuary cities" in Texas was postponed by the Texas House after opponents found a technical record-keeping error that made it ineligible for consideration Friday evening.

A Fort Bend County jury has awarded $1 million to a Rosenberg man who filed a libel lawsuit against the Fort Bend Star and a reporter.

Tant Shepherd went 4 for 5 with a home run and unbeaten Taylor Jungmann scattered five hits over eight innings in Texas' 5-3 victory over Nebraska on Friday night.

An arrest warrant has been issued for a Pasadena man accused of opening fire with a shotgun and striking two children who were nearby, authorities said Friday.

In the area playoffs against Cypress Woods, Katy Taylor trailed early but won 14-3 to advance to the regional quarterfinals thanks to a six-hit, seven-run third inning that set off an offensive explosion.

A missile strike from a U.S. military drone in a remote region of Yemen on Thursday was aimed at killing Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical U.S.-born cleric believed to be hiding in the country, U.S. officials said Friday.

College Park answered Oak’s quick start with five runs in the bottom of the first, then took its first lead in the fifth. But the Panthers scored five in the sixth en route to a 14-12 win Friday at College Park.

It may feel like as though 401(k)s have been around forever, but they’ve actually only been around for the past several decades. Until the 401(k) came along, if you had a workplace retirement plan it came in the form of a traditional defined benefit pension. The 401(k) actually got started as a loophole in tax law [...] Related posts:

1. Do-it-yourself pensions gaining ground in workplace retirement plans
2. Workplace Roth plans slow to take off
3. Could defined benefit pensions make a comeback?

A letter comes amid reports that schools may be checking the immigration status of students trying to enroll.

Kasey Kahne continued his strong showing this year at Darlington Raceway, following a Trucks victory in March with a record-setting qualifying lap Friday for the Southern 500.

Abundance is how we live in each moment – the choice to be open, the choice to entertain the possibility that we can have, create, and attract what we truly want. There are many people – especially women – who are single, middle-aged, and dealing with their kids leaving home as they watch their parents [...]

… for looking this good on his 50th birthday, but he probably just end up with some really cool scar. Jerk. Why are his Kentucky genes working so well for him?

People can help tag train stations with monikers along three proposed Metro light-rail routes.

Police are searching for four men suspected in a shooting that left a taxi driver critically wounded outside an apartment complex in southwest Houston early today.

We’ve sort of been thrown for a loop this morning, so I only have a few brief moments for a post; my explanation for why I have given up dairy – and how that’s all going – has gone on hiatus once more. So I thought I’d give you a brief update on my young [...]

What Is The Difference Between Expense Incurred and Indemnity Long Term Care Policies?

Expense vs. Indemnity LTCi Policies

There is a lot of confusion about long term care insurance (LTCi) policies. One reason is because benefits and features are not really standardized like they are with some other types of policies. Many people [...] Related posts:

1. Term Or Whole Life Insurance? Should You Buy Term Or Whole Life Insurance Over 50?...
2. Tax Qualified vs. Non Tax Qualified Long Term Care Insurance Can You Deduct Long Term Care Insurance Premiums? Deducting Long...
3. Health Care Reform: Long Term Nursing Care Does Health Reform Affect Long Term Nursing Care? This question,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

A man was found wounded after a shooting at a apartment complex in southwest Houston early this morning.

One man was wounded and another was arrested after a shooting outside a sports bar near downtown early this morning.

One man died in a drive-by shooting as he walked along street in southwest Houston late last night.

Slightly muggy heat is expected through the weekend and early next week in the Houston region as moist air flows inland from the Gulf of Mexico.

Check out these Beverly Hills foreclosures What is the new ideal retirement age? A video of former chef and now TV host Anthony Bourdain talking about his new book 5 tips for styling your hair after 40

So, um, I'm on drugs. I hate being fuzzy headed. I really, really, hate it. You should appreciate the ability to think clearly. Do you? If not, you really should. Trying to think through the fog of medication is exhausting,...

Nancy was browsing the web looking for a fun vacation spot for our daughter’s 40th birthday. We actually ended up in Barbados, but her search led her to discover Costa Rica. Yes, we still love to travel, the only difference now is, we pay when we play. In our 40s, we didn’t sweat the small [...]

No contract disputes, no billionaire owner and millionaire players, just a family atmosphere of fun football at an affordable price. And the Stallions win, too. How can you beat that?

A day before the Texas House is set to vote on a bill that would ban so-called "sanctuary cities," law enforcement officials from across the state lined up Thursday to oppose the legislation.

House leaders on Thursday confirmed that the Legislature is considering the formation of a new oversight committee to spotlight crucial issues, such as containing rising costs and improving graduation rates at the state's public colleges and universities.

Rising temperatures cut the yield of corn and wheat and contributed to a modest increase to the price of food, say researchers, who also urged farmers to take action before the problem worsens.

Houston Police Detective Joseph Robert Free, who died in the line of duty nearly a century ago, was honored for the first time this week when his name was etched on the Texas peace officers' memorial wall at the state Capitol.

An extended NFL lockout and the loss of a season for the Houston Texans actually would result in a small financial gain for the governmental body that manages the Reliant Stadium complex, officials said on Thursday.

There will be more than just bragging rights at stake when the Rice Owls travel to Cougar Field to meet the Houston Cougars at 6:30 p.m. tonight to begin the final three games of the teams' annual Silver Glove Series.

Rudy Erik Candia, 36, was sentenced after pleading guilty to indecency with a child.

The University Interscholastic League changed the pitching distance in softball from 40 feet to 43, making the pitcher less dominant and the hitter more prominent.

The more tape Wade Phillips watches of Texans defensive end Mario Williams, the more he sees DeMarcus Ware.

This seems like a Kansas City-centric post, but not really. It's about a very cool event that may very well be coming to your town, too! Tomorrow evening is the official debut of the America: Now and Here traveling multimedia...

President Barack Obama says it will take changing minds, hearts and votes to fix a broken immigration system.

A second class-action has been filed in Houston against Comptroller Susan Combs, seeking $1,000 for each of the 3.5 million Texans whose information was exposed.

Despite a massive shortfall, the state receives an AA+ credit rating from Standard & Poor's, which projects Texas' economy will likely recover quicker than most other states.

There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.  ~Mirabel Osler Like most people who love to garden, I’ve been by frustrated by spring’s slow arrival in Michigan. Finally, the sun rose in a cloudless sky this morning, [...]

Police have issued an arrest warrant for a Lakewood Church volunteer accused of indecency with a child with an 8-year-old autistic boy while working at the mega-church's ministry for children with special needs last year. Alvaro Daniel Guzman, 25, is accused of molesting the boy on February 13, 2010, according to court records.

Twenty-three Houston companies made the closely watched list.

Shirley Gerald Ware -Fresh Literary Magazine

In my younger years the thought of one day reaching retirement age frightened the daylights out of me. I just couldn’t imagine being put into a group that would label me as helpless.

My uncle was placed in a nursing home, not from age but from an illness [...] Related posts:

1. Avoid Common Retirement Planning Mistakes AVOID MAKING COMMON RETIREMENT MISTAKES By Dr. Eva Mor –...
2. What’s Your Number For Retirement Savings? By Shelly Scriba How Much Does Retirement Cost? You know...
3. Retirement Planning Is More Than Financial Security  For most couples, retirement is a long-awaited event that means...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Unfortunately we don’t live in a society where doors and windows can be left unlocked when no one is at home or where children can be outside on their own for hours with no supervision. This world is a scary place full of child predators, burglars, and criminals looking to take advantage of anyone they [...]

Why Meatless Mondays?

The Case For Meatless Mondays

Even if you are not ready to give up pot roast, turkey sausage, and cicken soup, I think we can all agree there is a good case to be made for meatless Mondays or Tofu Tuesdays.  Most of us know we should cut back on [...] Related posts:

1. The Case For A Vegetarian Christmas! Why Serve A Meatless Menu For The Holidays? Meatless Christmas?...
2. Simple Thanksgiving Turkey Alternatives Do You Need An Easier Way to Do Thanksgiving? There...
3. Last Minute Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes OMG – I forgot the….. For Thanksgiving! If you found...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.