Crane: A little advice for holiday travelers

Should I ever be offered a seat on Santa’s transcontinental sleigh, up front or in the jump seat, I’m in!

Rich: Special occasions

I never knew my friend’s Aunt Elsie. Still, the valuable lesson she taught me will never be forgotten.Miss Elsie died a while back in her tiny Alabama town, having lived to be 81. Her grandest adventure happened over 30 years ago when she went to see a cousin in Memphis.

Smith: Holidays in New York

The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center came to life in New York last week, an image that was brought to life in dens and family rooms across the country — one of the highlights of the holiday season.As great as it is to experience this extraordinary event through the magic of television, there’s...

Yarbrough: Santa Claus joins the information age

I visited this topic some years ago, but things don’t seem to have changed.RING! RING! RING! “Beep! Beep!

Stone: The Glad Game

When you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.Abraham LincolnAs I write this (Dec. 8), rain has been falling for five days as the relentless gloom of December drags on.The days continue to get shorter. By Dec. 21, the night will last four more hours than the day.

Rich: The South’s American queen

A reader from Minnesota recently wrote and, in her email, she mentioned that she lives near where the Mississippi River begins.There is no greater, more besotted fan of the Mississippi than I. Of course, I had questions.Where does it start?How deep and wide is it?She replied that it starts at Lake...

Crane: Are we becoming pirates now?

Back around 2012, off the coast of West Africa, a combination of poverty, weak governments ashore, and lightly regulated traffic on international waters led to a rash of acts of piracy against cargo, leisure, and cruise lines.

Yarbrough: Turning down all those dukedoms

I got a lot of mail encouraging me to take the job as Duke of York, which I appreciated. I thought long and hard about it, but decided to take my name out of the running.

Stone: Holiday horse or holiday ham?

That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.Sonnet 73, William ShakespeareDecember sure got here fast, didn’t it?

Crane: Cryptocurrency’s kryptonite

Here’s a story of the high-flying funny money that flew too close to the sun … and then ...There are times in life when a moment crystallizes in your mind, and increasingly, at least for me, you can anticipate when the latest hot topic is about to jump the Shark.My father is an astute businessman...