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Columns
Strangers
in a Strange Land
10-5-11
A new book on the lives and ministry of a Miles,
Texas Sweetheart & A Comanche Co. Texas Cowboy Insecure
people create scapegoats
5-13-11
The Navy scapegoating began when USS Indianapolis' captain Charles
Butler McVay, III was court-martialed.
Wisdom
learned from the silver screen 4-1-11
I
was fortunate to get an early start on study of the history of the world. Every
Saturday night mother took my sister and I to a double-feature at the one-aisled
Queen Theater on Brownwood’s Center Avenue. China
Enters the Year of the Rabbit 1-30-11
Feb.
3, was the first day of the Chinese New Year. Twelve year cycles represented by
an animal has been a tradition in China for thousands of years. It is estimated
our year of 2011 is the Year 4708 by the Chinese Calendar.Christmas
is what we choose to make it 12-24-10
As you read
this it is Christmas Eve. Some are glad the whole exciting season is almost over,
when, in truth, it has actually just begun.Curiosity
was Benjamin Franklin’s Secret to Success 10-27-10Brownwood
has a lot to be proud about by Britt Towery 10-6-10
Blanche
Westerman Springer
When
football was football and Peppy Blount 8-21-10
On
a flight from Baltimore to Dallas, seated next to me was Ralph Eugene Blount,
better known as Peppy, Southwest Conference official and Texas Judge. This was
Sept. 22, 1962. He was returning to Texas after refereeing the Southern Methodist
University–University of Maryland football game.From
the bleachers: Barnstorming Baseball 7-22-10
Barnstorming,
like so many good things, is a distant memory; when football players played offense
and defense; and basketball was artistic, not bombastic. So wander back with me
to the time sports were fun...Good
Old Days (for Some of Us) 6-22-10
About
five years after America’s Civil War ended, 1870, the majority of American Protestants
were of the strong opinion that America was a Christian nation. There was in the
nineteenth century indications that the Protestant majority carried the day...
Making
Prayer A Habit Really Works 5-5-10
This unvarnish'd tale is one that I have heard on numerous occasions. I have no
idea if this is true or not...Gold
is in men's hearts, not mountains 4-14-10
The Catalinas
are between our home in the copper company town of San Manuel and the ever-exciting
historical city of Tucson. These mountains are not known for ghost or lost gold
mines, but the earliest visitors sure looked for it from time to time...
St.
Valentine And The Year Of The Tiger 2-8-10
Sunday
the Eurocentric world of English-language speakers will celebrate St. Valentine's
Day. The day for lovers has as many "origins" as there are stars in the universe....Unfortunate
History of Haiti 1-28-10
The
earthquake in Haiti, by way of television, has given the world a glimpse of what
it is like to live and die in abject poverty...Essay
On Savings 1-16-10
One of my pronounced faults is
my inability to save money. I would not classify myself as a spendthrift and I
absolutely hate "shopping"...
Christmas
Day in History 12-14-09
Historic
Events on Christmas DayGood
Books Are Great Christmas Gifts 12-8-09
There
is no writer more linked to Christmas (not counting the New Testament writers),
than the prolific 19th century author, Charles Dickens...
It
was a time we must never forget 12-2-09
Too
soon we forget the terrorism of the 1950s and 1960s...
Rewards
Are Worth the Risk 11-20-09
"Progress
always involves risk; you can't steal second base and keep your foot on first,"
Frederick Wilcox's most famous quote on winning... Thinking
a Paramount Necessity 11-8-09
Former
CIA analyst and distinguished scholar, Chalmers Johnson, has recently completed
a trilogy on the economic and military overreach of the United States. The title
of the third book is "Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic." Women:
Third Class Humans? or Hypatia's Daughters 10-22-09
Who
or what was Hypatia? A new drug? A bug from Bolivia? It turns out Hypatia was
not a "thing" but a woman. But not just any woman. She was a teacher in a time
when women did not dare teach men... Chicken
Fried Steak: An Unbiased Recommendation 10-4-09
One
thing I have tired to do through the years is to visit Underwood's Bar-B-Q when
near Brownwood. Pity the poor traveler who is in Brownwood on a Wednesday...
"Give
me your tired, your poor..." 9-18-09
The West Coast
has no Statue of Liberty. We once had laws that kept Asians out for a very long
time. No great poems of hopes and dreams have ever been posted on the Rio Grande,
El Paso, Nogales, or Tijuana.
Mark
Twain's War Prayer Revisited 9-5-09
Mark
Twain in March, 1905, was outraged by the American military invasion of the Philipines.
So he wrote "The War Prayer" and sent it to Harper's Bazaar. It wasn't published
until after his death. It appeared in Harper's Monthly, November, 1916.
Waco
Mammoth Site Nearing National Monument Status 8-24-09
This is the world's largest known concentration of prehistoric mammoths perishing...Support
Your Local Newspaper 8-6-09
This
month the Waco Tribune-Herald has followed in the footsteps of the San Angelo
Standard-Times and numbers of newspapers around the country.
On Finding a Good Book Title
7-25-09
When looking to write a book, of all the problems and headaches
involved none is more pronounced than finding a great title... If
It was a Fable, Let It Continue 7-12-09
There
was a certain pride of station when I wore the maroon uniform of a Lyric Theater
usher. That was a time when theater ushers actually helped people find a seat
during the film...
"Along
the Way with Britt" Column begins July 2009 | Britt
ToweryBritt
Towery was born in Brownwood, Texas, son of the best barber in Texas; graduated
from Howard Payne University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Studied
television writing and production at New York University summer institute. Advisor
on two documentaries: "Winter is Past," and "China Walls and Bridges," which won
an Emmy for documentary, 1988-89.
Pastor of Baptist churches in Texas
and founded the First Baptist Church of San Manuel, Arizona. Later in Taiwan formed
the Pingtung Baptist Church. Both churches still going strong after fifty years.
Guest professor at Houston Baptist, Baylor and Howard Payne Universities and Southwestern
Seminary. Built bridges of understanding between the Protestant churches of China
with American and Western churches and placing English and health personnel with
China schools and institutions, 1982-92. Howard Payne granted Britt an Honorary
Doctor of Humanities degree in 2002. He and his wife are active in the First Presbyterian
Church in San Angelo, Texas.
Britt writes a weekly column for the Brownwood
Bulletin and the San Angelo Standard-Times. Jody and Britt have two adopted daughters
and three grandsons.
July,
2009 |
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