Palm Sunday Bible class at East Side Church of Christ meant we were going to get use rubber cement. That liquid adhesive smelled so good, slathering it onto the brush was in itself a religious experience. My fellow little Christians-in-the-making and I liberally applied the glue on the construction paper. The end result was a scene of cutout Jesus, the donkey, and the blades of green grass, our “palm leaves” to show God’s son making his triumphant way into Jerusalem.

Community does not work without friendship. If you’ve read my work for any length of time, you know I feel strongly about the concept of loving one’s neighbor.

“I may never be happy, but tonight I am content. Nothing more than an empty house, the warm hazy weariness from a day spent setting strawberry runners in the sun, a glass of cool sweet milk, and a shallow dish of blueberries bathed in cream. When one is so tired at the end of a day one must sleep, and at the next dawn there are more strawberry runners to set, and so one goes on living, near the earth.

Spring officially makes its entry this week, but the Texas wildflower scene is way ahead of the game this year. If you get the chance in the next three weeks, hit the highways and be prepared for quite the show that bluebonnets have in store for you.

Words matter. In an age of internet-based conversation, we communicate for speed more than deliberative language. We have the aid of tools like texting shorthand, autocorrect, predictive text, and voice-based typing. It is not conducive to pondering over individual word choice (something that absolutely happens when you write a handwritten letter) and we are worse off

Boy, did it get cold again and I think we had a light frost. The days have been nice so far, we need a good rain here like Abilene had. They sure had a lot of water running down the streets this past week. The wheat is going to need a good rain one more time. I was so thankful for the little shower we got, always glad to get any amount.

Dear Savvy Senior, What types of funeral benefits are available to old veterans? My 83-year-old father, who has Alzheimer’s disease, served during the Vietnam War in the 1960s. Planning Ahead Dear Planning, Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) National Cemetery Administration actually offers a variety of underutilized burial benefits to veterans as well as their spouses and dependents.

Here we are in windy March, and it has held true, cause the wind has been blowing almost every day. We did get a light show of rain the last of February and we needed it, needed much more but we dare not complain. We are always glad when we can get a drop of rain.

Dear Savvy Senior, Does Medicare offer any financial assistance programs to help seniors with their medication costs? I recently enrolled in a Medicare drug plan, but I take some expensive medications that have high out-of-pocket costs and need some help.

Early voting in the March 5 primary election ends Friday with a host of candidates on the ballot in both parties, including president, U.S. Senate, all 38 Texas U.S. representatives, all 150 Texas House representatives, and down to local races for district attorney, sheriff and other positions.