UTAH—The raging camper fire blocked traffic in both directions. The family pulling the camper had managed to uncouple their truck and were a safe distance away, but the nearest fire department was half an hour out. The sole highway patrolman on the scene could do little but watch. Yet one of the vehicles closest to...
“Spanish Dagger” is a yucca plant common in these wide plains of the West Texas. Its leaves contain a fiber the Native Americans often used to sew together animal hides—the tough fiber. Cattle rancher Ann Mitchell is that tough fiber. Ann’s family has owned the Spanish Dagger Ranch for nearly a century—and every ounce of toughness...
TYLER—Victor Zillmer keeps the prices on his fresh berries, vegetables and jams as low as he can—but lately, he’s having to raise those prices more and more. It’s all due to two closely related costs: diesel fuel and fertilizer. On this warm June morning, he’s driven into Tyler from nearby Lindale with a truck full...
LEWISVILLE—It took a moment, and you could almost hear the synapses buzzing throughout the Founders Classical Academy classroom. Finally, one student, Sam, raised her hand. History teacher (and assistant headmaster) Alex Misko had challenged his class to compare and contrast the American Revolution and the French Revolution. One resulted in the greatest, most prosperous and...
KINGSVILLE—The story of Texas is a story of adaption and resilience. The only alternative, really, is death. Nowhere is that more clear than here on the iconic King Ranch, with its 825,000 acres of inhospitality, patches of impassible scrub, and a dry vastness that calls for every ounce of Texas grit and ingenuity to overcome....
HARLINGEN—When Andrea Barrera had her baby, both she and her husband were very young—and very scared. She had her first appointment with the pediatrician, but it felt far too rushed. “I was confused, about everything, and I needed guidance,” she said. “I had questions. I didn’t get answers.” The pediatrician was covered by Medicaid, but...
What does a modern chemistry class have to do with classical education? Founders Classical Academy teacher Myles Dempsey doesn’t even pause for a moment: “Everything.” Students have just filed out from lab class, where they performed experiments with salt solutions. Mr. Dempsey is preparing for his next class. “Don’t you see?” he asks. “We’re in...
Haley Wade had forgotten all about Founders Classical Academy when her family received the call; after all, she’d been on a waiting list for seven years. But when spots opened up for her and her sister, she was ready. After completing eighth grade at a local middle school in Leander, Texas, Haley was academically inclined...
Tom Williams is silent as his son Aaron talks about fishing in the waters off Rhode Island—something Aaron has done his whole life, from helping his father to captaining his own trawler. It’s a tradition he now thinks about passing down to his children. “I remember my dad griping about the cold northeast wind,” Aaron...
MONTAUK, NY—A brisk early season nor’easter kept many local boats in that week, but with Saturday’s forecast looking better, Montauk fisherman Dave Aripotch is willing—he’s weathered much worse than a little cold and a little wind. By 5 a.m., he’s dockside at the fishing vessel Caitlin & Mairead. For now, he lets his crew sleep....
“Trainwreck” isn’t a bad description of my academic career. Bored, more interested in reading real books than textbooks, not caring about the things I was expected to in junior high and high school—athletics and social status—I ignored assignments, skipped classes and eventually dropped out. I got nothing from Mesquite High School, and to be fair,...
Good ideas are our stock-in-trade. Solid research is our brand. That’s why it was so refreshing—even rewarding—to see TPPF Chief Economist Vance Ginn’s debut in the Wall Street Journal, “’Build Back Better’ Would Sink the Labor Market,” receive much-deserved attention and praise in recent days. “It would tax those who produce and subsidize those who...