In a famous Andy Griffith show, the excellent Briscoe Darling indicates his love for music by telling Sheriff Taylor: "If you've got time to breathe, you've got time for music." I feel much the same way about a favorite passion of mine. To slightly alter Darling's line, if you've got time to breathe, you've got time for barbecue. And my love for the slow-smoked meats has taken me this summer to key points in Oklahoma and Texas. As Bob Phillips says, why don't you hop in and ride along.

On Sunday, August 17, 2014, 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., Laurie McClain, singer-songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee, will be performing at Harmony House Concerts north of Bonham.

Martha, the last Passenger Pigeon

Lists of apparel and school supplies that may be purchased tax free can be found on the Comptroller's website at www.TexasTaxHoliday.org.

There’s a little more vim, vigor and vitality in downtown Commerce with the addition of the Dr Pepper mural located at 1123 Main Street. Created through a partnership between the City of Commerce, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and Texas A&M University-Commerce, the artwork was dedicated in an afternoon ceremony on July 25. The mural is the first of three to be painted in the city’s downtown.

1916 – birth of Charlie Christian, American jazz guitarist. Bonham, Texas native Charlie Christian (Charles Henry Christian) (29 July 1916 – 2 March 1942) was an American swing and bebop jazz guitarist. Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar, and is cited as a key figure in the development of bebop. In the liner notes to the 1972 Columbia album Solo Flight: The Genius of Charlie Christian, Gene Lees writes that "many critics and musicians consider that Christian was one of the founding fathers of bebop, or if not that, at least a precursor to it." In 1939, Charlie auditioned for record producer John Hammond, who recommended Christian to bandleader Benny Goodman. Goodman was the first white bandleader to feature black musicians — he hired Fletcher Henderson as arranger and Teddy Wilson on piano in 1935, and in 1936 added Lionel Hampton on vibraphone. Goodman hired Christian to play with the newly formed Goodman Sextet in 1939. It has been often stated that Goodman was initially uninterested in hiring Christian because electric guitar was a relatively new instrument. Goodman had been exposed to the instrument with Floyd Smith and Leonard Ware among others, none of whom had the ability of Charlie Christian.