Uncategorized – Professional Copywriter | Wyalusing, PA Bradford County

Is It too Late to Save American Democracy?

Crybabies wailing for their perceived rights have replaced those who respect democracy and the Constitution. I think it is essential, if America is to continue as a shining light, to bring a little respect back to the democratic process. It’s easy to say that these people representing our interests in Washington, D.C., and even Harrisburg, have not earned our respect, but they are our creations. We tend to forget that no president was the target of more [...]

By Wes Skillings|2023-08-22T16:42:00+00:00August 22, 2023|Uncategorized|

Harking Back to My Apathetically Active Years

Spring is springing, if not completely sprung, here in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania in the dwindling days of April. The hum, whine and sometimes roar of gas- and electric-powered mowers —large, small, pushed, and ridden—reminds me of what is coming. Most of my lawn has chosen not to grow to a height that cries out for trimming, but then there are those patches that have sprouted like mini jungles crying out to be The leaves of autumn [...]

By Wes Skillings|2023-04-20T16:35:54+00:00April 20, 2023|Uncategorized|

History: A Fertile Garden of Good and Evil

I grew up believing that all of us who are sound of mind have a sense of humanity in common. We’re more alike than different, my mother insisted, regardless of religion, race and politics. It’s about our shared membership in the human race. God didn’t create a species of saints and sinners who didn’t have the capacity to get along with one another despite the gift of being able to think and act independently. Even though we were granted [...]

By Wes Skillings|2023-03-29T18:03:03+00:00March 29, 2023|Uncategorized|

St. Patrick: Snakes, Pagans and Green Beer

Cheers to St. Patrick, Ireland's Patron Saint from England. I’m not big on conspiracies, but it seems to me St. Patrick’s Day is getting the shaft. I’m ranking it No. 5 behind Christmas, New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Easter. Halloween is for kids and future diabetics. Check out the top ten lists of our most popular holidays, and it’s not on any of them. It is ranked behind Memorial Day, Martin Luther King Day and even Labor [...]

By Wes Skillings|2023-03-15T21:45:00+00:00March 15, 2023|Green Beer, Ireland, Leprechaun, Saint Patrick, Uncategorized|

Beating Odds (and Oz) Despite a Strained Brain

Recovering from a stroke—an attack on the brain—is a tough way to run for the U.S. Senate. The most indelible story of the recent midterm election, other than what appears to be a rejection of election denial and most candidates running on that premise, might be called the Ballad of John Fetterman. It revolved around the stroke that befell him just four days before the May Primary from which he emerged with the Democratic nomination for one [...]

By Wes Skillings|2022-11-15T13:43:53+00:00November 15, 2022|Brain, Fairness, Health, Medicine, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Politics, Republicans, Strokes, Uncategorized|

Voting: It’s a Privilege to Do the Right Thing

Despite jokes about dead people voting, election security is strong. It’s been quiet on the American front for many years now. Or so it seems. Even as I absorb the reality of observing three quarters of a century of a blessed life, I don’t think of myself as having lived through any great historical movements that dramatically changed the course of American life. Looking back, I guess when something is part of your past you don’t think [...]

By Wes Skillings|2022-11-07T22:02:11+00:00November 7, 2022|Campaign Rhetoric, Constitution Rights, Elections, History, Politics, Uncategorized, Voting|

Capping Some Classic Ad Slogans and Jingles

Camels were cool in the old days and reportedly the favorite bad habit of doctors who would walk a mile for one. As a member of the jingle generation, I have all kinds of stuff cluttering my mind. Blame it on TV commercials— the most pervasive purveyor of advertising slogans and jingles. I had a good time with this subject a few years back, and some bear repeating— along with a few others in this updated version. [...]

By Wes Skillings|2022-08-19T02:21:04+00:00August 19, 2022|Advertising, Brand development, Commercials, Jingles, Marketing, Pop Culture, Radio, Uncategorized|

Odds Improve for Cracking 100-Year Barrier

Is there a difference between old and too old? Looking ahead to becoming a centenarian. Eight years ago, when I was a wet-behind-the-ears age of sixty-six, I wrote about “joining the legions of 90-and-older” one day, which was still almost two dozen years into the future. Well, that one day would have been October 7, 2037, which doesn’t seem so far away now. Therefore, with increasing optimism, I have expanded my goal to breaking the 100-year age [...]

By Wes Skillings|2022-07-01T13:26:33+00:00July 1, 2022|Aging, Baby Boomers, death, Diet, Moderation, Uncategorized|

Communication Thrives on the Words We Use

The origins of the words we use are often primitive, but we shouldn’t abandon them too quickly. Every once in a while, I run into a language purist who likes to take issue with stuff I have written as being wrong-headed or just plain wrong. These are people who think you shouldn’t use words like “stuff,” as I just did, because it is lazy. Find the definitive word, they’ll lecture, because stuff means unspecified things. Still, there [...]

By Wes Skillings|2022-01-24T09:09:32+00:00December 3, 2021|Language, Uncategorized, Vocabulary, Words|

Constitutional Confusion: What Rights Are Wrong?

The newly-enacted Constitution may have granted the right to own slaves, but it’s worth a lot more than the paper it’s printed on. Got thinking about the U.S. Constitution as I slowly savored my morning snack of two spoonfuls of Smuckers peanut butter along with a handful of baby carrots. You know, with a name like Smuckers it’s got to be good. As I vigorously licked it off the roof of my mouth, a news story caught [...]

By Wes Skillings|2022-01-24T09:09:33+00:00November 19, 2021|Uncategorized|

12 Next