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March 24, 2009
Bob Mount: South Korea redefined the word poor
I was born in 1931 shortly after my father had lost his job. He soon found another and earned enough to keep the family housed, clothed and fed. Things were going well until 1942, when at age 38 with a wife and two children, he received a “greetings letter” from Uncle Sam.
March 21, 2009
BOB MOUNT: Fraternities serve a useful purpose
One evening a stranger appeared at my door. “I’m Dick Cook,” he said, “and on behalf of my fraternity, Alpha Gamma Rho, I’d like to invite you to come to our house for a visit and eat supper with us tomorrow evening.”
March 10, 2009
Bob Mount: How to give a bluebird the perfect home
For two or more weeks bluebirds have been searching for suitable places to nest.
March 03, 2009
Bob Mount: Beavers are good neighbors to have
The latest edition of Outdoor Alabama, a magazine published by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, contained an exceptionally well-written and informative article about beavers. The author, Rick Claybrook, is a wildlife biologist with the department.
February 25, 2009
Bob Mount: ‘Barn man’ worked hard, earned my trust
Several years ago, a graduate student working toward a Ph.D. in zoology, James Tucker, approached me, introduced himself and said, “Dr. Mount, I’ve heard you have a room in your barn. Would you consider renting it to me?”
February 17, 2009
Bob Mount: ‘Sir’ and ‘Ma’am’ plain, old respect
Actress Reese Witherspoon and I have two things in common. We both grew up in middle Tennessee, and we both were taught to respect our elders, and to say ‘ma’am’ and ‘sir’ when conversing with them. I learned this about Witherspoon in the recent edition of Reader’s Digest magazine.
February 10, 2009
Bob Mount: You can’t hide gambling in this state
I confess. I gamble. I gamble at least five times weekly, when most of the Geezers “play the game” at Hardee’s on Marvyn Parkway. The loser is required to pay for the other’s coffee. Three Geezers claim they are too poor to play, including one widely recognized as the “poorest rich man in Alabama.”
February 03, 2009
Bob Mount: Thank God for ‘Old Geezers’
A friend of mine knows I belong to an organization of distinguished gentlemen known as the Order of Geezers, which meets each week-day afternoon at Hardee’s on Marvyn Parkway in Opelika. He forwarded me a copy of an essay someone wrote on people who fit the definition of “Old Geezers.”
January 13, 2009
Bob Mount: Muchas gracias to my Mexican friends
The front-page article in Sunday’s edition of this newspaper about Bob and Gail Langley and Sheriff Jay Jones and his wife Judy’s trip to Mexico, and Bob’s being deported back to the U.S. shortly after arriving at Mexico City airport jogged my memory about some of my experiences in Mexico.
January 06, 2009
Bob Mount: Time to put on your thinking caps
President Bush is proposing to weaken the Endangered Species Act. What entity is suing to prevent his action?
December 23, 2008
Bob Mount: Think Tank moving to new location
For as many as my feeble mind can remember, the Geneva Street Think Tank and the Lee-Chambers Order of Geezers have met every weekday afternoon at Tyler’s on Geneva Street. Used to be, they sat at different tables, but ultimately merged, and surprisingly, elected Merrell Jones, a well-known local goose farmer, to chairmanship.
December 16, 2008
Bob Mount: Liberal? Conservative? Who knows?
A man with whom I am very much acquainted is perplexed. He’s trying to decide if he is a liberal or a conservative. Although he is a “card-carrying Republican,” at a recent meeting of the Order of Geezers (a.k.a. The Geneva Street Think Tank), a member accused the man of being a Democrat in GOP disguise who subscribes to the liberal philosophy of government.
December 09, 2008
Bob Mount: Roadkill, landfills lure buzzards
Only one of my close associates, Dr. Dan Speake, shares my appreciation for an animal that urinates on its own legs and feet and feeds on the dead and rotting flesh of other animals. The animal is the black vulture. I prefer the colloquial name “buzzard” to “vulture” because it’s what I’ve been accustomed to using.
December 02, 2008
Bob Mount: Cougars, if there are any, protected here
Several years ago, a retired veterinarian and close friend of mine, Dr. Charles Branch, reported having seen a panther (a.k.a. cougar) on his property.
November 11, 2008
Bob Mount: Snakes, insects don’t bug me
Someone recently referred to me as a “bug man.” He was pretty close to being accurate; my M.S. degree was in entomology. He could have called me a “snake man,” which would have been even more accurate, because my Ph.D. was in herpetology, and three of my pets are snakes.
October 28, 2008
Bob Mount: Obama’s associations are scary
In the general election for president in 1992, I voted for Ross Perot and did so again in 1996. In 2000, I voted for Al Gore, and in 2004 I wrote in Pat Buchanan’s name.
October 21, 2008
Bob Mount: Time to consider pets’ license fees
I own three dogs. They stay within the boundaries of my 40-acre snake farm and are valuable because they deter unwanted visitors, be they four-legged or two-legged, from trespassing.
October 14, 2008
Bob Mount: From baby turtles to June bugs
At various times in my life, I have been nicknamed. As a sixth-grader, I caught and sold baby turtles to my school mates.
October 07, 2008
Bob Mount: Wilkie victim of my slip of the pen
I have been writing columns for this newspaper since January 1992. I recall on at least two occasions I have committed a lapsus calumi, a ‘slip of the pen,’ and recently, I experienced a lapsis mindis, a ‘slip of the mind,’ while writing a column.
September 30, 2008
Bob Mount: Joe Biden needs a history lesson
Democratic candidate for vice president Joe Biden and I have one thing in common. We are both deficient in our knowledge of history.
September 23, 2008
Bob Mount: Ebenezer Swamp safe for now
When Florida Rock Inc. proposed to open a granite quarry near Loachapoka, residents were overwhelmingly opposed.
September 09, 2008
Bob Mount: Make use of bicycle paths when you can
I am pleased that increasing numbers of Auburn residents are riding bicycles, and I appreciate the city’s recognition of the desirability of providing paved paths paralleling many of the city’s streets and roads to accommodate the riders.
August 19, 2008
Bob Mount: Indigo snake important to keep around
Among the wide variety of subjects discussed and debated by the Order of Geezers, A.K.A. the Geneva Street Think Tank, are snakes. A few, Bo Torbert for example, are not snake enthusiasts but tolerate their presence on rural property they own.
August 12, 2008
Bob Mount: Frayed moral fabric tearing at nation
“Change, Yes We Can,” or something similar is Barack Obama’s campaign slogan, but it’s not precisely clear what changes he advocates. Is he in favor of stemming the flow of illegal aliens into the country?
July 31, 2008
Bob Mount: Momma rat prevented chaos
Last week, I remarked that a tame Norway rat might have saved my career and quite possibly most of my earthly possessions. I’m sure that anyone who read the column must be wondering how a Norway rat could have been my ‘savior.’ Let me explain.
July 22, 2008
Bob Mount: Sometimes mice save marriages
Among the critters I dislike the most are fire ants, cockroaches and wild, I emphasize wild, Norway rats. I’m convinced that fire ants are responsible for the decline of many native birds that nest on or close to the ground and numerous other native animals that used to be common.
July 08, 2008
BOB MOUNT: What will the world look like in 2060?
I am not a biblical scholar, but I am familiar with some passages that to me make perfectly good common sense. The Golden Rule is the first of these, and among others is Job 15: 7-10. “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
July 01, 2008
Bob Mount: Migrant farming policy seemed to work in 1950s
During the mid-1950s, I was a graduate student at AU, and in addition to conducting my own research, I was required to assist several faculty members in conducting their research. All of which involved traveling to various parts of the state and learning a good bit about agricultural practices.
June 10, 2008
Bob Mount: Keeping up with distinguished ‘Geezers’
On one of his recent WAUD radio shows, Bob Sanders referred to Tyler’s on Geneva Street, where the Order of Geezers (AKA the Geneva Street Think Tank) hold their afternoon meetings as a “den of iniquity.” He was kidding.
June 03, 2008
bob Mount: Argumentative isn’t really a bad trait
Bob Sanders and I have a lot in common. Both of us spent our early childhoods in rural settings, came to Auburn about the same time, and remember when it truly was an uncluttered and uncongested “lovely village.”
