In American high schools, students are increasingly being assigned fewer full books to read from beginning to end, marking a notable shift in how English classes are taught. According to feedback gathered by The New York Times from more than 2,000 educators, parents, and students, many teenagers now read only one or two complete books […]

Quebec City has announced plans to remove the crucifix that has long hung in its municipal council chamber, a decision that has reignited debate over religious expression and secularism in public life. City officials say the move is meant to reinforce government neutrality and align with modern standards of inclusion, particularly during a time when […]

Researchers at Stanford Medicine have uncovered new insights into why a very small number of people develop myocarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle — shortly after receiving an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. This condition, while rare, has drawn attention since it was first observed in some vaccine recipients, particularly younger males. The study, published in […]

Apple released patches for all of its flagship devices to fix security flaws under attack. Google also updated Chrome to remediate one vulnerability exploited in the attacks.

Your iPhone clock doesn't have to be so "glassy" anymore, thanks to a new Apple software update.

In this episode, John Richardson from VitaminB174U.com joins me to talk about real case studies that his father and G. Edward Griffin’s wife, Patricia, documented in which Dr. Richardson treated his patients with a few things, mainly diet and laetrile (Vitamin B17). This is an informative episode to share with friends and family who are battling …

An all-time classic. By and large, most Christmas music these days is pretty commercial, and honestly, forgettable. But over the years, legends like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson have put out some absolutely beautiful, and timeless, holiday originals. And one of the best is Willie Nelson’s “Pretty Paper,” which he wrote in 1963, and was first made famous by Roy Orbison when it peaked at #15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Willie later recorded his own version of the song in 1964 and again in 1979 for his own Christmas album. In the lyrics, Willie references a man selling “pretty paper, pretty ribbons” alone on the sidewalk, and as it turns out, there actually was a disabled street vendor Willie knew from his time as a radio DJ in Fort Worth who did just that. Though he regrets never stopping to actually talk to the man whom he would walk by every single day on his way to work, the image of seeing him on the sidewalk always stuck out to Willie long after he moved from Texas to Nashville to pursue a career in country music. The Local Paper Identifies The Mystery Man He specifically remembered the man announcing, “Pretty paper! Pretty paper!”, to get the attention of people walking by, which is where the instantly recognizable title and lyrics came from. For many years, the man’s identity was a mystery, but in 2004, Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnists were finally able to identify the man who inspired such an iconic song. They had put the word out to their readers to see if anyone had any information regarding the man or might’ve recognized him, as a lot of them had shopped at Leonard’s Department Store over the years and remembered seeing him there. None of them knew his name, but quite a few people reported that he traveled from Santo, in Palo Pinto County, to downtown Fort Worth to sell his goods. As it turns out, a man named Bob Neely, a nearby rancher from Santo, called one day when he found out they were inquiring about his neighbor, Frankie Brierton. Bob says you could always hear him crawling up and down Houston or Throckmorton streets on all fours. Eventually, the paper got in contact with Frankie’s daughter, Lillian Compte, who lived in Conroe. She had no idea the song was about her dad, or that anyone would be asking about him, seeing as he had passed away in 1973: “It’s a pretty song. I just never thought of it being about my father. He sold pencils. He crawled around on his hands and knees. But we never did without.” Frankie had suffered from a spinal disorder as a child, and learned to crawl when his spine was weakened as a result. He would travel to Fort Worth, Dallas, and Houston to sell his goods at the State Fair of Texas and the Stock Show in Fort Worth. Eventually, the landlords in downtown Fort Worth wanted to ban street vendors and missionaries in front of stores. Charlie Ringler, a former store manager at Leonard’s, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the Leonard family allowed all of them to stay as long as they were actually selling something: “Some people wanted them moved out, but we never moved them. We couldn’t turn them away. As long as they were selling pencils or something, that was fine.” As it turns out, on a rare, snowy Christmas Eve in the Stockyards, the red headed stranger was doing some last minute Christmas shopping and decided that he was going to buy wrapping paper from the man when he left the store. Willie Nelson Finds Inspiration On Christmas Eve When he walked back outside, the snow had picked up, and he circled Leonard’s to see if he could locate Frankie. He never did, and it’s still something he thinks about to this day. Willie actually wrote a book about the man he saw in Fort Worth, where he imagines what would’ve happened if he’d actually gotten to know him: “And all these years, I’ve wondered about the man that inspired that song. A poor soul who was selling wrapping paper by the side of the road, singing to lift his spirits and stay warm.” While I’m sure it would’ve been amazing to meet the man and get a chance to hear his story in first-person, something about the mystique and mystery of it all is really special too. The song itself is another refreshing reminder this holiday season from the great Willie Nelson about what’s important… and I don’t think the writers of “Jingle Bells” or “Frosty the Snowman” can come close to that. And if you’ve always wanted to put a face to the man who inspired such an amazing song, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has one in this article, where there’s more detail about Brierton’s story. Lillian also explained that her father earned a living without government assistance, also selling pencils at the Fort Worth Stock Show, the State Fair of Texas in Dallas and on Main Street in downtown Houston. Though he faced extra challenges in his life that most of us will never come close to understanding, she never saw him as anything other than her father. Her son, Rick Compte, says that he loved and admired his grandfather, and joked about how much he loved attention: “You might say that he really liked attention.” Unfortunately, Brierton never knew that “Pretty Paper” was inspired by him, but I have to imagine his family is incredibly proud of the fact that, not only did he work hard his entire life to provide for them despite the bad circumstances he dealt with physically, but he is the muse for one of Willie Nelson’s most beloved songs, and one of the greatest Christmas songs ever written. You can’t do much better than that… Willie’s performance of “Pretty Paper” at Austin City Limits in 1993 is one of the best: “Pretty Paper” The post Daughter Of Man Who Inspired Willie Nelson’s Christmas Classic “Pretty Paper” Says He Never Knew The Song Was About Him: “He Crawled Around On His Hands And Knees, But We Never Did Without” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

A semi-truck driver involved in a fatal crash in Washington State was arrested and, as it turns out, is another illegal alien let in the country by Joe Biden. He’s being charged . . .