When my mother's eyebrows wrinkled and she spoke these three words, “Mind your manners,” I knew I was doing something inappropriate. It never occurred to me to ask which manners. I just knew the expectations.

It is not a good time to be in the pipeline business! The gas and oil industry is experiencing decreases in revenue due to reduced demand during the COVID-19 shutdowns. Over the last few weeks, court orders have shut down existing pipelines and levied heavy fines on energy companies, and a new pipeline project was canceled.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb recently lapsed into the sort of public health double-speak that's been lampooned since the coronavirus pandemic first struck the United States in March.

If Pyle were alive and writing today as a 45-year-old journalist, he'd likely telling the stories of people on the front lines of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. "One thing he would certainly jump on is the first defenders — the nurses and medical people helping all the sick, the under-equipped and understaffed workers," said Gerald Maschino, executive director of the Ernie Pyle Legacy Foundation.

The classroom seemed lonely last night, the only room in the building with a light on. Six tables were arranged to a six-point star, housing 12 people in a room that on some occasions had held 60. Our small group met at the church building for a couple of hours on the quiet Tuesday night.

With apologies to the many truly kind-hearted women named Karen, “Karen” is the code word among restaurant servers and other customer service workers for a customer who feels entitled and demands her own way at the expense of others. Karen behavior is often loud and obnoxious — “I want to see the manager NOW!” But it can be subtle.

We are less than 100 days before the November election, and on Thursday, President Trump suggested via Twitter that the election be delayed.

This summer, an astute reader and 40-year Terre Haute resident emailed me after discovering that the actor who played Hank Kimball on "Green Acres," Alvy Moore, once lived in Terre Haute, and graduated from Wiley High School (as president of the Class of 1941). The reader suggested a story on Moore, who died in 1997 of a heart attack at age 75. As a longtime "Green Acres" fan, I'm obliging.

Joe Kernan was what America should be.

Gov. Eric Holcomb ought to rethink his position on voting by mail.

The nation’s pastime showed just how much the nation has changed.

One size won’t fit all when it comes to reopening local schools, but all schools should have contingency plans based on local COVID statistics and availability of personal protective equipment.

In June, I wrote about a change in The Associated Press' writing style guide from "black" to "Black" as the word refers to people in a racial, ethnic or cultural context.

None dare call them hypocrites.

Millions of Hoosiers want to see Indiana return to a time when businesses, services and recreational activities are fully open.

A cartoon in the Dec. 9, 1918, edition of the Fort Wayne Sentinel illustrates the historical lesson from that year's pandemic to the one raging today. It shows a sea of shoppers on a busy sidewalk, all wearing face masks but also clustered shoulder to shoulder.

A day after Gov. Eric Holcomb had to tamp down rumors relegating COVID-19 as a “hoax” and conspiracy, and President Trump finally asked “everybody” to wear a face mask, Indiana became the third state headed by a Republican governor to mandate the now controversial facial coverings.

President Donald Trump says his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, is all but senile.