Stories by Brenda Looper

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Freedom for all The past weekend has been one of a lot of thought. Unfortunately, some of those thoughts aren't exactly appropriate for a family newspaper.I love this country. But right now, this is not the count... July 6, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Always learning In talking to a friend Sunday evening after returning from my nephew's wedding, I noted how important it is to never stop learning. In that spirit, I learned quite a few things over the weekend.&b... June 29, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Code of silence My nephew is getting married this weekend (congratulations, Dalton and Amanda!) and I had a big dose of Vitamin C(harlie) last week, so I don't really feel much like carping. And no, Charlie, you&... June 22, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: No comment I had to remind myself last week not to read the comments on news sites, or as a friend calls it, "the bottom half of the Internet."But I just can't help myself sometimes, and then I&#39... June 15, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: It’s past time I was determined not to write about mass shootings in my column again, though I've spoken about them on Facebook and on my blog. It tends to stir up the trolls who generally offer the same insults... June 8, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: With attribution Occasionally I'll get a letter from a reader that needs to be answered in a column. Last week, I received this letter from Carolyn Johnson of Little Rock:According to the guidelines for having a l... June 1, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: To be reasonable My plan to early-vote Saturday never got off the ground, thanks to insomnia (you're welcome for not endangering you; I'm a very cranky driver when exhausted). Theoretically, then, this morning... May 25, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: A sad milestone As I was putting the finishing touches on the letter selection for Tuesday's page Monday morning, the "ding" from my iPad alerted me to a story from The Wall Street Journal, with the not... May 18, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: On nuance At different points in my life, I might have been called a Republican. At others, "Democrat" would have been a fair label, as would libertarian. However, I've never joined a party becaus... May 11, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Myth takes When I was in grade school, our library had a copy of illustrated Greek myths that I kept checked out for the better part of a school year simply because I loved the stories. I often think of that boo... May 4, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Facing the facts Last week I mentioned PEN America's Banned Book Index. I had forgotten, until I received an email the afternoon before that column was published, that I had participated last year in a survey of m... April 27, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Ban the bans I've spent a lot of time recently watching my friend Sarah's sweet and goofy cat Charlie. Charlie is quite insistent that I keep the bird feeders filled for his critter-watching time. I love t... April 20, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Capital offense Sometimes when you vent just a little, more comes out than you intend. So yeah, apparently I wasn't done talking about ways to irritate an editor (any editor).Even watching Charlie napping in the ... April 13, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Annoy ahoy! I was born on a Monday. It's been mostly downhill from there.I thought about that Monday afternoon as I realized I'd locked myself out of the house I'm checking on for a friend, while her ... April 6, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Offense taken Daylight Saving Time is not my friend.I have yet to wake up refreshed and cheerful; instead, I wake up (if you can call it that) exhausted and cranky. That means I take my crankiness out in my writing... March 30, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Culture clash A lot of my exercise is rolling my eyes. Partisan talking points are a huge source of that. As I posted recently on Facebook: "If y'all keep insisting on tying gas prices to the president, Ke... March 23, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Going off labels Too much has felt grim lately.We're still caught up in the pandemic, with nearly 11,000 deaths in Arkansas alone out of nearly 1 million in the U.S. and over 6 million worldwide. I remain convince... March 16, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Bully boy Words have always been a comfort to me, whether it's the loving affirmations or jokes of a parent, sibling or friend, or ink on a page.Over the weekend, words both inspired and comforted me in vie... March 9, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: No scurrying here After two and a half weeks off, it takes a while to get back in the swing of work.Things take a bit longer for me to do, like reading page proofs and editing, especially when I have to keep reminding ... March 2, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Phooey on facts! From the beginning, it seems, I've been a radical, pushing concepts that some readers aren't OK with. Dang me all to heck, along with the ideas of facts, context and the like. Sheer socialism!... February 23, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Letting go It's sometimes hard to let someone else take the wheel.That's why I haven't looked at the Voices page since signing out of work email and our editing system on Feb. 4. I'm only signed ... February 16, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Fightin' words Ever since the events of Jan. 6, 2021, this newspaper, like many others, as well as online comment boards has received a lot of commentary about that day.Much of it has tried to excuse the actions of ... February 9, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Isolate the hate As I prepare for surgery next week, I find myself counting my blessings. I have family I love, and friends and co-workers who are willing to go to bat for me, and some even to put their lives on hold ... February 2, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Arrest infection I spent my first semester of college as a political science major, primarily because my mom wanted me to become a lawyer. But that was never my dream, especially considering the cost of law school. It... January 26, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: On criticism Criticism is one of those things that comes with being part of the human race. The way we respond can define who we are.We're all at least a little thin-skinned at times; it can hurt when someone ... January 19, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Artificial selection Evolution isn't only a biological process. It happens with just about everything: technology, education, medicine ... and language.I see most linguistic evolution as wholly natural. Meanings may b... January 12, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Be gone with you! A little cold/sinusitis made my New Year's weekend a bit more subdued than usual (so practically asleep). For one thing, you can't add much pepper to the Hoppin' John because it doesn'... January 5, 2022

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Wish upon a year Longtime readers know I don't make New Year's resolutions. I make more than enough promises to myself that I don't keep already.I do, however, have hopes for a few things to happen in the ... December 29, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Christmas present Editor's note: The original version of this column was published in December 2019, months after I'd lost my mom. Having just lost my brother and with the pandemic continuing, it seems appropri... December 22, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: No loss for words There's been a bit too much stress in my life lately, from my brother's recent death to an upcoming surgery for me. Sunday, there was an update to my tablet's operating system that rendere... December 15, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: A shot at fame If you thought that this year's "words of the year" would give you a break from the pandemic ... ha!I'm starting to think this thing will never end ... at least not until about half ... December 8, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Burning question It never fails after a Word Nerd column that readers and friends will contribute more words and phrases for me to enjoy, muse over and research. My column from a couple of weeks ago about words and ph... December 1, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Gratitude attitude Tomorrow, American families will gather together to give thanks for their blessings. Some, like me, will prepare dinner for one (chicken and dressing, keeping it simple) and keep in touch with family ... November 24, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Well, I swan! If there's anything my brother Corey and I loved more than our family, I don't know what it would be.Well, maybe words would come close, but still, family comes out on top.Corey was a storytel... November 17, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Good grief The best of humanity comes out when you're facing the loss of a beloved family member many years before you should. The worst also comes out in those who are not content unless they're complaining and... November 10, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: One last shot I would give anything not to be writing this column right now. On Friday, my plans were to write on political extremism, and had picked the political cartoon on the page to match. My brother who had ... November 3, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Drawing a line I've never been much of a fan of social media. It wasn't until last July that I finally joined Facebook, only to find that the person who induced me to do so was a scammer I met through my team in a g... October 27, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: The fear factor If it's October, that must mean it's time for me to talk about fear again. Not goblins and ghouls or other Halloween-y things, but about those things so many of us share on social media and elsewhere.... October 20, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Check the facts For me, last week's Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp/Messenger outage was much ado about nothing. I do feel sorry for those businesses that rely on Facebook, but for everyone else, it should have been a w... October 13, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Pronoun poser You might remember that a couple of weeks ago, the Word Nerd asked for your help on a query from a reader: "'Pronoun Challenged' sent me a note: 'I have a teenage relative who has decided that she is... October 6, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Comfort in words I've been a mite cranky lately; I'd be the first to admit that. Between some people insisting that their rights supersede everyone else's, people acting like jerks, and a couple of medical issues, I'... September 22, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Needless cruelty There are times I have to cut myself off from the world. Usually that means I settle in for a "Doctor Who" marathon. In those episodes, amid the humor and sometimes trite storylines, I find something... September 15, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Lasting impact On Saturday, it will have been 20 years. Twenty years since the Tuesday morning that I stood in the newsroom, watching with 10 or so other Democrat-Gazette colleagues as the newsroom televisions show... September 8, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: The bell tolls There's a lot I don't understand. How humans can be so cruel to each other. Why anyone would believe that their rights trump those of everyone else. But I think one thing above all confounds me: trol... September 1, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Nope, not enough It was about 8:45 Monday morning when an alert from The Washington Post came across my email: "FDA grants full approval to Pfizer- BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, potentially persuading the hesitant to ... August 25, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: A tangled Web The Internet is a wondrous place. You can read blogs, newspapers and magazines from all over the world. You can feed nostalgia and find replacements for items you lost, like that old Fisher-Price "rad... August 18, 2021

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Risks versus benefits | Lost nation's lullaby | Exercise her freedom Risks versus benefits The controversy over whether to vaccinate or not has been made such a hot political football that many people are confused, and it is no wonder with the information seeming to c... August 17, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Luck of the draw I'm not superstitious. I am a little stitious.--Michael Scott, "The Office" I was born on the 13th of January; unfortunately, it was a Monday, not a Friday like what we have coming in just a couple o... August 11, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Take a break Last week was tough. There was the unrelenting heat, which made opening the door (at least for those of us not in love with summer) a journey to the hottest reaches of hell, and stretched people and ... August 4, 2021

OPINION | BRENDA LOOPER: Didn't have to be It's been a long while since I've watched the Olympics. I was always more of a fan of the Winter Games, mainly because I love watching ice skating and skiing. But the Summer Olympics ... well, it's s... July 28, 2021