Blog – Page 4 – Jeff Hampton, Writer

The day after Christmas, LeAnn and I decided to check out the new paved Loop Trail under construction at Garland’s Central Park. We wanted to see what the future holds for us.

It’s just two blocks away and we walk from our house and around the perimeter of the park regularly, logging roughly 1.3 miles. The new Loop Trail will provide for longer walks with new segments through some heavily wooded areas on Duck Creek that haven’t been accessible. It also will add pavement and safety where we’ve had to jump over mud or walk on the busy street after it rains. Eventually, the Loop Trail will connect to another trail that could give us a 10-mile walk or bike ride if we’re in the mood.

December 23, 2025

Christmas and Beyond

For Wilshire Baptist Church

Driving on Arapaho Road through Richardson on a recent morning, a low-flying helicopter buzzed by and I wondered: Is it going to pick up the Christmas toys at the school?

You see, when I was a kid at Canyon Creek Elementary not far from there, there was a big annual holiday push by Marine Corps Toys for Tots. School kids would bring new toys to school, and on the big day in December, all the classes would go outside and stand around the perimeter of the playground. Smartly dressed U.S. Marines would be out there too, with big bags of the toys we donated. Then the air would fill with the distinctive clatter of a helicopter rotor, and sure enough, a helicopter would descend and land right there in the middle of the playground. Santa would jump out of the chopper to the cheers of the kids, the Marines would load the toys into the back, Santa would wave to us, climb back aboard and leave as he came, presumably flying back to the North Pole.

December 19, 2025

The Father Smiles

For Wilshire Baptist Church

Getting on the elevator after a doctor’s appointment this week before Christmas, I was followed in by a young father and his little girl. The father was smiling.

As the doors closed and we started to move, the little girl looked up at me and asked, “What’s your name?” I told her mine and asked her the same and she told me hers. I glanced at the father, and he was smiling.