Travis: How do teachers savor their summer? Let’s count the ways

In just a few days, the school year for Newton County children will be over. We'll see pictures of them rushing out of the schools' doors, cheering.

Yarbrough: They’re schools, not businesses, as teachers know well

Dear Public School Teachers in Georgia:

McCoy: Where am I? Brain is not playing fair

It's not cool to keep silent

I remember the first time I ran away from home. I was in sixth grade and I had been wronged in some way. I was sure my parents loved my sister more or denied me some privilege, and I was having none of that. I stayed home when my parents left for work, skipped school, packed a bag and took my bike to this little secluded spot by the river, thinking that was an awesome place to live. I was home before my parents.

Credit report coding trips up buyers

Are large numbers of homeowners who have negotiated short sales with lenders at risk because of a startling omission in the American credit system? Do their credit reports and scores indicate that they were foreclosed upon, rather than having negotiated a mutually agreeable resolution with their lenders?

Sometimes, perspective changes things

Single and lonely in a new neighborhood, a guy invites his neighbors to a drop-in party. With ample food and drink, he sits alone as party time comes and goes.

Who's teaching students to hate U.S.?

Brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who are accused of setting the bombs that exploded at the Boston Marathon, attended the University of Massachusetts. Maybe they hated our nation before college, but if you want lessons on hating America, college attendance might be a good start. Let's look at it.

Where am I? Brain isn't playing fair

Last week, while out of town and staying in a hotel, I had a most exasperating experience.

Property tax proposal doesn’t add up

The word tax is a three-letter word that might as well be a four-letter word these days.

Cushman: Crisis management

My graduate course in crisis management was the 2012 Republican presidential primaries as a senior advisory and national media surrogate for Newt Gingrich.

Crosswalk confusion is rampant

I try to walk at least five days or more a week for close to an hour.

Dalton mayor mulls run against Deal

David Pennington, the mayor of Dalton, is making noises about challenging incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal in the 2014 Republican primary. Say what?

Carter: Character, integrity are true pillars of society

I was conversing with a couple of friends this week, each of whom expressed frustration and disappointment at having been wronged recently in a business transaction.

McCoy: Men, watch your step at weddings

If you're a man who's been invited to a wedding, you need to heed my advice so you know what to do at these alien affairs.

How home sellers shoot themselves in the foot

With full-fledged sellers' markets underway in dozens of metropolitan areas around the country, new research has found curious statistical patterns emerging: Even in cities where listings get multiple offers within days or hours, significant numbers of homes are sitting on the market for six months, 12 months or more with no takers.

Vent and help your heart

It's no secret to my wife and close friends that I let things upset me from time to time. Quite often it's the case that I get upset the most over things which I have little or no control of, whatsoever. And when emotionally upset, I tend to rant like a spoiled child who can't have his way. It's very amusing to those witnessing the tirade.

Trust government?

in elected office wonder why average Georgians don't trust any level of government. We try to sound sincere and factual when presenting a proposal to citizens. Then we go and do something so outrageous that we should wonder how anyone gets re-elected. Such is the situation with the arbitrary renewal of the highway toll on Georgia 400.

Ghosts and their stories endure

The first ghost I ever saw was, I found out later, my dad, hiding under a sheet, behind a bush, and making scary noises.

Debatable news judgement

What I saw Sunday in Athens was one thing. When I read about it in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday, it was another thing entirely.

When preachers turn funny

Life used to be so simple. Preachers delivered fire and brimstone visions of Hades to scare the pants off people, and comedians pulled down their pants to make people laugh like... well, you know. Both sides lived by the rule that preachers don't throw pies and comedians don't do funerals, but that's all over. My own preacher, Dr. John Beyers, is as good a minister as you'll ever meet, but he's got a character flaw ...

Grace Notes: Pray persistently

We're getting down to the wire here. The final inspections on our building should be taking place next week, and, God-willing, we'll be able to move in on Oct. 17 with a service that starts at the school we've been using and ends at the new place. Just about everything is done, or well on its way. You can probably guess the last item on the to-do list. It's the same as the first item was: Pray.

Saluting Georgia’s citizen-soldiers

Five years ago this week, I was in Iraq in a dirty, foreboding piece of real estate known as "The Triangle of Death." That is not a misnomer. I almost found out the hard way.

Homework needed on ballot amendments

Pay attention to the constitutional amendments We've been concentrating so closely on the governor's race that it's easy to forget several amendments to the state constitution will also be decided by the voters on Nov. 2. Constitutional amendments can be confusing for a non-lawyer to understand and they are sometimes misleadingly worded when they appear on the ballot. But at least one amendment could be a matter of life or death. <p ...

Obama lacks the common touch

The latest campaign tactic is for President Barack Obama to meet ordinary Americans in their backyards to discuss the happenings of our country.

Violent video games cheapen lives

When I was young, my parents tried to guard me against traumatic exposure to death.

Making the Internet “safe for wiretappers”

President Obama wants to make the Internet "safe for wiretappers." To do so would require re-designing the Internet and be worse for all of us. By design, the Internet doesn't work like a telephone. If you write a letter and tear it into three pieces and send one piece down Floyd Street, another down Washington Street and one down Highway 278, that is how the Internet sends messages. When your message arrives, all the pieces are put together. Just like the Internet.

A surprise write-in

It was an easy four-hour drive to Charleston last weekend. Bob was off to Darlington, S.C., to drive a friend's race car, so I headed out for a visit with my friend Nathalie Dupree and her husband Jack Bass, the South Carolina historian and author. Supper was ready when I walked in the door, a plate full of vegetables and salads, one of mixed rice, lady peas, grilled peaches and light vinaigrette. Her new thing ...

Beer, barbecue and commonsense

The invitation arrived via e-mail with a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln: "I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer."

Diversity discussions requires level field

For nearly 12 years, this publication has afforded me the opportunity to write on anything and everything piquing my interest. The world has truly been my oyster, and for that I'm grateful. But one topic has consistently eluded my best efforts, as it's so controversial that one has to tiptoe delicately to avoid misinterpretation. That topic is racial diversity.

Diverse diets on more menus

When Chelsea Clinton married recently, she was walked down the aisle by her newly svelte dad, Bill, ordered by the former First Daughter to lose 15 pounds by her wedding date. Well, he lost more than that, he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in an interview aired last Tuesday that he lost some 24 pounds in all. The trick? A totally plant-based diet, no meat and fish only occasionally. That would mean all ...