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.

Williams: Hustlers are selling a bill of goods

One definition given for insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Dupree, Graubart cook up another gem

Cook, author and TV personality Nathalie Dupree is long gone from these parts, having been carted away to endlessly charming Charleston by husband Jack Bass, chronicler of Southern history. Still, she retains devoted fans and many friends here since she ran "Nathalie's at Mt. Pleasant Village" and lived in Social Circle.

A good man is hard to find

The executive director of the Flannery O'Connor-Andalusia Foundation visited the Floyd Street library last week. A guest of Newton County Friends of the Library, Craig Amason presented an interesting overview of ongoing preservation efforts at Andalusia, Connor's home just north of Milledgeville. More fascinating were his insightful comments regarding one of Georgia's truly amazing authors.

Christmas a time for belief

I believe in Christmas. I believe as a Christian that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Son of God. The Messiah. I believe you have the right to disagree with me, but I know what I believe in my heart. I believe no Christmas is official until someone sings "O Holy Night" (no crooning, please) on Christmas Eve. I will accept the "Hallelujah Chorus" from ...

Bundle up and wait out winter

I tried to check out the Geminid meteor shower before dawn on Tuesday.

Chimney Park about community

It was the coldest night of the year. Even long johns and layers weren't enough to protect against the frigid temperatures, and when the wind blew, you couldn't help but pine for an electric blanket and the comforts of home. Failing that, there was always a place at the roaring bonfire where you could roast marshmallows for s'mores. The woods sparkled with thousands of lights and unique features: a line-up of hula hoops ...

Live life well to honor fallen

December elicits wide ranges of emotion from me: Fury, melancholy, joy, greed, thanksgiving and heart-rending, soul-wrenching, unspeakable sorrow. An ineffable expression springing from gratitude deep within me. A groaning too deep for words.

First Amendment responsibilities

I am a rabid supporter of the First Amendment. For 40 years in the broadcast news biz and half a dozen teaching, I have exercised that right and taught it with vigor. But this "right" of free speech carries with it some obligations.

Agents train to keep us safe

Two things that keep me awake at night: The threat of terrorism and wondering what, if anything, our federal government is doing about it.

Palmer-Stone more than a name

The Newton County School System is building a new, massive (1,500 student capacity) elementary school on Ga. Highway 142 and Airport Road. Consequently, Palmer-Stone Elementary School, one of the last in-town schools, will be closed; its students are within the proposed district for the new school. Ficquett Elementary School will transition into the theme school

Communication breakdown

"What we've got here is a failure to communicate," said the warden of the rural Georgia prison as he stood looming over Luke, the prisoner who he had just knocked into a ditch.

Feeling insecure about the TSA

Have you noticed we are becoming like the Taliban? First, facts don't trouble us. The Transportation Security Administration has yet to stop a single terrorist. You read that right, not one. Even so, the TSA assures us that the "terrorist threat" is real. If terrorists are everywhere, you would think even the TSA would have run across at least one by now. But we are supposed to ...

Sonny’s disposition not so bright

The year 2010 came in on winged shoes and never stopped running. It dashed past us in a flash, and here we sit, disbelieving this year is almost at its end but grateful for the sweetness that always brings a year to its close. It is the season when we turn out attention to others, be they our own family and friends or those we do not know - but yet ...

Effort required to be positive

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states clearly that nobody can infringe on my right of free speech. You can get in serious trouble for that.

Thankful for great leaders

With Thanksgiving this week, I have been reflecting on the many things for which I am thankful: family, friends, pets, home, church and school. But I am also thankful to be a citizen of the United States, and am thankful for the leaders that our country has had throughout our history: President George Washington, President Thomas Jefferson, President Abraham Lincoln, President Theodore Roosevelt, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Ronald Reagan, to name ...

Clean old-fashioned hate

Yesterday's gridiron tilt between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Georgia Bulldogs provided, I hope, another chapter in a great book of stories. Deadlines being what they are, this column was submitted well in advance of the game; I can only hope the Dawgs whipped the Humble Bumbles. The late Lewis Grizzard was the quintessential Georgia Bulldog fan. Among his many colorful contributions to Southern literature, he coined the phrase "clean old-fashioned hate" describing ...

Dog person can recant on cats

"Cats," one of Broadway's longest-running musicals, was playing at the Fox Theatre some years ago. Friends proposed a night out, and I accepted, despite not feeling even the least bit warm and fuzzy toward the subject cats, to put it mildly. Not long into it, I walked out. A stage full of human beings crawling about on all fours in cat costumes just didn't cut it, gave me heebie-jeebies, in fact.