I grew up with hamsters, so when my kid decided he wanted one for his birthday in December last year, I was totally OK with that.
Little is left to the imagination these days. The ever deeper probing of scientists is removing any mystery from life and banishing the unknown and heretofore unknowable.
Humans have long reached toward heaven. I don't know whether this desire represents an attempt to get away from the ground, an attempt to associate with God, or an attempt to peer over the balcony and look at all the little people below. But the desire to go higher and higher has long shaped the skylines of our cities.
Since I last wrote a column about my husband's cabin, he has made additions.
When I finished high school, I left my childhood behind. It was an unconscious decision, but one I recognize now was necessary for me to evolve into the person I was meant to be.
Over the past 10 years, I have written columns variously titled "Academic Cesspools," "Academic Dishonesty," "The Shame of Higher Education," "Academic Rot" and "Indoctrination of Our Youth."
Let your mind wander back to kindergarten, and think about those simpler times and all the fun you had. It doesn't matter where you come from; you have to admit that kindergarten was fun. You played with toys, sang songs, colored pictures of fire trucks, and learned radically new concepts like sharing and the letter Q.
The news from Boston over the past couple of weeks has been the stuff of nightmares.
As we all know, online maps can be deceiving.
There are things - plenty of things - I just don't get.
I heard the news of the Boston Marathon bombings just a few minutes after I had undergone a biopsy. An annual OB exam had revealed an enlarged uterus.
My husband gave me an e-reader more than 15 months ago. I was surprised. I had not asked for one, but he thought I would enjoy it.
When the terrorist attacks occurred in Boston during the running of the Boston Marathon, memories came flooding back of our own dark days in Atlanta.
Despite strong competition from several schools, Oak Hill Elementary again topped the charts in Newton 4-H this year.
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 ...
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."
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.
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 ...
This isn't going to please those boys and girls with the dark glasses and hearing aids who are always talking to their lapels, but my column commandoes walked right past them the other night to attend the season's first Conversation at the Carter Center, otherwise known as Jimmy Carter's Out-of-Touch-With-Reality Pontifications.
During a telephone call with reporters last week, Nathan Deal explained why he and his wife had made bad investment decisions that were threatening them with financial insolvency.
We've reached a point in America where the general public feels its elected officials are out of touch with reality and that, especially at the Federal level, the incumbents should be thrown out of office so that we may start over. Various polls by national news services have dutifully reported President Obama's precipitous slip in popularity. The outcry from the common man reached a crescendo when Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, voiced ...
There's hope for America. I saw it this past weekend in Fairfield, Calif.
Nice watches and I don't get along anymore, and that's just fine with me. No matter how much I'm tempted by their beauty, I'll never again buy an expensive watch. I can't stand to see another "precious timepiece" ruined because of a fried gizmo, jammed cog, or leaky seal. From now on, I'm going to adopt a friend's idea. He goes for "cheap and disposable." My plan - "expensive and disposable" - ...
Last week, I spent some time looking ahead to the assets here in Newton County that will be the basis for our ultimate recovery from these, shall we say, "unpleasant" economic times. This week, let's look back at some of our history, drawn from a book by Peggy Lamberson that was written for the Bank of Covington in 1989.
Do Georgia voters pay attention to ethics issues? We are about to find out, as Republican Nathan Deal and Democrat Roy Barnes engage in a war of words over which candidate for governor should reveal what information about themselves. The people we elect should observe the highest standards of ethical conduct. We don't want to see anyone unfairly enriching himself (or herself) at the expense of the tax-paying public. Voters certainly should take note of ...
Pay attention, teachers. The two main gubernatorial candidates, Democrat Roy Barnes and Republican Nathan Deal, are trying to make nice with you. At least until they get themselves elected. Then all bets are off. Roy Barnes says he is going to provide you with salary increases, smaller class sizes and a ban on furloughs. He also wants to bring two teachers into the governor's office to act as advisers. (What? Ask classroom teachers for advice? ...
Nine years ago Saturday, radical Islamists attacked The United States of America.
We all know it happens - people often get confused. They can become overwhelmed and forget who they are and where they came from, allowing outside forces to dictate their actions.
I love to smell fine fragrances. Wear chic French perfume around me and I'll sniff the air and try to guess which movie star you're pretending to be. Give me a scratch-and-sniff cologne sample and I'll wear my fingernail down as I scratch up the sweet aroma. But if you apply too much fragrance, I'll turn red and make gagging noises in your direction. I can't help it. I have a sensitive ...