Articles by Section - Columnists
All God’s critters big and small
As a city-bred person, I always thought that life in the country would be idyllic: scenic, slow paced, clean air, healthy living, strong sense of community and more. Well, much of this is true; however, what I didn't know anything about was critters! We have critters here that are like an unending plague. We can control them - but rarely, if ever, get rid of them.
Yarbrough: Not impressed with ethics reform
When the phone rang, I knew who was on the other end: Skeeter Skates, owner of Skeeter's Tree Stump Removal and Plow Repair in Greater Metropolitan Pooler. I can't tell you exactly why but the phone always sounds more urgent when Skeeter calls.
Travis: Grandmothers grow up, too
I spent two days with my Macon grandchildren in Macon last week while they were on spring break and their parents were working. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, but different.
McCoy: The joys of a garden
Spring is here, and after we sailed past Good Friday and the risk of frost, it is now planting time! I've bought seeds and pots and I'm ready to plant something.
Holt: A view from the House
Last week saw the conclusion of this year's legislative session. In three all-day floor sessions, we considered 22 bills and resolutions, and also worked through more than 40 reviews of amendments and compromise positions between House and Senate versions of bills.
Golden moments in unlikely places
I heard the whoosh of a sliding door and the hurried clip-clop of a man's shoes on the tile floor, but I couldn't see him as the elevator doors closed across my view.
Are we really equal?
Are women equal to men? Are Jews equal to gentiles? Are blacks equal to Italians, Irish, Polish and other white people?
Morgan: Re-living the past good for the soul
We are constantly admonished to live in the moment and decried if we appear to be living in the past. The past is behind us and cannot be changed. The future lies ahead, unpredictable and out of our control.
Cushman: A much welcomed return to modesty
Just last week, I was commiserating with other moms of middle-school teenage girls about the lack of appealing clothing available to teenage girls and the appalling state of girl teenage fashion today.
Burnham: Why would Jesus come to earth?
I want to suggest to you that there are at least four good reasons why Jesus came to earth.
Precious pet gets princess syndrome
My erstwhile outdoor cat Julianne has gotten used to the good life with a vengeance.
Holt: A view from the House
Last week saw the House closing in on the end of this year's legislative session - we only have one week to go. The committees were working through Senate bills, so we had more to consider on the House floor. We voted on 38 bills and resolutions during the week.
McCoy: Have a great mid-life crisis
I decided to let my remaining hair grow a lot longer than it normally does, and someone suggested I "must be in a mid-life crisis." Well, yeah! I've been in a mid-life crisis for at least 12 years now, and I have no intention of ending it anytime soon.
Williams: Intellectuals and race issues
After reading Dr. Thomas Sowell's latest book, "Intellectuals and Race," one cannot emerge with much respect for the reasoning powers of intellectuals, particularly academics, on matters of race. There's so much faulty logic and downright dishonesty.
Carter: Relief and resignation
Sigh… It's a word to describe a sound we make. But, the meaning can only be discerned by listening closely to the sound.
Archive By Section - Columnists
Politicians deserve a time-out
Let's say your side or candidate won or lost last Tuesday. Aren't you just a little bit embarrassed by what it took to win or lose this election?
Is Obama anti-business?
The claims that President Obama is "anti-business" during the recent elections surprised me.
Y'all come: We want to hear from you
I write better than I talk, which is a good thing, considering how I make a living. I started writing "books" before I could write, embellishing "The Little Engine That Could" with my own version, rendered in preschooler runes on the end pages of my Little Golden Book copy. In high school I started stringing for the local newspaper, The Thomasville Times-Enterprise in Thomasville, Ga., and discovered that someone would actually pay me to write. ...
Our thoughts... Some thoughts
There was much happening in the news this week. Here are some of our observations:
Help Caleb make a difference
A friend recently shared with me a musing of T. S. Eliot in which he wrote, "...and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
Our system works
We have a unique system of government. It began when we declared our independence from England on July 4, 1776. As a people, we had become increasingly unhappy with leaders in England making decisions that affected our lives and our livelihoods. Eventually, we were forced to a decision point: to fold under the tyranny of England or fight for liberty. As Patrick Henry so eloquently stated, "Give me liberty, or give me death."
Adventure lost on the highways with GPS
I heard last week that Rep. Jim Marshall (D., Ga.) is no fan of a GPS system. The Vietnam vet is still partial to an old-fashioned map for navigating his way up, down and across his meandering Eighth Congressional District. One aide told me that a staffer recently tried planting one on the windshield of the congressman's car as they set out for a day of campaigning and Marshall swiftly snatched it off and tossed it into the backseat with a warning not to bring it out again.
Be your own financial boss
A bankruptcy court judge I knew would tell people: "Pay yourself at the first of every month. That is your pay for living. Put that money in the bank. Then when you want to buy something, you can pay cash, and get at least three or four times as much as if you were buying on credit."
Supe's Corner
For years, I have spent time in classrooms observing teachers teach. I've done so to be familiar with the main work of our profession, classroom instruction. More often than not, I've found teachers working hard at direct "teacher talk" or "lecture" to students. Unfortunately, I've not always seen the kids working equally hard.
Superintendent must champion public education
In my house, the contest for state school superintendent is as important as the governor's race. I have a son, son-in-law and now a grandson who are public schoolteachers and they, and all teachers, deserve a draw-a-line-in-the-sand advocate.
Sports editor didn’t “en-deer” himself
After all these years in the newspaper business and being in areas where natural disasters, murders and community political misbehaving's have taken place, it still catches me off guard and amazes me what type of story will really get readers' attention and that will get legs and be transported around the country.
It’s all about you
If your only exposure to a newsroom has been through movies or television, the business of crafting a newspaper must seem exotic, fun, and hectic, an occupation pursued by people with perfect teeth and unmoving hair who look an awful lot like Robert Downey Jr. or Rachel McAdams. Reality, of course, is different.
Smile: Change comes, eventually
Well, I've done it, and I never thought I would. I've held onto a beloved pair of shoes long enough that they're back in style. They didn't get much wear when I bought them some years ago, so I was loathe to toss them. But, hey, now I can step out in them and look a little bit fashionable without spending any money. It's really not my way, however, to keep around shoes or clothes ...
A strange state of political affairs
In a weird election year, you might think the weirdest place of all is Delaware, where the Republican nominee for the Senate has aired TV commercials to reassure voters, "I am not a witch."
Looking for hope in the wrong places
Last month, at a CNBC-sponsored town hall meeting in Washington, President Barack Obama was forcefully questioned by Velma Hart, one of his supporters from the 2008 campaign. An African-American and the chief financial officer of AMVETS, a veterans' group, she made clear her disappointment with his performance as president.
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