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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 women equal to men? Are Jews equal to gentiles? Are blacks equal to Italians, Irish, Polish and other white people?
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.
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.
I want to suggest to you that there are at least four good reasons why Jesus came to earth.
My erstwhile outdoor cat Julianne has gotten used to the good life with a vengeance.
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.
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.
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.
Sigh… It's a word to describe a sound we make. But, the meaning can only be discerned by listening closely to the sound.
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 ...
In all the hubbub over the construction of a mosque at Ground Zero in New York City as a reciprocal gesture of friendship to Muslims who have agreed to build the Ali Khamenei Baptist Tabernacle in downtown Tehran, you may have missed the latest debate between Georgia's gubernatorial candidates, sponsored by the Yarbrough Worldwide Media and Pest Control Company, located in a pool hall in Greater Garfield, Ga.
One of the criticisms you'll often hear of Georgia is the low percentage of students who stay the course in high school and graduate with a diploma.
Y'know, it's not like I'm a foreigner. But although I've called Covington home now for 33 years, sometimes I still feel like I'm trespassing. I guess it's because I'm a product of a bygone era, something called the mid-20th century. When you grew up in a little town in Georgia back then, you were part of the town and the town was part of you. So when I get to thinking, or just ...
This week in Sunday school, we talked about how character is passed down from parents to children through stories, experiences and practice. Every family has different stories - the life narratives that describe what they have lived through, where they came from, and how they acted and reacted. These stories and experiences provide a foundation, an understanding of what the family values. This creates their underlying belief system. This understanding then underpins how ...