News Columnists Section
|
Watching the world from my front porch I’ve been doing a lot of sitting on my front porch lately. I do this late in the evenings after the intense summer heat has subsided. |
|
|
On the road again Labor Day is just around the corner, and many of our friends are planning to go out of town. Mentally, I’m up for another vacation, too. But physically, I’m still getting over the trip we took last month. |
|
|
Telling it like it is: Local History 101 How many of you picked up the Wednesday Covington News and read the local business report? While I was saddened to learn that Popeye’s has closed its Covington location, I started recalling other restaurants and businesses that have come and gone to Newton County. It brought back quite a few memories of fine businesses that served our community as well as surrounding areas. |
 |
4-H 4-Health I remember taking a comic with an anti-smoking message to my grandfather, who looked at it and set it on the table by his recliner. 
|
|
|
Kooks of the Klan fascinate Yankees Big-Time media seems obsessed by the Ku Klux Klan. Give them anything that has a sheet or a pointed hat involved in it, and it’s time to pull out all the stops. |
|
|
One fabulous mama: Eat, play, love Dinner time is a big deal at the Hallman house. My husband and I didn’t grow up with the notion of family dinner being important or even necessary, but once we created this family of ours, we knew it simply was. |
|
|
The splendid little town of Porterdale When I first started to think of what to write for the first Porterdale article, my thoughts came rushing back about the town where I was born and raised — Porterdale, Georgia. So many memories of great times come to mind to share with everyone. I was born in Porterdale Oct. 28, 1942. I share this birthday with my twin sister Jane Bowen Scoggins. I believe most people know us as the ... |
|
|
4-H 4-Ever: Join the National 4-H Week celebration How will you recognize National 4-H Week on Oct. 3-9? |
|
|
Let’s run these ideas up the state’s flag pole I’ve been trying to figure out a compromise on the controversy regarding Georgia’s state flag. |
|
|
Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The Expendables It was the battle between old-school brawn "The Expendables" and new-school hipster "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" last weekend at the multiplexes. Both films turned out to be equally entertaining in their own right. |
|
|
All I really ever wanted I love twilight. Not the vampire stories, but real twilight, that beautiful time at the end of the day when the sun is low in the dusky sky, when the crickets begin chirping and the little frogs serenade us with their song. |
|
|
4-H 4-Ever - What's your 4-H story? Hundreds of thousands of people have been a part of Georgia 4-H since it began here in Newton County in 1904, and we’d like to know: "What’s your 4-H story?" |
 |
Review: ‘The Other Guys’ refreshes the buddy-cop story Maybe it’s the remake/reboot/sequel fatigue that’s setting in, but it seems as though this summer has lacked a memorable mainstream comedy, like last year’s "The Hangover." After the sour aftertaste of "Dinner for Schmucks," I was wary walking into "The Other Guys," a buddy cop spoof starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. It was either that or "Step Up 3D." What would you have picked? It seems like I ...
|
|
|
Delta’s ready when you are Lithuania has voted for independence from the Soviet Union. Other Soviet provinces want the same thing. The sweet wind of freedom is blowing. |
|
|
Films for the whole family School may have just started a few days ago, but here’s a chance for your kids to catch a movie they may have missed over the summer, before you wind up knee-deep in homework. |
 |
A tribute to a friend Before you settle in with your coffee, you might ought to run grab your hankies before reading any further, cause this column is gonna be a real tear-jerker. I like making people laugh, but sometimes you need to let go and get things out even if people think you may need to be committed. Sometimes you don’t even have to do anything for people to draw that conclusion.
|
|
|
Something for everyone in 4-H Ah, the first day of school. Bright white tennis shoes. Freshly sharpened pencils with whole erasers. A colorful new Care Bears or Transformers lunch box. Okay, maybe it’s Hannah Montana or Justin Beiber now. However, I bet kids still get the same first-day butterflies as they head to school today that I can still remember from my school days. |
|
|
Frankly, my dear, I don’t understand Let me see if I have all of this straight: Three metro Atlanta counties — Clayton, Douglas and Henry — are all bidding for a $30 million Gone With the Wind theme park. |
|
|
Movie Review: ‘Dinner’ proves the true Schmuck is the viewer "Dinner for Scmucks" gets off to a promising start; it opens with finely detailed dioramas that tell a cute story of a well-dressed mice couple romantically enjoying a sunny day in the park. It’s a rather charming credit sequence that recalls last year’s ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ and ‘Up.’ |
|
|
Why I love homeschooling I’ve written about some of my favorite things about homeschooling before. But as I’m watching my friends gearing up to send their kids back to school (which starts soon!), I just have to compose a top-ten list of things to love about homeschooling at this time of year: |
|
|
Add confidence to the shopping list Seeing the school supplies on sale somehow never fails to give me a little tinge of that butterflies-in-the-stomach, first day of school feeling. |
|
|
The truth about the myth of young male insensitivity The stereotypic portrayal of young men in America is that they are insensitive "players" who are mostly interested in sex, but not romantically motivated or emotionally attached. Young women are frequently depicted as emotionally vulnerable. Turns out, just the opposite is true. It’s the guys who experience more emotional upheaval in a romantic relationship than young women. |
|
|
Call me violent? I’ll buy a knife Here at the Southern Anti-Defamation League, we have received yet another example of what I believe to be a continuing, unwarranted attack upon Southerners and their lifestyles from other parts of the country. |
 |
Meet the Masters By Mary Lathem
|
|
|
Blame it on... Well, the unthinkable has happened and I am as puzzled as anyone as to how this happened. Deadline is fast approaching and I am facing a blank template waiting to be filled with something worthy of printing. Yes, you read right, I am at a loss for words if you can imagine that. |
|
|
It takes more than a ticket to get on a swing plane The golf PRO is giving a lesson to one of his club members. "Now, first of all, just take a few swings without hitting the ball," says the pro. |
|
|
Inception Review Let’s begin at the end. And don’t worry, this review is spoiler free. |
|
|
Shuttle memories I'm pretty much just an ordinary guy who along the way has had some extraordinary experiences. I'm so grateful, for these episodes have allowed me to join in convivial and fairly knowledgeable conversation with folks from far-flung places, plus some who were involved in rather unique activities. And, of course, they've given me a broader perspective on life in general. But, hey, that's just my lifelong fascination with social studies doing the talking. |
|
|
LOL — no laughing matter My mother told me recently that the most important thing a person can have is a sense of humor. I thought this was funny because I didn't realize she had one. After she gave me this advice, I listened to her with a different filter and realized she does. Driving to a meeting yesterday, I turned right and noticed a sticker on the back window of the car I was following. |
|
|
Around the well: parades and pretty places Everyone loves the signature song from “The Music Man,” which immortalized the spirit of the American parade. In the Social Circle 4th of July parade, we didn’t have 76 trombones, but we had something almost as good. Maybe even better! We had the 45 member Georgia Army National Guard Band leading our parade. After the parade, the band performed and led the singing of a great selection of patriotic songs, including beloved hymns of salute ... |
 |
Overnight trip turns ‘can’t’ to ‘can’ "I can’t." We’re at least an hour into the cave at Raccoon Cavern in Tennessee with 4-H’ers when one decides she can’t go through the next obstacle. The 4-H’ers in front of her have already moved around the bend in the path as she begins to panic just looking at the rock she needs to swing her feet over and slide to the other side before ...
|
|
|
‘Predators’ slick and substance free There are many reasons fans love the original "Predator," the 1987 slaugterfest that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. There are the endlessly quotable lines like "stick around," "I ain’t got time to bleed" and "Get to the chopper!" The gore was plentiful and was actually scary. The creature was a frightening and formidable sight; the climatic battle between it and Schwarzenegger was epic as two of the toughest warriors in the known universe battled ... |
|
|
No offense, but I am taking offense I’m offended. I never thought I would say that because I’m an easy-going type of guy who figures it’s a lot less stressful not to let anybody get to me. But these are the ’90s, and getting offended is "in," like drinking bottled water, refusing to eat red meat and cursing smokers. Hardly a day passes that somebody doesn’t make the news by ... |
|
|
The Movie Scene I did something I don’t usually do over the weekend, but it’s not what you’re thinking. Being the Fourth of July holiday, you might think it involved fireworks, picnicking and relaxing by the pool or lake, but it was none of the aforementioned. No, I didn’t get into any trouble either, but it was fun and didn’t put too big a dent in the bank. ... |
 |
Who needs to practice? What if the SWAT team never practiced?
|
|
|
I wish I was politically correct in Dixie I certainly agree with all those who have protested the playing of "Dixie" at Southern football games. |
|
|
Coffee alertness just a myth It is common knowledge that coffee drinkers experience a boost of alertness after consumption. But like a lot of “common” knowledge, closer investigation reveals this belief to be mostly false. A recent study by researchers at Bristol University in the UK suggests that the alertness that coffee drinkers experience is more imagined than real. They found that frequent coffee drinkers develop a tolerance to its stimulatory and anxiety-producing effects. You can read about it in ... |
| Sections: | 1/2 PRICE FRIDAYS | CONTESTS | ELECTION | INFO | LIFE | LOCAL | MULTIMEDIA | OBITS | OPINION | RELIGION | SPORTS |
| Services: | Subscribe | Advertising | Delivery Issue | Back Issues | Vacation Stop-Start |
| Submit News: | Contact Us | Send a Letter to the Editor | Births PDF | Engagement PDF | Wedding PDF |
| Online: | Archives |
| Regional News: | Barrow County News | Dawson Community News | The Times | Forsyth County News | The Rockdale News |
