It was the dark of night in Patterson and all through the town, Christmas lights were shining and shimmering all around.

Thanksgiving Day will arrive later this week.

I was not going to write a Thanksgiving column this week for a couple of reasons. First, that is the predictable thing to do when you have to churn out a weekly column. I pride myself on being unpredictable.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].

Maybe I am being a bit too Southern Sensitive here but I got the distinct feeling the national media disrespected the Atlanta Braves from the beginning of the playoffs through the World Series and beyond. Had they had their way, I think they would have preferred Los Angeles or San Francisco.…

I pinched myself last Wednesday morning just to make sure the night before just wasn’t a sweet dream.

This week, I am going to forego any discussion of politics and share a personal experience with you. It involves art, Ray Charles, the Righteous Brothers, a refrigerator magnet and me.

Aunt Thetus was sitting on the edge of the bed in her room at the local nursing facility that was her home.

It is said that no good deed goes unpunished. If you don’t believe that, ask Mark Butler, commissioner of the beleaguered Georgia Department of Labor.

Class, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder – hard to define but we know it when we see it.  I thought about that as two events occurred in our state last week featuring prominent Republicans.

There apparently is no shortage of ketchup.

My auto warranty has expired.

Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, liberal or conservative, there is one thing that should unite one and all – how government spends your tax dollars.  In Georgia, the best way to know that is through the state’s Open Records law.

“Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day?”

This week in September, 81 years ago, a civil defense observer in London reported the sunlit heavens “were filled with vapor trails, screaming engines, explosions, fighter planes, white-hot tracers, burning aircraft, parachutes and death.”

“It is not good that man should be alone.” (Genesis 2:18B)

Ways one can cope with COVID-19 include counting one’s many blessings and “trusting in the Lord with all one’s heart.’’ A giant blessing is Memorial Satilla Health at 1900 Tebeau Street in Waycross, a massive building with a multitude of excellent, caring doctors, nurses and healthcare workers.

I have tremendous respect for those hardy souls that work at drive thrus, whether it be at local eateries, banks or similar businesses.

If you don’t know by now, I love my alma mater, the University of Georgia, the oldest state-chartered university in the nation.  I am a proud graduate and a past president of the national alumni association. I have a haughty-looking portrait hanging somewhere in my beloved Grady College of J…

I have a recurring dream.

While trying to figure out whether to dangle my participle in this hot weather or work up a sweat and split an infinitive, the phone rang.  It was Skeeter Skates, proprietor of Skeeter Skates Tree Stump Removal and Plow Repair in Ryo, Georgia, and a charter member of the Ryo Morning Coffee C…

What a bunch of whiners.  I refer to the jive-talkers that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, waving their Trump flags and having a big ol’ time.  One even put a finger emoji on a fuzzy image of himself with the caption, “THIS IS ME.,” in case you missed it.  Oops! Maybe that wasn’t such…

My wise father once advised me to never talk politics or religion with people.  You will never change their minds, he said, and they will spend all their time trying to change yours.  That may be true but sometimes I can’t help myself.

One last word about the 25th anniversary of the Centennial Olympic Games and then we will move on.  Nostalgia is not one of my strong points but having been associated with such a high-profile, once-in-a-lifetime (for me) event makes it hard to not take a quick peek back, especially when I k…

We have a super, duper way to mow the grass now. My brother bought a Zero-Turn John Deere® lawn mower.

Strong opinions begat strong reactions. I recently begatted a strong opinion about Republican gubernatorial candidate Vernon Jones and he begatted a strong reaction right back at me. Good for him. Many intrepid public servants poked by my stiletto do one of two things: They sulk or ignore me…

The Japanese plum tree in my parents’ back yard doesn’t like me.

Webster’s Dictionary defines a hero as, “A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life.”  With Noah Webster’s concurrence I would add, “and doesn’t talk about it.”  

It is not always cool being Southern these days. We are being assailed for the sins of our ancestors. Some of it understandable and some of it is out of ignorance.

The Fourth of July — this coming Sunday — officially Independence Day, and a paid federal holiday since 1938 honors the Continental Congress’ publication of the Declaration of Independence 245 years ago. It was a major event well known and duly recognized. Less known perhaps are critical cir…

National holidays are treasured occasions, and not only because it means a day off (for many of us). Most of these holidays bear a certain, obvious solemnity of purpose: Memorial Day. Veterans Day. Thanksgiving. And arguably the highest of holidays on America’s secular calendar, Independence Day.

Have you ever found yourself caught by your words or actions in a place that you really didn’t want to be?  Maybe you said something that wasn’t quite true, or you boasted about something that was really beyond what you were capable of? Or, as I so often find myself, forgetting the name of a…

Hard to believe that it has been six months since I lost my soulmate, my anchor, my best friend. In some ways, it seems like it was yesterday.  At other times, it seems like forever. Time can play tricks with your mind.

This Father’s Day, I decided to give my son a gift. The same one I got from my dad.

Throughout my nearly 20 years of working full-time in the newspaper industry, I have had the pleasure and privilege to cover several local and regional meetings. I believe it to be an honor to report back to local residents what takes place during these meetings. I have always tried my best …

I must confess that as smart as I am, there are a few things in this world I do not understand, such as the unsolved problem in fundamental physics as to whether gravity and the quantum can be made to coexist within the same theory. Egyptian hieroglyphics are a bit challenging for me as are …

Inflation fears are making headlines, and rightly so. The U.S. Labor Department reports year-over-year consumer prices rose 5 percent in May, the fastest rate in almost 13 years.

For a group that says it wants to increase healthcare access for all, the Biden administration has spent much of its early months in office trying to stymie reforms in Georgia.

Summer is just around the corner. School is out and a new round of freshly graduated seniors have just been honored.

Writer/Longtime Neighbor

I got some interesting mail this week. One was from someone who doesn’t read my column but didn’t like something I wrote and told me so.  That response reminded me of a 4-page letter I once got from the late Speaker of the House Tom Murphy when I said his political career was “toast” after h…

As another school year comes to an end Carrie and I usually, like many other parents, take an after school year photo and compare it to one taken at the start of school year. It is always amazing to see how much our daughters, Mattie, 9, and Makenzie (Kenzie), 6, have grown and changed.

Okay, enough is enough and I have had enough.  I have had to endure watching lawless thugs firebomb buildings and claiming we need to defund the police.  And another bunch of lawless thugs calling themselves “patriots” while inciting a riot in the United States Capitol.  And don’t forget a b…

Along with the gusher of spending from Washington, D.C., has come a debate about how to pay for it all. State lawmakers should listen carefully and act accordingly.

Graduation season has finally arrived for the Pierce County Class of 2021.

A loving tribute written by a close friend

The time has come for me to say see ya later  — never goodbye. That’s a mantra I learned from my daddy. If you’ve ever been a student in his science class or Sunday School, you’ve probably heard that one a time or two.