Talking turkey about Bleak Friday

WASHINGTON -- For children, Christmastime may be the favorite holiday, even if their families don't celebrate the birth of Christ. The twinkling lights and aura of magic that suddenly transfigure the most plebian edifices are nearly as seductive as a round-trip ticket to Never-Never Land.

Time for a Thanksgiving cleanse

Since my family is traveling for Thanksgiving, I've decided to do a cleanse to celebrate the holidays.

What I’m thankful for

During this holiday season, I'm thankful for:

Enjoying it while it’s there

People seem to get nervous when they realize you're past 25 years old and not only unwed, but also not even close to being wed. I don't really understand why it worries people so much, but I try not to let it bother me. Someone, who will remain unnamed and un-described, recently asked me "Haley, when are you going to get married?"

S.C. football, politicians and great expectations

This week, virtually everyone in South Carolina is talking about the Clemson-USC (University of South Carolina) football game. Without a doubt, it's the biggest Clemson-USC game ever. Dating back to 1896, it is the oldest uninterrupted football rivalry in the South and the second oldest in the country. A 1952 state law requires the two schools to play each other.

Our eternal flame

WASHINGTON -- By now, most of the world has digested the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination, and millennials can sigh with relief that another such re-examination is at least 10 years away.

A Thanksgiving for blessings and troubles

If New Year's is a time to regroup and look toward the upcoming year, then Thanksgiving is a time to gather and reflect on the year that has passed. In our family, it is a time when we thank the good Lord for both the heartaches and the blessings.

Teachers never learn

Teachers, arguably the most influential people in a child's life, receive the poorest pay and little respect. They work in less than acceptable conditions and must deal with many individuals who are intractable, some even mentally unstable. Yet, most parents believe their own children to be paragons of behavior and virtue. Today's financial crisis illustrates this point, but not as much as does the past. <p class="MsoNormal" align="left" style="text-align: ...

‘A madman with a (police) box’

Back at the beginning of September, in a column about my sons' "sci-fi education," I mentioned that Doctor Who was about to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

One of a kind-ness

WASHINGTON -- Meet Simile and Sui Generis.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Our Public Works Department Street and Electric crews have been diligently working to decorate the city for Christmas. I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but it takes time for us to deck the halls for December. Thanks to their efforts we'll have decorated light poles throughout the downtown and several lit Christmas trees.

Just a few opinions for you

Opinions are a dime a dozen. Here are a few to ponder:

Twenty-five by 25

Several months ago one of my Facebook friends posted an article called "25 Things To Do Before You Turn 25," by Stephanie Georgopulos.

Business, innovation and the four states of South Carolina

This week, I had occasion to be in all four parts of South Carolina, talking with a wide variety of business people about innovation, our state and its future. What they said was both extremely encouraging and extremely discouraging. First the good news. From one end of this state to the other, there are lots of really smart people who fully understand ...

Sharing the roads

Safety seems to be one of those things we talk about and know to be important, but don't really consider until it has been compromised. At least, in my experience, that tends to be the way it goes. This summer, when I was living in Mount Pleasant, a close friend of mine was part of a situation where his safety was really compromised. I was recently reminded of this ...

The GOP’s toxic messaging

WASHINGTON -- As the government health care website chugs along, the Obama administration has initiated a counter-initiative to combat Republican naysaying -- and its weapons are of superior grade.

What I AIN’T grateful for

Last week I told you about a lot of things for which I'm thankful.

‘Tis the season of lots to do

A blog I follow posted a piece last year about Christmas traditions. The woman who writes the blog is newly married and wanted to start some holiday traditions with her husband and carry them on if they should ever have children.

Imagine your crimson pot

I'll be first to admit I'm a pushover when it comes to stories of do-gooders and their noble deeds of "giving back." As it goes, at this time of the year -- the season of giving -- many of us find ourselves looking for ways to be charitable, for ways to help others in some capacity. No doubt, the stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year's finds most of us in ...

Spend the money and get what you want

Shopping for friends and family members can be fun, but it can also be very stressful. I can't tell you how many holidays have come and gone where I've waited until the last minute to buy Christmas presents for my nearest and dearest. It's not because I don't have the opportunity. Bien au contraire, mon ami, ce n'est pas vrai.

Food stamps and turkey tales

WASHINGTON -- If you peruse the news on any given day, the farm bill/food stamp debate produces two general impressions: Republicans are heartless turkey thieves; Democrats are spendthrift welfare caterers. If only neither were a little bit right.

Classically Carolina

"We are Camden, a place surrounded by history. Long a home of Native Americans, we were founded not long after Carolina was separated into North and South. Here, King Haigler, the Catawba chief, worked for peace among natives and colonists along the banks of the Wateree. Here, Patriots suffered one of the worst defeats in the Revolutionary War. Yet, from this place the tide of war would turn and ultimately lead to victory for ...

Remembering Christmas 1941

Oh, the stories of woe

Oh, the stories people tell. Not always good ones, mind you but the kind that will make you fall down on your knees and thank the good Lord up above that you don't have a story like that.

Deputies’ lives touched thousands

I did not know Kershaw County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) Deputy Rob Evans, who passed away last week. I knew him, but only in the sense that I spoke to him a few times when the two of us happened to be at KCSO headquarters at the same time. Evans certainly seemed like a nice guy; I remember him smiling a lot.