Archive By Section - Columns
17 years
It was exactly 17 years ago Wednesday morning, to the day, that I walked in the doors of the Chronicle-Independent as an employee for the first time. For many reasons I've explained in the past, Wednesday, July 5, 2000, was my Independence Day.
Ignorance is bliss
As a goal-oriented engineer who believes we should all be lifelong learners, the phrase, "ignorance is bliss" has always made me shake my head in disagreement. Phrases like "knowledge is power" or "learn something new every day" are more compatible with my mode of thinking. I believe I must be able to argue both sides of an issue if I want to claim I am educated on that issue. This philosophy requires that I listen with an open mind to opposing views, even if that makes me uncomfortable, anxious or even angry. However, as I approach an age where aches ...
Love of country
My family celebrated our country's 241st birthday in Pawley's Island this past Tuesday. Spending July 4th at the beach never fails to deliver a grand display of patriotism, fireworks, American flags, and of course, extreme temperatures. Those who know me best are aware of the simple fact I could celebrate this holiday just about every single day of the year.
South Carolina’s impending $19 billion robbery
"Some will rob you with a six-gun, and some with a fountain pen." -- Woody Guthrie
Independence Day reflections
I love the Fourth of July -- everything it represents.
Remembering Mr. Ben
A while back, the chief tax assessors from counties throughout Georgia asked me to speak to their gathering at Jekyll Island. We frequent the Golden Isles, but we are normally on St. Simons or Sea Island so it had been a few years since I had been on Jekyll.
Local heroes
He listened to the sharks attack his shipmates and prayed that he would be rescued. On Dec. 8, 1941, Coolie Hinson decided to drop out of Baron DeKalb High and fight the Japanese. He joined the Navy and, nine months later on the 8th of August in 1942, he was treading water because his ship, the USS Vincennes, was sunk in the Battle of the Savoy Islands.
The ties that bind
The village blacksmith went to church on Sunday, sat among his boys, and heard the parson pray and preach. When his daughter's voice in the choir so sweetly rang out with long remembered melodies, once more he fondly thought of her mother who lay below in the church yard cemetery. With his huge calloused hand, he brushed a tear from his eyes.
The positivity factor
"So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out, and yell, 'I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!'" -- Howard Beale, as played by Peter Finch, in "Network" (1976).
What’s ailing healthcare
WASHINGTON -- The Senate health care bill, which was scuttled Tuesday until after July 4, was doomed by two narratives: Republicans are mean, and poor people would be dropping like flies.
The sorry state of women in South Carolina
It has always been a source of great bewilderment to me the huge hypocritical gulf between how we, as Southern men, talk about women -- and how we treat them.
Moment of Nature - June 30, 2017
This is what I often hear after meeting someone new and they discover I'm an arborist -- and most times I'm able to assist them. If you have a tree in your yard or one street-side, perhaps you've wondered about a particular tree thing. If so, here is Part 1 of some common tree questions I receive.
A funny thing happened at the mailbox
The day I received my very first package from this group, I nearly had apoplexy. That in and of itself should have clued me that maybe I did need to join them after all.
Tink and the Garanimals
It is a sure bet, I am certain, that I am not the only wife with a husband who cares little about clothes. Like many wives, particularly Southern ones, I purchase his clothes and put together his wardrobe.
My brain on NASCAR - June 27, 2017
I am willing to wager that mine wasn't the only dry eye in the Palmetto State when Ryan Blaney claimed his first-ever Monster Energy Cup Series victory at Pocono Raceway on June 11, driving the No. 21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing. In fact, I'm a little surprised our little ol' state didn't wash away entirely on a sea of happy tears.
Articles by Section - Columns
Executive sessions for ‘specific purpose’
Around the same time I learned that I had been named to the S.C. Press Association (SCPA) S.C. Freedom of Information Committee, a ...
Repeal and regroup
WASHINGTON -- It wasn't quite a wicked-witch-is-dead Munchkin happy dance, but the white noise of foregone conclusions drowned out Republicans' relatively muted regret over their ...
Alexander Young
From 1807 until his death in 1856, Camden was the home of an extraordinarily talented and intelligent individual named Alexander Young. He was born on ...
My Brain on NASCAR - July 21, 2017
On July 8, under the lights at Kentucky Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. won his third NASCAR Cup Series race of the season, although in this ...
Trump’s unique gift to America
BANNER ELK, N.C. -- Even the least popular of presidents sometimes do great things.
Uncle Oscar and Aunt Fairy
One Saturday morning, I ran by the bank to pick up a checkbook that had arrived and found the place to be unusually busy. I ...
A very good year!
Once the end of the school year arrives and the dust settles a bit, we are in full planning mode for the coming year, and ...
Working for freedom of information
During my 17 years with this newspaper, I have championed South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act (S.C. FOIA) and the cause of open ...
We were told there’d be dirt
WASHINGTON -- That quaking beneath your feet is from shock waves in Washington where tipping points are merging with other tipping points to create the Mother ...
The joy of a good mud hole
It's hard to find a good mud hole these days. Have you noticed that? Too much concrete and asphalt.
Coding movement sweeping the world, nation and state
All the way from the board rooms of tech executives in Silicon Valley to the kindergarten class at Voyager Charter School in Charleston, the coding ...
Lessons from a ‘local’
Recently, during a visit to Gorges State Park in the North Carolina mountains, I was privileged to see an amazing, rare and, yes, somewhat unnerving ...
Trump media tiff goes trans-Atlantic
Many American journalists and others correctly objected to President Trump's lambasting of the U.S. media in his speech Thursday in Poland, noting that ...
New life at Mather
I recently visited the new Cedarbrook apartment community and quickly realized it is perfectly suited to bring new life to the former Boylan-Haven-Mather Academy property.
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