Out with resolutions, in with bucket list

I refuse to make a New Year's Resolution this year. They never work. For the past several years, I always ran to the gym and ate healthy during the first two weeks in January -- three weeks, tops -- only to then get complacent with how healthy, frugal and "grown-up" I'd become. But then I got so complacent that I eventually slacked off on my resolutions, felt guilty about slacking off, ...

Crushing the winds

In part two, I continue to recount my trek through Wyoming's Wind River Range. If you didn't catch part one, I will briefly get you up to speed: This past August, while looking to recharge mental strength and energy, I connected with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and its Rocky Mountain Light and Fast Backpacking Course. Our team, eight students and two instructors, hiked 140 miles in 13 days through the remote Wind ...

Save us from our devices

WASHINGTON -- Mr. Speaker, please don't. Go ahead, if you must, and cut taxes. Slash spending. Repeal health care. I understand. Elections have consequences. But BlackBerrys and iPads and laptops on the House floor? Reconsider, before it's too late. The current House rules bar the use of a "wireless telephone or personal computer on the floor of the House." The new rules, unveiled recently, add three dangerous words. They prohibit any device ...

A resolution for all times

NEW YORK -- It befalls the columnist this time of year to look back and recap; to assign blame and shame, while offering the obligatory mea culpa; and, of course, to resolve.

Don't speak, write

My voice bothers me. Hearing my intonation on an answering machine or a message makes me wince. But there's not really a thing I can do to change this, is there? Sure, I often enjoy cigars, and think perhaps this will give my pipes a deeper, raspier tone, but I don't honestly trust it'll Barry White my inflection.

Sometimes, crime makes you laugh

About this time last year, I started a new tradition: looking back at the year in crime -- but from a funny point of view.

A stutter unfit for a king

At last, somebody has made an epic, triumphant movie about a hero with which I am personally familiar: a recovering stutterer.

Touches of history and 'Heaven'

On a recent November morning after the General Election, I set out from my home in Columbia to go to my 64th high school reunion. All graduation classes from Midway High School have been meeting together annually for several years. This year the reunion was being held in a church at Shepard.

Uncle Sam will help you buy an alpaca

I often bash government. I say it can't do anything better than people in a free market.

Cash life experiences into maturity

Apparently, there is not much of a correlation between a person's age and level of maturity.

Tips, tricks and news

As 2010 turns to dust, a smattering of things I found in my mailbox: • Simple home remedies from my friend Waylon Fortenberry of Chesterfield County: 1. Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold the vegetables while you chop. 2. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives. Then you'll be afraid to cough. 3. If you can't fix it with ...

Barbour apologizes, but does he mean it?

Today's lesson in revisionist American history is brought to you by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.

Some facets of my 2010

2010 was a grand year in my eyes. Another one down, and with it, the knowledge and wisdom 365 days brings. Over the past year, in my sphere, there were certain news, entertainment and sports items I simply couldn't elude --

For Biden, mission accomplished

WASHINGTON -- The vice president calls, more than an hour after the appointed time but with an impeccable excuse: He was presiding over the Senate's vote to ratify the New START treaty.

Rho Chi Kobraz my Group of the Year

Kaptin, Siren, Kare Bear, Venom and Professor. They sound like superhero names. And they are certainly heroes in my book.

Fredericksburg Township explored

Our grand city of Camden is a beautifully preserved town laid out in an 18th century plan devised by Joseph Kershaw. We are proud of our historic homes and buildings, carefully placed public parks, wide streets, and beautiful trees. So it is easy to forget that this was not the original plan for the "town" that was to develop in this area of South Carolina. The original plan was a part of the "Township ...

What was the IRS thinking?

Well, this is a fine mess.

Are we willing to pay for increased public safety?

Kershaw County public safety is at a crossroads. The sheriff's office is greatly understaffed and deputies are compensated for their mandatory overtime work by an antiquated and grossly unfair payment system. The solicitor's office is working with half the staff it needs to properly prosecute the cases it receives every month and the jail is barely able to keep sufficient staff to meet state standards. <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: ...

Benghazi redacted

Gatsby? What Gatsby?

Another view of Plan B

In "Getting it wrong about Plan B," Ruth Marcus ends her column by stating that the debate over the proposed Plan B policy "isn't about the government coming between parents and children or society condoning teen sex. It's about preventing teen pregnancy."

Are you (fill in the blank) enough?

WASHINGTON -- Enough with this "enough" business.

Reflecting on 100 years of success

KershawHealth recently completed a week of celebration commemorating the opening of the Camden Hospital in 1913 and a century of outstanding care. One of the things that struck me during those activities was the incredible amount of community support the hospital has always enjoyed, and the amazing things that strategic thinking and teamwork can accomplish.

What Sanford win says about S.C.

Somehow, the man who walked the Appalachian Trail all the way to Argentina to see his mistress got elected to Congress last Tuesday in a voting outcome that almost defies belief.