By MONTE DUTTON

Without the Internet, there’s no telling how much less useless information I’d know.
I know why passenger planes don’t fly over the Himalayas, that almost all of South America is east of the United States, why the Air Force bombed northern Japan while World War II surrender negotiations were underway and that Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined.
They would be great fun if the water wasn’t so cold.
Fun facts. Today everyone on Facebook is Cliff Clavin. He was on Cheers, kids.
For the second time, Laurens Academy running back, linebacker and senior captain Garrett Murphy is the Laurens County Touchdown Club’s Player of the Week.

Murphy rushed for 141 yards on six carries with two touchdowns. Murphy also had one catch for 66 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, he made four tackles and forced a fumble.
Laurens Academy (8-3) defeated Cross School (2-9) of Bluffton in the first round of the SCISA eight-man playoffs, 56-22. LA will play Jefferson Davis Academy (11-0) in Blackville on Friday night.
Head Coach Jolly Doolittle stated, “Garrett is everything a coach expects of a captain. He is a 360-degree leader. He is a great football player and an even better young man.”
The Touchdown Club will honor Murphy on Nov. 21 at the bi-monthly Touchdown Club meeting. The meeting will be at noon at The Ridge in Laurens. Player of the Week awards are presented by Farm Bureau Insurance of Laurens County.

The meeting will be the annual South Carolina and Clemson meeting with Chet Tucker, USC chief sideline reporter, and Don Munson, voice of the Clemson Tigers, as the speakers. The Player of the Week awards will be presented for the Nov. 1, 8 and 15 high-school, as well.
Tickets may be purchased at the door for $15. All meetings are at noon with the food-service line opening at 11:45 a.m. Whiteford’s of Laurens will be catering the meal on Nov. 21.

Pelion was named after a Greek mountain. Its high-school football team hasn’t climbed many heights this fall.
It is the Panthers’ tall task to face Clinton (7-2) in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs on Friday night at Wilder Stadium.
Pelion (2-8) has been overwhelmed by three Region 2-2A powers: Saluda (50-0), Strom Thurmond (55-8) and Batesburg-Leesville (49-0). Its only region win was last week, when the Panthers won, 28-6, over American Leadership Academy (0-9) of Lexington.

Pelion is also in Lexington County.
The Panthers have scored an average of 12.9 points and allowed a norm of 35.2. Clinton averages 40.0 and gives up 22.8.
The Red Devils remain fourth in Class 2A according to the latest S.C. Media Poll, trailing Batesburg-Leesville (10-0), Barnwell (9-1) and Fairfield Central (9-1). Since the playoffs are seeded, none of the four faces much resistance in the first round.

Last week Clinton defeated Liberty, 42-22; Batesburg-Leesville edged Strom Thurmond, 8-7; Barnwell was idle after defeating Whale Branch, 21-14; and Fairfield Central defeated Mid-Carolina, 45-13.
Slightly the reverse is in the second-round game between Laurens Academy and Robert E. Lee (12-1). The Raiders average 41.9 and allow 11.9. The Crusaders score 38.4 and yield 22.8.

Presbyterian sophomore guard Kory Mincy, of East Point, Ga., captured Big South Co-Player of the Week. Mincy is the 10th different Blue Hose player to earn the award in the program’s history.
Last season, Mincy was Freshman of the Week four times.
He averaged 18.7 points and eight assists games against Carolina Christian, Charlotte and N.C. State last week. He shot .469 from the field (15/32), .588 (10/17} from beyond the three-point arc, and .889 (16/18) from the free-throw line.
Guard Darryl Simmons II of Gardner-Webb shared the award with Mincy.

Whitmire ousted Clinton (9-4) from the Class A/2A girls’ tennis playoffs, 4-2.1 Singles Libby Dailey defeated Kenleigh Epps 6 – 4, 6 – 1

2 Singles Addy Derrick defeated Ariana Jenkins 6 – 3, 6 – 4

3 Singles Merin Orr lost to Makenna Moss-Jenkins 6 – 1, 6 – 0

4 Singles Deborah Goldman lost to Barntlee Roche 6 – 4, 6 – 1

5 Singles Kayleigh Lawson lost to Natalie Harris 6 – 0, 6 – 0

1 Doubles Dailey & Derrick DID NOT PLAY

2 Doubles Abby McMurray & Savanna Fountain lost to Savannah Summer & Haiden Williams 6 – 1, 7 – 6 (8-6)

Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where Presbyterian (4-6, 2-4 PFL) squares off against Marist (1-9, 1-5) on Saturday at noon, is located midway between New York City and Albany on the Hudson River. It means, in Munsee, “reed-covered lodge by the little water place.”

Samuel Morse, of telegraph-code fame, was from Poughkeepsie.

The opening-round matchups in the Class 2A Upstate playoffs are Pelion at Clinton, Strom Thurmond at Chester, Columbia at Batesburg-Leesville, Andrew Jackson at Liberty, Chesterfield at Fairfield Central, Ninety Six at Chesnee, Landrum at Central and Mid-Carolina at Saluda.

“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose. Nothing ain’t worth nothing, but it’s free.” – Kris Kristofferson
Wellpilgrim.com is winding down the fall making a transition to the winter chill.

Times are changing. I am aware of how irrelevant what I do for a living has become and thus how unimportant my efforts are. The readers appreciate them, but there aren’t enough of them. I doubt there ever will be again.

Support the advertisers. They are all fine people who support my efforts, not to mention those of the kids, coaches, parents and fans.

In the off chance you’d like to read my novels and other books, they’re available on Amazon and many prominent bookseller sites. You can read them on your phones and other devices for a modest cost. I make a bit more if you purchase the actual books, but what I mainly want is for folks to read them.
Cowboys Come Home is a tale of two Texans who come home from World War II, seeking in vain a return to normality. Download it for your device or order it in paperback.
Photo galleries are posted on Instagram @furmanatt and @laurenscountysports.
Thanks for putting up with me.