Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, June 20, 2018, 9:49 a.m. How the mighty have fallen. Okay. I was never that mighty. And I haven’t fallen. The last time I fell was on the sideline of the Clinton High School spring football game in 2017. On Tuesday, I merely wilted. On the practice fields, a half mile …
Author: wastedpilgrim
I'm a writer.
Blogs. Novels. Journalism. Songs.
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Serenity in Name Only
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, June 14, 2008, 10:59 a.m. Shelby Alexander barely lets the reader take a breath in this opening salvo of Craig A. Hart’s series of thrillers. Serenity is not to be confused with the noun. It’s the name of the town in northern Michigan that, based on the hero’s experience, is hardly …
The Day Was Entirely ‘Justifiable’
Clinton, South Carolina, Sunday, June 10, 2018, 10:12 a.m. The plan was to write a racing column, but complications arose. Automobile racing, that is. Several months ago, attempting to shave a few dollars from my extravagant satellite bill, I changed packages, one consequence being that I no longer have access to Fox Sports2. Or FoxSports2. …
Ain’t No Need to Sit and Wonder Why
Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, June 6, 2018, 8:07 p.m. I haven’t had a day like this since my daddy died. They happened all the time when I was a kid, and he was in his natural prime. Daddy would ask me to help him with a couple things, say it wouldn’t take 30 minutes, and …
As the Thunder Rolled and the Lightning Struck
Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, June 2, 2018, 11:02 a.m. I thought I had plenty of time to get to Clinton High School’s graduation ceremonies. I got my hair cut, and I didn’t make myself an appointment online, and the lady said it would probably be at least a 40-minute wait. Haircuts are spur-of-the-moment decisions for …
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It’s the World Gone Crazy …
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, May 17, 2018, 3:02 p.m. I don’t care whether I hear Laurel or Yanny. I don’t know where I go to hear it, or, for that matter, them. Whoever or whichever they are. As I get older, I get less inquisitive about such matters. I am not without curiosity. I just …
‘I’m Mad as Hell and … So Is Everybody Else’
Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, May 16, 2018, 10:22 a.m. Sameness has become weird, which is unsustainable because if the weird becomes the same, it will cease to be the weird. One would think there would be limits. To this point, one would be wrong. Life reminds me of a Tom T. Hall song called “Everything …
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The Right Stuff of the Vanities
Clinton, South Carolina, Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 3:38 p.m. For many years, I thought The Right Stuff was the best non-fiction book I ever read. Now I consider it neck and neck with William Prochnau’s Once Upon a Distant War. When I wrote a novel about a pot-smoking songwriter fleeing the feds, I used The …
The Charm of Sports this Spring
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, May 10, 2018, 10:40 a.m. Spring sports are winding down. Here in town, and throughout this end of Laurens County, all we have left are some girls competing in the state track meet and boys playing for the state tennis championship. Even football, for which the town is known, rises and …
If Only News Had a Scorebook and a Means of Keeping Score
Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, May 2, 2018, 11:03 a.m. My preferred form of journalism is sports. It’s the source of most of my experience. Recently I’ve been writing lots of news. It’s interesting. I derive some satisfaction. I’ve done it before from time to time. On Tuesday night, sitting in the home grandstand of Wilder …
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Nightrider's Lament 