"Why do they [write] for their money? Why do they [work] for short pay? They ain't getting nowhere and they're losing their share. They must have gone crazy back there." — Michael Burton (paraphrased)
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 …
Continue reading As the Thunder Rolled and the Lightning Struck
Clinton, South Carolina, Tuesday, April 25, 2018, 10:01 a.m. I drove past a message board that read: FREE BLOOD PRESSURE! If your blood is running low, they’ll pump it right up. A government office has a sticker in the window of the front door. NO CONCEALABLE WEAPONS Forget about hiding a derringer in your boot, …
Continue reading It’s Only Words, and Words Are All I Have …
Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, April 18, 2018, 1:45 p.m. Baseball season has begun. Tax season has ended. The Red Sox are off to the best start in team history. That’s good. My taxes are filed. That’s good, too. When the federal refund crackles across fiber-optic lines into my bank account, it will be better. A …
Continue reading Around these Parts, Things Are Roughly the Same
Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, March 10, 2018, 11:57 a.m. It's been a busy week. I got more done on Friday than any day in quite a while. Everything worked. Interview subjects called me back promptly. By the time I got finished writing about a soccer game and talking on a radio show while it was …
Continue reading My Mind Is Tired and Incapable of Suitable Organization and Motivation
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, February 22, 2018, 8:01 a.m. This morning I awakened from a dream that concerned pickup basketball, Daytona International Speedway, a friend from high school, and trying to get back into the track without benefit of either shoes or my hard card. I haven't been to Daytona Beach in more than five …
Clinton, South Carolina, Friday, January 26, 2018, 1:09 p.m. I strolled over to Clinton Middle School yesterday. I went to school there. It was Clinton High School then. I walked into the new gym of the old high school, which is now the new middle school. The middle school fields two basketball team, the Red …
Clinton, South Carolina, Friday, January 5, 2018, 8:49 a.m. At some point, this feeding frenzy has to run its course. As with all feeding frenzies, some good has been achieved. Tides of frenzy sweep along with them some rampaging tyranny. To this very day, I am kind to women who wait on me at restaurants …
Clinton, South Carolina, Monday, November 20, 2017, 12:45 p.m. On Saturday night, something occurred that I had never seen before in my hometown. Maybe it’s because I’m not often out driving on Saturday nights. I had been at Presbyterian College all day. I brought a pot of chili to the tailgate party before PC ended …
Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, September 10, 2017, 1:38 p.m. I can’t imagine a better place to watch a football game than Presbyterian College, that is, if you don’t mind it if the Blue Hose lose. It’s early yet. Yes, Presbyterian has been been outscored 99-13, but Wake Forest and The Citadel are stiff competition for …
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, September 7, 2017, 12:15 p.m. A week ago, a large chunk of Texas, which itself is a large chunk, caught the largest amount of rain ever recorded on the continent. Now the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever is curving toward, eventually, here. How many “once-in-a-thousand-years storms” are going to have to …
Nightrider's Lament 