Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, March 8, 2018, 9:03 a.m. Imagine Professor Indiana Jones, only damaged by the trauma of the Great War. Imagine the alternative "Indy," deeply neurotic and wearing a half-mask to hide the part of his face disfigured fighting the Germans, for whom he understandably bears a grudge. He moves to Cairo, purchases …
Why You’d Enjoy a Stock Car Racing Novel … or Two
Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, February 28, 2018, 11:17 a.m. In 2017, I wrote two novels about a young stock-racing ace named Barrie Jarman. Of my seven novels to date, they are the only ones related to each other. I've often explained this by saying that once I've completed the arduous process of writing a novel, …
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Lady Crusaders Find a Holy Land
Clinton, South Carolina, Sunday, February 25, 2018, 11:17 a.m. For twenty years, while I was writing about NASCAR, I didn't see a lot of women's basketball. Many times, people said to me, "You'd be amazed at how much better it is," and I'd say, "Well, probably so," without much commitment to delving into the matter. …
The Penultimate Skirmish in a Great Crusade
Clinton, South Carolina, Friday, February 23, 2018, 9:35 a.m. The Laurens Academy girls' basketball team reminds me of my Honda Accord. Both wear blue and are approximately the same age. The Lady Crusaders have made three successful round trips to Sumter. The Honda has made two, with a side trip to Camden, on a single …
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Ain’t No Need to Sit and Wonder Why
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 …
A Day and Night of Mixed Results
Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, February 17, 2018, 11:13 a.m. Friday was a day of extremes. It was a day of the anticlimactic and the climactic, the decisive and the indecisive, and the relaxed and the nerve-wracking. Let me explain. By coincidence, the girls' basketball team of Laurens Academy, seeded No. 1 in SCISA (South Carolina …
A Mere Thirty-Two Years Ago
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, February 15, 2018, 12:54 p.m. I'm watching the Independence Bowl of December 21, 1985, on YouTube. Why, you ask? Rickey Foggie, who will be inducted next month into the Laurens County Athletic Hall of Fame, was the game's MVP. He quarterbacked Minnesota to a 20-13 victory over Clemson. I'm waiting on …
Just Can’t Wait to Get on the Road Again
Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 12:03 p.m. As the Statler Brothers used to sing, don't tell me I've nothing to do. As I peruse events in faraway Daytona Beach, I've been busying myself writing about local matters. At the monthly meeting of the Laurens Commission of Public Works, a dozen or so citizens …
Still Something to Write
Clinton, South Carolina, Friday, February 9, 2018, 10:18 a.m. I must be getting old. I haven't seen it all, but I've seen most of it. Perhaps I could estimate with some degree of accuracy all the stock car races and ballgames I've attended and described, but it would be a waste of time and probably …
Toss It Up for a Pair of Tossups
Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, February 7, 9:33 a.m. For the second consecutive game night at Clinton High School Gymnasium, both varsity basketball games were decided by the same margin. On Friday, the boys and girls both beat Broome by 11. Last night, the boys won, but the girls lost, both by eight. Coincidence? Definitely. The …
Nightrider's Lament 