Clinton, South Carolina, Tuesday, April 16, 2019, 11:45 a.m. When my mother told me Notre Dame was burning, at first I thought she meant the football stadium. I switched to a news channel. Pete Buttigieg was talking. He’s the mayor of South Bend. It all made sense. Not. I’ve never been to Paris, but I’ve …
Tag: age
Time Passages
Clinton, South Carolina, Tuesday, March 12, 2019, 10:09 a.m. I guess most people actually do have similar experiences. Class reunions. I’ve only been to one of those, the 10th, and I made a spectacle of myself that I don’t regret much because I was much younger, and it was roughly what I was supposed to …
One More Year in Review
Clinton, South Carolina, Monday, December 24, 2018, 1:31 p.m. I’ve been working on stories about the year in review, so I guess I might as well take up the subject of my own. Milestones come at intervals by definition, I suppose, but they’re not necessarily significant just because they end with a “0” or a …
A Man Must Carry On
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 …
The Fog of Doom Descends
Clinton, South Carolina, Friday, January 12, 2018, 10:37 a.m. I have started to confront the possibility that the world has passed me by. I am losing touch. When I write about high-school sports, it makes perfectly good sense that I don’t understand the kids. Their music. Their clothes. Their tastes. Hell, I remember when the …
Mothers by the Numbers
Clinton, South Carolina, Sunday, June 4, 2017, 10:13 a.m. Age is mathematical. If I heard someone say that on TV, I would make fun of it. Duh. The appropriate response from the imaginary person on TV? D’oh! Of course. I just got through watching a CBS This Morning piece on Norman Lear, Carl Reiner and …
It All Works in its Way
It’s probably a little aggravating to follow me on Twitter. My main account, @montedutton, covers a lot of territory because I cover a lot. Many of my followers are NASCAR fans. A reputation lingers after 20 years traversing the beat as a reporter and columnist. I still write a few columns each week from afar. …
Futility Is Necessary and Inevitable
I don’t know whether it’s depressing because it really is or because I’m getting old and cranky. Perhaps I’m just starting to suspect that my labors have all been in vain. So little of what I wanted to achieve in life is done. Every day is a new day, but the passage of each pushes …
Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Get Ready, Get Ready!
The Charge of the Light Brigade is on TV. I flipped over when Son of Lassie ended. I’m hardly watching. It’s background noise. For some reason, I like it while writing. Such as now. A familiar morning feeling. It’s like stretching before exercise. I remember that. I was just thinking about …
Continue reading Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Get Ready, Get Ready!
Peace of Mind
Mr. Boylston was a cute little man. He came down for the free breakfast each morning, already dressed in a wool blazer he’d probably had for thirty years. His scent was of Old Spice and hair tonic, and it evoked images of times when families took taxicabs uptown to do their shopping on Saturdays and …
Nightrider's Lament 