Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, April 6, 2019, 12:34 p.m. When I was in the sixth grade at Clinton Elementary School, U.S. Sen. Ernest Frederick “Fritz” Hollings visited my classroom. From the view of an 11-year-old in a desk chair he couldn’t get his leg in now, Hollings looked as tall and thin as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, …
Tag: government
Less Wounded Now
Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, 12:15 p.m. Treatment is going well. Not rehab for any addiction. Not radiation or chemo or anything like that. No shrink. The wound on my leg is almost healed. Soon I won’t have to surround it in clear plastic every time I take a shower. A man reaches …
Stop the World and Let Me Off
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, November 8, 2018, 1:14 p.m. So much is going on that I can’t decide what to write. I’m suffering from information overload. I’m drowning. Either that or I’ve fallen and I can’t get up. It’s impossible to keep up. With politics. With technology. With violence. With anger. Do this. Don’t do …
What I Like About Him Is He Does What He Says
Clinton, South Carolina, Tuesday, July 31, 2018, 1:56 p.m. I’m going to pay for my own campaign. I’m going to build a wall. Mexico will pay for it. There was no meeting. Okay, as it turns out, there was a meeting, but I knew nothing about it. The meeting had nothing to do with the …
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When the Roll Is Called in Homeroom, I’ll Be There
Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, June 30, 2018, 4:02 p.m. I’ve been working my ass off. No, that’s not right. I’ve been wearing my ass out. Mainly I’ve been sitting down. I’m in the process of learning how to manage the county website. It’s not the official county website. It’s a news site, or two that …
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Another Day, Another Fifty Cents
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, June 28, 2018, 10:14 a.m. It’s going to be another week that was. By definition. To quote one of my songs, “No matter where you go, there you are.” This one, though, has been particularly enlightening. I’m making a transition into a job running the county’s news site, GoLaurens.com, which also …
‘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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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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Guilty Pleasure in a Guilty Pleasure
Clinton, South Carolina, Tuesday, May 1, 2018, 1:25 p.m. Green Goes Forth. The protagonist and narrator is a guy named Joe Green. He grows “green,” which is one of many code words and synonyms for cannabis. No need to write a paragraph of them. The title is a double entendre. Appropriately, Green Goes Forth is …
The Names Have Been Changed to Protect the Imagination
Clinton, South Carolina, Friday, April 6, 2018, 10:45 a.m. This week has seemed slow. Most seem fast. Yet my life has been full of activity. First the audio version of my stock racing novel, Lightning in a Bottle, was released. The audio version is fantastic, thanks to the diligent work of narrator Jay Harper. He …
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Nightrider's Lament 