Clinton, South Carolina, Tuesday, June 4, 2019, 11:07 a.m. I am, under normal circumstances, annoyingly punctual, a legacy of my grandmother and my football coach. Most of my acquaintances are fashionably late. Many are the times I get antsy, complete my work in a hurry and go somewhere 45 minutes early. It makes me frantic …
Tag: politics
Pick My Fiction Up on Your Way Down
Clinton, South Carolina, Tuesday, May 7, 2019, 12:23 p.m. It would probably be easier to write a song. A song can be quick and clever. A blog requires a bit more wisdom. It has to be more than clever. It’s not as complicated, but there’s more heft in its thoughts. Not that I’m an expert …
‘The Storms of Life Are Washing Me Awaaaayyy’
Clinton, South Carolina, Friday, April 19, 2019, 12:19 p.m. When I was a boy, one of my grandmothers was prone to say “it’s about to come up a cloud.” Another line of those storms is about to roll through, flinging out lightning. It sure seems like this happens more often than it used to. Mama …
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A Long Line of Pistols and Sons of Guns
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 …
Hollings Was a Stately Man
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, …
Foundered on the Rocks of Paradise
Clinton, South Carolina, Monday, March 25, 2019, 12:52 p.m. I’ve been reading three books at the same time. One is in hardcover. One is in my Kindle. One is in my phone. The last two could be read in either. For no apparent reason, I read one strictly in one and one strictly in the …
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 …
They’re Only Words, and Words Are All I Have …
Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, February 2, 2019, 1:49 p.m. I just checked the TV listings and see that PBR Bull Riding is on from Oklahoma City. Now, PBR stands for Professional Bull Riders, so what the message on TV indicates is that what is on is Professional Bull Riders Bull Riding. What a surprise that …
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An Historical Novel of Wartime Intrigue, Rendered Skillfully
Clinton, South Carolina, Tuesday, December 25, 2018 I’m quite ashamed of myself. Ordinarily, I would have devoured The Torch Betrayal, by Glenn Dyer, in a couple weeks. It was a casualty of the increasingly frenetic pace of my life over the past months. I’ve been out and about, writing stories about local affairs, editing news …
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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 …
