Clinton, South Carolina, Sunday, September 23, 2018, 10:45 a.m. I fell asleep with the TV on last night, which is not unusual, and it awakened me this morning, when I wanted to sleep longer, because, in a semi-conscious state, I got irritated. Mark Twain said, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and …
Tag: writing
Bumping Along in a Crazy World
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, September 6, 2018, 1:15 p.m. Not much of me has been literary in recent days. Oh, there has been beauty in my world. The Red Sox’ seven-run eighth-inning rally and Brandon Phillips’ ninth-inning home run against the Braves was, as Dennis Eckersley is fond of saying on TV, “a beautiful thing.” …
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 …
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 …
Serenity in Name Only
Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, June 14, 2008, 10:59 a.m. Shelby Alexander barely lets the reader take a breath in this opening salvo of Craig A. Hart’s series of thrillers. Serenity is not to be confused with the noun. It’s the name of the town in northern Michigan that, based on the hero’s experience, is hardly …
As the Thunder Rolled and the Lightning Struck
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 …
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The Right Stuff of the Vanities
Clinton, South Carolina, Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 3:38 p.m. For many years, I thought The Right Stuff was the best non-fiction book I ever read. Now I consider it neck and neck with William Prochnau’s Once Upon a Distant War. When I wrote a novel about a pot-smoking songwriter fleeing the feds, I used The …
It’s Only Words, and Words Are All I Have …
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, …
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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 