An opinion on Okefenokee ‘no opinion’

Dear Congressman Buddy Carter,Your appearance a couple of weeks ago before the Water, Wildlife and Fisheries subcommittee in Washington, of which you are not a member but were allowed to question a witness panel about our Okefenokee was, shall we say, a bit out of the ordinary.

The Hydrangea

It was about 16 years ago that a famous man dug up part of a famous plant in his garden of world renown and gave it to me.“Don’t put it where it’ll get the hot afternoon sun, plant it in the gentle sun,” he explained. “If the leaves wilt, it’s from lack of hydration.

An awakening

A significant awakening swept over me recently.When it happened, I was happily stunned at my observation.Daddy had a close first cousin named Gurley.Tink, a Yankee, had never heard of degrees of cousins until he came South. He did not know what a “first” cousin was or how you became third cousins.

Hard to be a sore loser in Georgia

The things you learn on this job. Someone called PromoGuy, who it turns out, isn’t a guy at all but a company that has something to do with sports betting, says Georgians feel down for an average of 39 minutes after their favorite sports team suffers a disappointing result.

The dreams of friends

On the bookcase, at the top of the stairs, sets a framed photos of two young girls, barely out of college, and both wearing the Victorian lace look of a retired brand called Gunne Sax.

More random thoughts on random subjects

If anyone in the governor’s office or Twin Pines LLC read my open letter to Gov.

The coffee

In the little kitchen of my childhood home, there was coffee every morning.Always.Mama owned a decorative percolator from the 1950s, which bubbled delightfully. But, unless there was company visiting, she did not bother.There is a kettle on the stove that whistled when the water boiled.

Open letter to Gov. Kemp

Dear Governor,I know you have been busy signing or vetoing bills from the recent legislative session, so I have chosen not to disturb you.But now that you have all that behind, I wonder if I might have a word with you? And that word is: Okefenokee.

Homage to an American hero

I am doing something I rarely, if ever, have done. I am going to rerun a previous column verbatim. Hans Trupp, of St. Simons, died last week.I wrote the following about him two years ago and ask your forbearance in allowing me to present it to you again.

Sounds familiar

In a doctor’s waiting room, I sat, without a phone or a newspaper to read. I was just a-sittin’, observing those scattered about.It is the art of observing that we are losing. And, with the fading away of studying on people and tuning into their conversation, we are in danger of losing wisdom.