What to know before ‘reversing’ retirement

If you’ve retired, you may have thought you closed the book on one chapter of your life.

Attention all fathers

I have been called a lot of things in my long life, and not all of them flattering. A few years back, I was referred to as an “Obama bed-wetting liberal,” and a “racist redneck.” Both in the same week. Go figure.What I like being called most of all, however, is “Dad,” as well as “Pa.”

Celebrating good fathers

A friend of mine and I were talking once about a crook we both know.As my Daddy would say, “He wouldn’t know the truth if it hit him between the eyes.”The stories about this crook are endless. It seems like almost everyone has a story about a lie, illegal transaction, or some such.

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.According to news...

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.

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.Our smiles are cheerful, our freckles are peeping out from under our make-up, and there is a shimmering light in...

More random thoughts on random subjects

If anyone in the governor’s office or Twin Pines LLC read my open letter to Gov. Brian Kemp regarding the oxymoronic Environmental Protection Division’s consideration to allow drilling along the edge of our Okefenokee, they should know the people of Georgia (or at least the ones who read this...

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.