It’s the bottom of the ninth inning and the opposing team leads by two runs. The team that is behind sends out the relief pitcher. On the mound, the highly paid relief pitcher gathers all his teammates around him and says, “Men, I’m going to do the best I possibly can, but I want to make this perfectly clear — I inherited this situation. This isn’t my fault. The starting pitcher left me this mess.” Read More»

My wife and I took our first cruise a few weeks ago. We were going to take a cruise on our 25th wedding anniversary back in 1996, but we took the money and started a church instead.

We happened to wind up using the Princess Cruise Lines. It was not what I expected. In fact, it was much better than I anticipated — especially when it came to the care and treatment of passengers.

Princess, which started in 1965 with one ship cruising to Mexico, was rocketed to fame in 1977 when it became the ship of the TV series, “The Love Boat.” Read More»

Fathers have had a hard time of it in recent years. The oldsters will remember T.V. programs such as “Bonanza,” “My Three Sons,” “The Andy Griffith Show,” “The Cosby Show,” and even “I Love Lucy” where fathers were portrayed in an honorable and positive light. Read More»

One of my favorite movies is “The Bucket List.” The plot summary for the 2007 flick is this: Corporate billionaire Edward Cole (played by Gene Hackman) and working class mechanic Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) have nothing in common except for their terminal illnesses.

While sharing a hospital room together, they decide to leave it and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die according to their bucket list (things to do before they “kick the bucket”). Read More»

He was told he was too small and should go back home. “Go home boy, you’re not 18.” They were right. He was barely 17, having celebrated his birthday just a few months before.

Lloyd Burns was a South Georgia boy who played football at Valdosta High School during the school’s glory days. But there was a new, more sinister, challenge awaiting him. His birth certificate was faked and he held to his story, so Lloyd Burns became one of the nation’s youngest soldiers in 1942. Read More»

In June of last year, as I reported in this column at the time, a Phoenix, Ariz., bishop received a suspended sentence of 10 days in jail and three years probation for violating a Phoenix noise ordinance because his church rang its bells hourly as a way of praising God. Bishop Rick Painter of the Cathedral of Christ the King (a man with whom I am personally acquainted) retained attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund to pursue legal options to defend his rights. Read More»

It has been said that the largest number of telephone calls made in a given year are made on Mother’s Day. It is also reported that the largest number of collect telephone calls are made on Father’s Day.

Often it is the Dad who buys Junior his first baseball glove, hockey stick, basketball, or football and spends countless hours in the back yard with said kid helping to hone those athletic skills.

Yet, if Dad’s pride and joy makes it to the big time, nearly always he will look into the cameras on the day of the big game, wave, and shout, “Hi, Mom!” Read More»

I have a problem. It’s time I own up to it and confess it. I’ve known about it for some time but only lately has it become a serious issue. This problem affects my communications with others, it hinders my ability to be effective at work and at home, and it causes me a good deal of anxiety and guilt. I have considered getting help for the problem but I don’t know where to turn. I suffer what may be an addiction.

I refer to it as ERD — email retention disorder. Read More»

I attended a funeral service last Saturday morning. I didn’t know the deceased or his family, although I know one of his very close friends. Robert W. Collins was eulogized, mourned, honored, and remembered at Fayetteville’s New Hope Baptist Church, possibly the only church in the county large enough to hold the massive crowd gathered for the service.

First Lieutenant Robert Collins, a 2004 graduate of Sandy Creek High School and a 2008 graduate of the United State Military Academy at West Point, was killed in Iraq on April 7. Read More»

There is a minority group of American citizens who, more than most, are feeling more and more oppressed. It’s not because of their race, their religion, or their sexual orientation. This group is made up of small business owners and the oppressor is the government of the United States. Read More»