They ain’t what they used to be

Several things I’ve been thinking about and experiencing lately prompted me to choose this column topic, one of them being David’s announcement about the revival coming to McDonough Road Baptist church next week. David always writes great columns, all with just the right mix of humor and serious stuff, and enough to make you think about things. Read More»

My brother had a heart attack a few weeks ago. It was totally unexpected and no warning signals were experienced.

My brother’s name is Wayne. Actually, it is Robert Wayne. For some reason both he and I have been called by our middle names all our lives.

My first name is William. I’m certain my parents had no idea the trouble they caused for us in a world where people are listed by their first name, middle initial, and last name. Read More»

Lovable little fuzz balls. If you asked, that’s how my three brothers, sister, and I would’ve described us during the time we spent growing up at 110 Flamingo Street.

It’s hard to imagine though, as lovable as we all were during those seven years, that our parents were the ones who actually needed a timeout. Away from all of us, that is. Read More»

I don’t know what former Army Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha was thinking when President Obama presented to him last week the Medal of Honor for his “gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life” in the 2009 Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan.

But I’ll tell you what I was thinking, aside from my admiration for this 31-year-old man. I was wondering if, this time, the President would have enough respect for the man to call him by the staff sergeant title he had earned. But predictably, Obama called him “Clint.” Read More»

[Editor’s note: Last week, we here at The Citizen said goodbye to one of our family members, Michael Boylan. He is taking over responsibility for producing the content of several local magazines stretching across north Georgia. This is Mike’s last column for The Citizen.]

To the new guy at my (very big) desk:

Over the past week and a half I have been trying to tell you everything I learned in my 14 years at The Citizen. Read More»

I’m Samantha Frazier. This is my first time writing my own personal viewpoint to a large audience. I hope I can do it right.

I’m in seventh grade at Fayette Middle School in Fayetteville. FMS is on the chopping block for the Fayette County school closings.

I’m not going to like it but I’m gonna support the school closings. What people have to understand is that there are things in life that you have to overcome.

I have attended the board meetings on Jan. 28 and Feb. 4 and my view lately is that, logically, it is necessary though it may hurt some communities. Read More»

There’s a story told about a Paris chief of police who was called to a department store to stop a burglary in progress. Upon his arrival, he reconnoitered the situation and ordered his men to surround the entrances of the building next door.

When questioned about his actions, he replied that he didn’t have enough men to cover the department store’s many entrances but he did have enough for the building next door.

Let’s see whether there are similarities between his strategy and today’s gun control strategy. Read More»

Just as Lenin’s body remains on public display in Russia, because one never knows when he might be useful to rally the masses, so, too, does the ghost (but thankfully not the body) of the late Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.) remain a useful symbol for Democrats in Washington. Read More»

[Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of a three-part series. It is running over a five-week period rather than three consecutive weeks.]

Thirty notebooks in pristine condition lay about me on the bed in Los Angeles after my husband had surprised me with the diaries of his great-great-grandfather, Charlie Tinker, a White House telegrapher who had been friends with President Abraham Lincoln.

Gingerly, I picked up the wonderments of history and found them to be in exceptional condition as though they were only a few decades old not 150 years in age. Read More»

Answers to your questions about life, religion and the Bible

Pastors get some of the most interesting questions from people they meet and people in their congregations. Here are a few that I have gotten during my years of ministry and for this column.

Dear Father Paul:  I am a Christian, but am concerned that I might have committed “the unpardonable sin.”  What is the unpardonable sin, and what danger is there that I did,  indeed, commit it?
Thank you. — No name please.
Read More»