With all the fear and rhetoric going on about the sequestration and the impending deadline for the “across the board cuts in federal spending” to take place in less than a week, I think it is important to take everything in context and understand how we got to this point, the real numbers involved, and the implications of what this means for our government and ourselves. Read More»

What is most disturbing about the current reports that our Fayette school board is about to perform radical surgery on the system, through a drastic slashing of expenses and school closings, is that it is so unnecessary, and of course harmful for the community.

Where there is no vision, we learn from the Scriptures, the people perish. I am afraid we have a school board without vision, which prompts me to speak up, not so much for the benefit of the clueless voters who elect our school board members as for the benefit of the nonvoting students who have to suffer the consequences. Read More»

People change. Things change. Twenty years from now, when my kids go off to school, I’m gonna think back to Fayette Middle.

When my kids come home and need help with their homework, I’m going to use what those brilliant people taught me. My life is better since I moved to Fayetteville.

What I need to say to the citizens of Fayetteville is that if we buckle down and prepare for the oncoming storm, we will survive. There will be some damage but if we are all careful and look out for each other we can clean up good. Read More»

Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” has been a box-office hit and nominated for 12 Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis, who portrayed our 16th president.

I haven’t seen the movie; therefore, this column is not about the movie but about a man deified by many. My colleague Thomas DiLorenzo, economics professor at Loyola University Maryland, exposed some of the Lincoln myth in his 2006 book, “Lincoln Unmasked.” Read More»

There’s a woman I’m looking for. Perhaps you know where she is. If you do, please help me find her again.

It’s been several years since our paths crossed but the moment our eyes met, I was captivated. Her eyes told me she had a story to tell me, a life of adventure and a misadventure or two. I’m drawn toward stories but then you know that. My friends and families choose gifts for me, saying, “It has a story so she’ll love it.” It is always the story that is more valuable to me than the present. Read More»

Have you ever thought about why a pigeon walks so awkwardly? In a devotional reading in Our Daily Bread, Martin De Haan shared that a pigeon’s eyes cannot focus as it moves, so the bird actually has to bring its head to a complete stop between steps in order to refocus. It proceeds clumsily — head forward, stop, head back. Read More»

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»