Male or female, those of us who’ve been around for a while can recall clearly the objectives of the feminist movement as it geared up in the early 1970s. Workplace fairness was the goal.

A lot of manufactured indignation attended the feminist rising; e.g, who says we have to wear bras? Basically, nonetheless, what the rebels said they wanted was opportunity too long denied them by chauvinistic males. Opportunity they received from government, and in a larger sense, from the hand of a culture they prodded or embarrassed into agreement with most of what they said. Read More»

Question: What do you get if you add together one research paper on early education, a handful of mixed nuts, and not following your mom’s advice?

Answer: A seven-day stay in one of Nashville’s finest hospitals, a room full of angels, and two weeks being unable to write a newspaper column.

Confused? Yep, so was I. Never saw it coming. So climb aboard, fasten your seatbelt, and hang on, Dear Reader. This is gonna be one crazy ride, and how it all ended surprised even me because the ending of this story was supplied by none other than The Boy. Read More»

Once in a while it dawns on me how much technology has changed things, even in the small things. The other day I was looking at the website for our diocese. Most of the news is generated from my office, although other churches and individuals in Georgia and Tennessee also contribute. We then send that information to a man in a small town in southeastern Tennessee who posts it on the website. From that point, the news goes ... everywhere. Read More»

“I take full responsibility ... .”

This is a phrase that I feel like I have been hearing more and more in public life, but it seems to ring hollow the more times I hear it. Here is why.

I hear this phrase typically when someone is caught doing something wrong, or making a bad decision and there is almost irrefutable evidence for them to deny it. So rather than having the sordid details leak out over a period of time, a public statement is made saying that they, “accept full responsibility. ...” Read More»

I moved to Fayetteville in April 1966. While in the process of moving boxes in, my 6-year-old son fell off his tricycle onto the concrete driveway, causing a few gashes on his forehead.

I don’t remember who we called to find a doctor, but we were led to a small white clinic that sat beside the Fayetteville Methodist Church.

Forty-eight years later, my son still has a couple of thin scars from that event.

This was my first introduction to Dr. Ferrol Aubrey Sams, Jr. For the next 40 years I or my children were a patient of his. Read More»

Peachtree City Stormwater Utility: What am I paying for, and why should I have to pay more?

You may have heard that Peachtree City is looking at borrowing about $7 million for the city’s stormwater system. The mayor and City Council will be considering a bond issue through the Peachtree City Public Facilities Authority at their meeting on Feb. 7, so this is a good opportunity to review the program, why it was enacted, what it does, and why the additional funds are being requested.

Overview Read More»

When you talk with Bill Camper, you will most likely be laughing. You may not notice that his right eye has been blind since 1972, but you will understand why Mimi Gentilini (Mimi’s Good Food) describes Bill as the nicest man in town.

At 83 years old, the highlight of Bill’s life is that Peg, his wife for 62 years and counting, has newfound freedom from dialysis, one of very few her age to receive a kidney transplant and it turned out wildly successful. Read More»

[Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series over a five-week period.)

His name is Charles Almerin Tinker and he was the great-great-grandfather of my beloved.

“Charlie Tinker,” I sometimes hear my husband say as he passes the large framed photo. “You’re spinning in your grave. Your picture is hanging in the home of a Confederate.” Read More»

Many of us Christians around the world and right here in our own community will avail ourselves to the rituals of “Ash Wednesday,” next Wednesday, Feb. 13, which is 40 days before Easter, not counting the Sundays. This 40 days is called Lent, which begins with Ash Wednesday and culminates with Holy Week and Easter. Read More»

All right, class. Today we’ll visit a word that was invented for a purpose, a made-up word you probably use daily. It’s an invented word, according to several sources like NPR Radio, because its creator had trouble settling on a word to use when answering the telephone he just invented.

I brought up a couple of searches and have enough bits and pieces to gather into a column. Many of us word mavens get swept into the dictionary when Merriam-Webster or the OED releases a new edition with new words, and forget to come up for air. Or to make dinner. Read More»