A few mornings ago, a traffic stop was executed on I-85 South near mile marker 35. The car was clocked at doing 101 miles per hour in a 70.

The driver, age 22, did not have a driver’s license and was arrested for speeding, reckless driving, and driving without a license. After the man was booked into the Coweta County jail, the police learned that the Saturn the man was driving was stolen. He was also wanted for the kidnapping and stabbing of a 23-year-old woman. Read More»

Think of the one thing you fear the most. Now think of what you’d do if your greatest fear were about to come true. Would you meet the challenge head on or simply pull the covers over your head and hide, hoping it would pass you by? This will be my world in less than a month.
So what has me wanting to cower behind the keyboard? No, Down the Street Bully Brad hasn’t been sighted lurking around our fair town. At least, I don’t think he has. And The Boy isn’t in trouble.

What I’m afraid of, oddly enough, are retired teachers — about 125 of them to be exact. Read More»

“Snow-mageddon.” That’s what many tagged our horrific encounter with the snow, ice, and traffic fiasco of last week. Do you know why this word is invented for such events and where it comes from? Well, let me put on my “theologian’s hat” and take us through some pretty intriguing and often controversial territory. I am not an expert on this topic, but here is how I understand it.

The original word is Armageddon, a name occurring only once in the Bible and designating the place, Mount Megiddo, where the last great epic battle of the ages, good vs. evil, will take place (Revelation 16:16). Read More»

You may not like my take on last week’s winter storm debacle.

On Tuesday afternoon, the winter storm stranded drivers in and around Atlanta for untold hours in gridlocked traffic as they tried to rush home, marooning many in their cars overnight with countless kids unexpectedly stuck in schools overnight because the roads were impossibly clogged.

Even in quiet little Peachtree City, my daughter’s 10-minute drive home from McIntosh High School took her nearly two hours. Read More»

It’s amazing how someone can read a column and see something entirely different than what is written. A recent response to my column on diversity and inclusion is a classic example of missing the point.

The purpose of the column was not to deny the reality of a diverse community or to imply that a diverse community is a bad thing. I don’t think that, nor said that. The reason for the column was to show that diversity and inclusion are not important. Read More»

Throughout the Fayette Visioning process that launched in December 2013, there have been frequent references of the importance to attract and retain young professionals living and working in Fayette County. I have had a front row seat for the Fayette Visioning Initiative and have heard open and honest perspectives from both “seasoned” and young professionals. Read More»

There it was, front cover news in The Citizen, “Fayette Commission to ponder court’s district voting map Tues.”

Given the litany of county maps we have seen in recent years, I think it is safe to say that this is a classic example of gerrymandering a map if we have ever seen one, particularly for District 5. Read More»

We had a funeral at church the other day, which was not unusual. Rodney laid his work aside and came to direct the choir. That, too, was not unusual. I sang in the choir. Now that was very unusual.

Because it was a Saturday and many faithful choir members, including my sister, had obligated to something else a few weeks before, Rodney was a bit worried about having enough people to sing “I’ll Meet You In The Morning.” Though everyone knows that I can’t sing, I can dress up and put on a black suit and move my lips so I quit smack dab in the midst of cleaning my closet and off I went. Read More»

Let’s dub our Tuesday weather excursion “Freakslick.” Just like the party of the same name, it led to gridlock on Atlanta highways and roads. Heck, our roads here too in Fayette County to a fair extent.

Unleashing that volume of traffic on Atlanta without snow and ice would’ve been bad enough on the finest of summer days. But pile on a heaping helping of nonexistent planning on top of snow and ice ... and you have a national embarrassment for the Atlanta area, and sadly yes that includes you and me. Read More»

During those seven years spent growing up at 110 Flamingo Street, it’s true that I learned a bunch about life, people, and worldly things. Even so, fully understanding some concepts did escape my grasp. The idea of the slumber party was as baffling then as it is now. Read More»