Category Archives: Opinions
Everything is meant to be eaten
Somewhere on Fowler Farm is a tally stick with five marks on it. I believe this because Boomer, our boxer pup, must be keeping up with the number of door mats he has destroyed.
And I mean completely destroyed. The first two were the woven rope mats. Once he discovered they were chewable, he began making inroads on the perimeters. Once he managed to detach one end, he busily set about unraveling the rope. It didn’t take long.
I came home to find the front porch covered with frayed bits of rope, scattered pretty evenly.
So I hopefully went to town to find something that would hold up to his attentions
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Courier Letters to the Editor 6-28-17
Tribute to the stars and stripes
Dear Editor,
In celebration of the 4th, here’s something for all of those who love our nation that I wrote just for you.
Long may she wave over the land of the free and the home of the brave. Oh red, white and blue-striped noble banner star-spangled, here’s to you.
Keep waving proudly over our land all through the brightest day or darkest of night over our land, united we stand! God-denying, Christian-hating Communists would
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Study: Mild exercise won’t do the trick
Some of us suspected it was too good to be true: that mild exercise of any type was good for us and helped us live longer. A new study shows that, unfortunately, we may be right.
New research out of Brigham Young University (published in Preventive Medicine journal) shows that we can slow the type of aging that happens in cells if we do intense exercise. (Not what I had in mind. How about you?) To quote from one
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Can you believe this is true?
There was a news tidbit that came my way that frankly didn’t seem believable. Apparently, there are adults running around loose on the street that believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Really. Who could make that up?
Also, many fifth-graders don’t know pickles are made from cucumbers, French fries are made from potatoes and, last, but certainly not least, hamburger meat is made from beef.
That’s right. And not just children fall into the category of food source ignorance.
In addition, there are many people who don’t know cheese is made from milk.
They don’t know raisins are dried grapes
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Letters to the Editor
Not solving the problem
Dear Editor,
I read the Pickens County School Board passed its budget, raising property taxes 2 mills. This was approved in a 4-2 vote, with Brian Swords, Shannon Haskett, Betty Bagley and Betty Garrison voting for the tax hike. This follows a slight tax increase in
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The bond of love we have with our pets
Within two weeks of each other, my son and daughter-in-law took both of their dogs to the vet to end their suffering.
Juno and Bishop were so loving and gentle. They were rescued a few years ago, but 
sadly they both had recently been diagnosed with cancer. It’s very difficult to go through this, but our sincere love and respect does not to want to see them suffer. When my wife and I would visit, Juno would always bring us this huge chew bone, and Bishop would wrap his legs around ours like he was hugging us. Of course, my son and his wife are very upset, and we can definitely relate, as we have also said goodbye to several dogs through the years. I
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Simple, easy and wrong answers
For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.” — H. L. Mencken
The South Carolina Legislature seems to live by this. We have some very big and 
complex problems in this state, and our legislators are masters at coming up with clear, simple and wrong answers. Three stories in the news last week are a perfect illustration of this.
Many would argue that the two most basic core functions of our state government are to 1) educate our children and 2) keep us safe … and dealing with the related issue of
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Letters to the Editor
Long-term housing solution
Dear Editor,
I read the story about the proposed subdivision of 250 homes below Glassy Mountain. This subdivision is too high of an impact for that area, and I oppose it. I’m disappointed the county government has given the project the green light to go forward. A lot was said, but the discussion didn’t touch on the underlying problem
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It’s just a truck?
Saturday is a day I like to think of as a free day. Occasionally a plan will evolve to do something fun on Saturday, as opposed to work in the yard, in the house or on the computer. This Saturday was wide open for recreational opportunities, so I was ripe for some fun.
At first, I thought it would be fun to go see Wonder Woman. But after striking out on getting someone to go with me, I switched to another plan. I decided to go kayaking on Jocassee with friends.
First, I’d have to see if I could get the farm truck. It’s large enough to carry three kayaks. Fowler said he didn’t need it, as he planned to plow Saturday, so he filled it up and helped me load my kayak and paddle.
The plan was to meet at the friend’s house, then go to Panera Bread for lunch with a
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Finding good respite care
The most difficult thing for many people is to give themselves rest and relaxation when they are caring for a loved one with dementia. Women are programmed to be caregivers to babies, family members and loved ones. Many men take on this role 
very effectively. As a result, we, as family caregivers, exhaust ourselves. Here are some tips that might be helpful:
First and foremost, ask family, church family, neighbors and friends for their help. Often, they are willing to help if suggesting a task they feel comfortable doing. I have found people like making meals, driving your loved one to hair and other appointments, visiting, and helping with tasks around the
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