Category Archives: Opinions
‘Eight Flew Out, Seven Returned’
I wanted to share this heartwarming story as part of my holiday gift to readers, titled “Eight Flew Out, Seven Returned.”
Twas the day after Christmas and all through the wood
The deer were out prancing and looking for food.
A doe crossed the road at just the wrong time
And a car hit her hard on the road’s center line.
We looked out the window and just as we feared.
The road was obstructed with carcass of deer.
The traffic kept coming with screeching of brakes
They tried not to crash, for their lives
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Simplicity, fairness, competitiveness
South Carolina is a business-friendly state, a fact long evident by its aggressive pursuit of new industrial investment and jobs. Tax incentives play a big part in the state’s commitment to economic development, the success of which speaks for itself.
But those tax breaks can create an uneven playing field for existing businesses, and should encourage legislative tax reform. That’s one of the surprising conclusions of a tax study released last month by the state Chamber of Commerce, aimed largely at improving the state’s business climate.
The Chamber commissioned the Tax Foundation, a Washington-D.C.-based think tank, to develop options that are generally
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O come let us adore him
Christ is called Emanuel, which means, “God is with us” and we are so grateful that he came to save us. Yes, we enjoy the nativity and he was once a baby, but he’s not a baby today. He was born, lived and was willing to be 
crucified because he loved us more than anything in the world. Whatever you are going through today, be encouraged to know that God wants to be with you and is more than able to take care of you. He is El Shaddai, God Almighty, The All Sufficient One! Here are seven attributes of our creator that remind us why we celebrate the incarnation and sing, “O come let us adore him.”
1. God knows: God is omniscient and is fully aware when we are going
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The luckiest dog in America
Have you ever seen a program on CBS called “Lucky Dog?” We ran across this on a rainy Saturday morning, and my wish is that all our dogs could see it. It could be a tutorial for dogs in teaching them how to interact with humans in acceptable and desirable ways.
The man in “Lucky Dog” is somewhere in America and is like a super animal hypnotizer. He goes to shelters and rescues animals who are destined to be put down if not adopted within a certain period.
Dogs from the streets, abandoned dogs and unwanted dogs are all stars on this show.
Once an ownerless dog goes to Lucky Dog Ranch, he gets an expert
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Letters to the Editor
A red, white and blue Christmas
Dear Editor,
I was thinking about Christmas just now, and of how we live in such a great country. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a red, white and blue Christmas? Then I realized we already do. Well, song-wise we do.
First off, there’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” as sung by the late Gene Autry. Then there was “White Christmas,” as sung by the late Bing Crosby. Finally we have “Blue Christmas,” sung by the late Elvis Presley.
That would make red, white and blue. Just something to think about.
Eddie Boggs
Westminster
Short on 2019 resolutions? Try these on for size
What are you going to do in 2019? Do you have a list of resolutions all ready to go?
Making a resolution to go to the gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday is all well and good, and sometimes we keep those types of vows. Mostly we don’t. Resolutions that we’re most likely to keep involve doing things for others.
If you’re more comfortable taking small bites, rather than committing to doing something for a whole year, try making one resolution for every month or season of the year.
Sign up to be a financial assistant to someone who needs help writing
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SC facing tough year with flu
South Carolina during one week in early December was the sickest state in the country, with 4.3 percent of the population (about 176,300 people) 
experiencing flu-like symptoms, according to Kinsa, a company tracking where flu-like illness is spreading in real time with the help of its smart thermometers.
Kinsa has collected more than 10 million (anonymous) temperature readings (averaged 40,000 per day last flu season) and the Kinsa Insights team tracks outbreaks of the flu by studying aggregate data of where fever and other symptoms are popping up around the country.
Kinsa says its numbers are nearly perfectly aligned with the CDC’s influenza data over the past three years.
And the data show South Carolina is having a tough go in 2018. The number of illnesses represents an 89 increase over this time last year and a
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Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
Editor’s Note: In 1897, 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus 
Church has since become history’s most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages. We offer the letter and editorial response to you in this week’s issue. Merry Christmas.
Dear Editor:
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, ‘If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O’Hanlon
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect,
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Enough to warm the cockles of your heart
The fire in the old fireplace in the front living room was burning steadily, putting out the only warmth in the living room.
I lay on the rug before the fire with my stocking. We’d finished opening gifts in front of the tree, Grandmama in her chair wearing her green quilted 
robe, Uncle Walter fully dressed in his starched white shirt and grey sweater and Mama in her bright red cardigan. Grandmama had left and gone to dress, to prepare for kitchen activities, Uncle Walter had thumped down the hall with his walking stick to help, and Mama was busy picking up wrapping paper and throwing it into the fire, bustling around, straightening up the room.
I lay there in my pajamas with my stocking, choosing a piece of candy from it that was slightly fuzzy from spending a sticky night in the felt toe. It didn’t bother either of us to suck on fuzzy candy. It was the ribbon striped hard candy that only appeared at Christmas and tasted like wintergreen.
We lay there, listening to a broadcast on the radio of Charles Dickens’ “A
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Others are watching and listening
Even though it rarely crosses our mind, there is always someone listening to what we are saying. Words are not just meaningless sounds, but were created to communicate and most importantly to relay God’s thoughts. They contain the power to influence and persuade the listener, which means those who speak are being held accountable for their intentions.
Words that are presented from a negative attitude can cause much damage, while words spoken from a heavenly influence are filled with life and can bring hope, faith and encouragement. A wonderful reminder about how we are to guard our communication is recorded in Philippians 4:8, “Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true,
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