Category Archives: Opinions
Courier Letters to the Editor 2-12-20
An alternate perspective
Dear Editor,
I read with much interest the letter from Olivia Fowler and was following her train of thought until she got to the part where she called President Trump a draft-dodger and then attacked Trump for his comments about McCain. My perspective on these two items are so much different than hers.
First, I don’t hold any ill feelings toward anyone who avoided going to Vietnam. This was a conflict and was never a declared war halfway around the globe in a country we knew nothing about, and most of us had no interest in their affairs. President Johnson (Democrat) turned “giving help to some insurgents” into a full-scale debacle that cost the lives of more than 50,000 brave Americans. This was the first war the USA ever lost! I have friends that are very proud of their service in Vietnam, and I am proud of them, but again, I hold no ill feelings toward others who could legally avoid going. Thank God President Nixon (Republican) ended our involvement.
Secondly, I will remember McCain as a very bitter, hateful senator who with his last words on
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Happy accidents and science
Happy accidents have changed the world for good many times through history.
Such as nixtamalization — soaking corn in limewater, which of course gave us hominy (grits!) and tortillas. How did somebody think to do that? Nobody knows for sure, but it makes corn a lot more nutritious (although that’s probably not why whoever accidentally discovered it decided to do it again.)
I believe there’s a high probability that there are incredibly useful processes yet undiscovered — simple, basic things like nixtamalization — that someone from another planet who came here
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Our lives are filled with blessings and choices
We had a power shortage today for several hours that reminded me of how dependent we are on electricity.
The house was dark, and every time I went to do something, I realized there were no lights and I could not see. Finally, I turned off the flashlight and just sat down in my recliner and tried to relax.
Within minutes, I was browsing on my phone while considering, what in the world would we do
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Courier Letters to the Editor 2-5-19
One more black eye for the nation
Dear Editor,
One of the most profound experiences of my life was some years ago when I began collecting oral histories from veterans from Pickens County who fought during World War II and the Korean War. I have a passion for history and a great respect for all those men who fought for
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Our latest governmental folly
I know you’re probably dying to hear what I think about my cousin Harry, the Duke of Sussex, abdicating his princely duties in favor of becoming a commoner like the rest of us.
Well, I might touch on that in a little bit, but first I really feel like I should comment on a subject a little closer to home: the Great Impeachment Spectacle taking place in our nation’s capital.
I am not going to take sides in this fight. I just want to think through, with you, some of the dynamics of this latest episode in the incredible governmental follies of our times.
Let me start by saying that if I ever have to go on trial for allegedly committing a crime, I hope I get a jury that is a
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Courier Letters to the Editor
More than just a color
Dear Editor,
I am sure many have heard about the debate on the color scheme for the restoration of Bruce Field. Pickens High School’s colors are blue and white with a bit of red, and that has been the color of the stadium wall on Jewell Street.
The city of Pickens owns the field, and the wall has been pressure-washed and is awaiting paint. The city was talking about painting the wall a dark gray. The reasoning was it would be cheaper to maintain and match the paint on the Doodle Trail station. (You can see the painted
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The walk of encouragement
I was having a discussion with a friend the other day about how it seems that so many people are living in sadness and discouragement when he mentioned something that really made me think. He said that it was impossible to be depressed and walk in the joy of God’s presence at the same time.
After our conversation, I continued to ponder this statement, and by the way, I do agree with it. I’m not saying that developing an optimistic lifestyle is easy by any stretch of the imagination, but I definitely believe it’s possible.
Since a healthy relationship with the Lord is measured according to the level of our spiritual joy, a lifestyle of encouragement will have
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Focusing on roadside safety
It has been some time since a column has been submitted, and frankly, all I can say about that is, “I do not want to be in the newspaper business; too many constant deadlines that are 
always pressing.”
Despite my inability of coming up with articles in a timely manner, many ideas float through my mind that would be excellent columns; however, getting myself to let them take root into typed words is a challenge. Today, though, I find myself with an issue that is too important not to make the effort — roadway emergency scene safety.
In the first two weeks of 2020, seven roadway responders have been struck by vehicles and killed while assisting the public. This is a disturbing way
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Still making music together
My twin brother Paul and I were reminiscing the other day about our respective musical careers and how we had gone our separate ways in the mid-1970s, and it occurred to me that 1980 was 40 years ago!
Now, 1980 might sound like ancient times, if you, like most people, are younger than I am. But to me … well, I hadn’t thought about it being 40 years ago.
So this month rings out as a milestone to me, because it was in January 1980 that I met Kathy, the love of my life, the woman who would become my wife.
Let me back up just a little and tell you how it
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Uncle Walter and the highway patrol
Mama used to claim that Uncle Walter would argue with a signpost. This was a pretty accurate 
summing up of one of his well-known tendencies. I don’t know if he actually believed he was always right, but he certainly put up a very convincing defense of his position on any issue.
He was canny in business. Some thought him an operator. Regardless of that, it’s true he knew how to make a trade to his advantage. I don’t believe anyone ever bested him on a business deal, and he could talk his way through almost any negotiation and come out on the winning side. He was a man who took advantage of every opportunity that came his way.
Now one of his boon companions was an old friend, Smith Purcell. Smith would drive out on
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