Category Archives: Opinions
Giving cheerfully and accepting gratefully
Success is a popular subject and an exciting attitude that fuels the imagination and drives our motivation. The fervent desire to succeed 
seems to be embedded within our DNA, and I see nothing wrong with an honest inspiration to accomplish certain goals. Even the Bible talks about “pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” and refers to winning and being victorious as a spiritual blessing in accordance with God’s perfect will. Yes, success can be satisfying if our motives are pure but the real objective may be to understand what it really means. It’s not a sin to be proud of our accomplishments, in fact, we pray for our children’s success and encourage them as they pursue their dreams. However, good fortune even though associated with a healthy
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Wait times getting better, but …
It wasn’t so long ago that veterans were waiting a very long time for medical appointments. While clerks fiddled with fake appointment 
books and scribbled in notebooks instead of entering appointments correctly into the computer, some veterans died before being seen. In Phoenix it’s thought that 200 veterans died while waiting on care.
The wait times for appointments under 30 days is looking better, at
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‘The Perfect Scam’
Having trouble keeping up with all the latest scams? AARP has just made it a bit easier with its 12-episode weekly series “The Perfect 
Scam.”
Go online to www.aarp.org/podcasts/the-perfect-scam and start with Episode 1 — the grandparent scam. This might well be the cruelest scam directed against seniors. We love our grandchildren, and if one calls saying they’re in trouble, we’ll try to help, of course. The problem comes when
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Real heroes all around us
We hear a lot about heroes in this day and age. Accomplished athletes are seen as idols for throwing around a ball, along with blockbuster fantasies that portray individuals who can fly and use their incredible super-powers to save the universe. However, in the real world, it’s encouraging to know there are humble and hardly noticed heroes all around us. These selfless individuals have no desire to be praised or even recognized. They are a special group of human beings who are not only determined
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Courier Letters to the Editor 4-18-18
Events set for National Day of Prayer
Dear Editor,
A nation that prays together stays together. While our nation has and will always undergo “growing pains,” one “constant” in our nation is prayer. The founders and framers of our nation recognized that God was their strength. This truth is recorded in our nation’s founding documents. Our national monuments all make reference to our need and our allegiance to God. Starting with George Washington,
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What will you do this summer?
Step One around here, the minute the snow starts to melt, is to grab the latest newsletter from the senior center and see what trips are planned. They’re always low in cost, to a great location and someone else drives the bus. Some trips include a tour guide at the other end, with lunch planned at a wonderful place with a view out the windows. If your senior center has trips like this, be sure to sign up early. Spaces will go fast.
Here are some more ideas to stay busy this summer:
• Talk to friends and neighbors about daily walking, either early in the
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If you build it, they will come
I’m so excited about the Birchwood Gallery grand opening this Friday and Saturday at the Holly Springs Center. The Birchwood Artisan 
Gallery currently includes the arts and crafts of 42 artisans from our region. And their work is good.
I’ve always wanted a regional marketplace in our end of the state, and now we have one. And that’s not all that’s going on up there.
Like a lot of other people, I was stunned when the elementary school was closed. But the hard work and incredible spirit
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‘Opportunity zones’ could transform communities
Editor’s note: South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster recently designated parts of Easley as an “opportunity zone, based on Sen. Tim Scott’s Investing in Opportunity Act. The Post and Courier in Charleston published this editorial about the dozens of areas around 
the Palmetto State who received the designation, designed to help spur economic development.
A bright idea for spurring investment in economically distressed areas, approved as part of the federal tax reform bill, has the potential to pump much-needed capital into some of the poorest communities in South Carolina and
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Being reunited with our parents forever
I went for a quiet walk the other day, to relax and sort my thoughts like the stacks of messages and notes on my desk. While gazing at the clear sky and breathing in the cool air, it dawned on me that it’s been almost two years since my dad passed away. Honestly, it seems like yesterday. I realize that many people grew up without a father and I’m very sympathetic about that. Thank
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You never know what the day will bring
It’s been years since I traveled to Dahlonega, Ga. The last time was on a geneaology quest with an old friend who was trying to find information about her maternal grandmother.
Well, we did discover records of her relatives. There were five listed in the Lunacy Book at the 
courthouse. Now, I cautioned her not to take it too hard, because years ago malnutrition could mimic signs of insanity. This was before they started fortifying cornmeal, so that explains a lot. But she decided not to follow up on that particular line.
Last weekend I visited Dahlonega again. This time with friends. We went to the Dahlonega Literary Festival and the Science Festival, which were going on at the same time. North Georgia University was running it, and it was excellent.
There were free programs, speakers and lots of regional authors there with their books.
One of the programs we attended was about traces of dinosaurs presented by a professor from
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