Category Archives: Opinions
The music runs through it
HYome musicians play with their fingers. Some play with their hearts. The 
difference is real. I’ve heard wonderful technicians who lack heart and wonderful emotional players who make you feel but lack technical proficiency.
Every now and then, you run across one of the rare ones who is able to do both. But if I had to choose, I’d pick a heart player over a technician every time.
We went to the S.C. State Fiddling Championship at Hagood Mill on Saturday. We sat in the shade in our lawn chairs, drinking lemonade, and
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Being thoughtful – on purpose
Over a 12-year span at UCLA, American college basketball coach John Wooden won 10 national championships and the school’s total of 11 remains a record today.
Wooden is regarded as one of the most successful coaches in sports history, and more importantly an even greater
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Park discount still a great deal
If you’d planned to pick up a couple of senior passes to the national parks as 
part of your autumn leaf-peeping travels, you’ll need to increase your budget. The lifetime access pass has gone from $10 to a whopping $80.
The senior pass (full name: America the Beautiful — The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass) is a bargain, providing
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Claims decisions in just 30 days
The Department of Veterans Affairs new Decision Ready Claims program promises to get your claim sorted out and decided in 30 days. The pilot 
program started in Minnesota in May. Since then, the VA has been training people to push claims through quickly. Now, everyone is set to go. All they need is the claims to start rolling in.
Here are your easy steps: Hook up with an accredited Veterans Service Organization, likely the American
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If you build it, they will come
We left Wednesday last week on a mission. Since I’m a member of the Birchwood Center for Arts and Folk Life, I’m on a committee to open an Appalachian art and craft gallery in the newly named Holly Springs Center. It’s an ideal location and a beautiful property.
So we visited three other centers in two states to borrow ideas, check out display methods and pick brains. What a great time.
When the school district closed Holly Springs Elementary School, I was shocked. I couldn’t understand why this nationally
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Help! I know nothing about our finances
My husband always took care of our finances. Recently I learned from our accountant that our tax returns were not filed correctly.
My husband has the beginning stages of dementia, and his memory is declining along with his organizational skills. He never shared with me the bookkeeping, our stocks and bonds, or any other
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Which flu shot is right for you?
It’s that time again … flu season is on the way. Vaccines already are available in most locations, so we have no excuse not to get a flu shot soon.
Sometimes the dilemma can be deciding which shot to get. Most flu vaccines contain protection from three strains of influenza, called trivalent vaccines. Those contain two A strains and one B strain of influenza.
Some of them add coverage for a fourth strain. Those shots are called
quadrivalent and contain two A and two B strains. With two Bs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t have to flip a coin to decide between two equal B vaccines; it can just include both.
In addition, there are high-dose flu shots especially for seniors age 65 and older. As we age, our immune systems don’t respond the same way, and a regular flu shot might not get us the strong immune response we need to avoid the flu.
The strains change every year, which is why most people need to “renew” their flu vaccine each year. The CDC tracks which influenza hits, and when, in making its calculations for the following year. For the 2016-2017 season, it calculated that those who received flu shots reduced their overall risk by 34 percent for A strains and 56 percent for B strains.
Your best (safest) bet: Ask your doctor which flu shot you should get. Some of us under 65 shouldn’t have the high-dose shot for one medical reason or another. Don’t delay; it takes about two weeks to have immune coverage after receiving a shot.
If you have Medicare Part B, the cost of the shot is covered, as well as the vaccine for pneumonia and hepatitis B.
© 2017 King Features Synd., Inc.
Courier Letters to the Editor
One letter that messes us all up
Dear Editor,
Today there is a letter that messes us all up. Just one little letter out of all 26 in the English alphabet, yet it is powerful enough to bring torment, destruction, possibly death. The letter “I.” “I” thinks it knows more than God Himself and boldly goes forth into the world to try and prove it daily. No concern about what God thinks or commands, because “I” knows best. “I” myself and no one else.
“I” thinks it can run everything alone. Run, however, when “I” gets involved,
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If only fire ants could drown
Did anybody notice the island of floating fire ants shown in the flood waters of Hurricane Harvey? Well I did, and it gave me the heebie jeebies.
And that’s no exaggeration. I literally can’t tell you how deeply my dislike of and aversion to fire ants runs. We all know they’re virtually impossible to get rid of. Yes, there is poison available, and you do have to use it. But that doesn’t really rid your property of this predator. A few always survive and then relocate. The summer after you distribute the poison, usually just a few
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High praise for our caregivers
Life is wonderful. We have our friends, lots of activities and we’re enjoying retirement to the fullest.
Then a health crisis arises. We need help. We turn to our loved ones. If they can help they certainly do, but they may need relief from another family member or a professional
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