Category Archives: Opinions
Hug a firefighter
Less than four of every 1,000 South Carolinians are firefighters, yet any time of the day in any weather every day of the year, when we call, they come to our aid regardless of how dangerous the situation might be.
Whether it is to fight fires in our homes and cars or in our businesses and industries, firefighters are there. When there is a water rescue to be conducted, urban search and rescue in times of natural or man-made disasters, they are there. When adults, children and even pets need to be extricated from dangerous situations, our
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Special music evokes emotion
I love music. Although I have no talent for producing musical sounds, it seems to permeate my whole being when the right pieces are played.
Did you ever notice that there is music for every mood? There is special music for each of us that brings forth feelings and memories. Some music energizes us — other music might make us feel quiet, spiritual or even sad. Why is this?
Studies show that an unborn baby with six months of development has the potential for thought. He feels the rhythm of his heart beat. He feels rhythm and sound of his mother’s voice
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Letters to the Editor
Prayer in Pickens
Dear Editor,
If you only look at the “mainstream media,” everything is bad. It seems that we live in a “bad news” culture.
But I know and you know that there is good news out there. Just look at the Lifestyles section of last week’s Pickens County Courier, where there was a great article on prayer. Hmmm,
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Letters to the Editor
Robotics team wins state title
Dear Editor,
U.S. News and World Report ranked S.C. schools dead last. Well, don’t you believe it.
In a previous letter to the editor, I offered our first-hand account of our experience with both Colorado and S.C. schools. I pointed out that the dedication of specific individuals and specific
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Old times there are not forgotten
The lot was across the road from the house. In the lot were the stable and the corn silos. The pasture was large and lay between a field of cotton and one of tobacco. Behind the pasture was 
a tobacco barn.
The pack house was along the edge of the side yard next to the barn and the old carriage house and the pig lot. An ancient anvil which had been on the farm since before my great-granddaddy’s time was still in front of the carriage house, no longer used, but too heavy to move easily. The pond was further back, separated from the backyard by a winding sandy road that circled back behind a grassy field where we took Star, our cow, each morning in spring and staked her out to graze.
Grandmama always reminded us not to let Star graze near green onions, but to stake her in
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Where shall the live?
Statistically, more than 90 percent of seniors wish to live and age in their own home. Most seniors surveyed are relatively healthy. They can care for themselves and still enjoy activities with friends and neighbors. Then tragedy strikes either slowly (with dementia) or suddenly (with other illnesses). Adult children are called. The picture changes.
The question becomes, ‘Where is it best for the infirmed family member to live — at their home, at a relative’s home, or in a facility?”
No healthy seniors want to face this question. They avoid it at all cost, because they don’t
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One SC woman making a difference — globally
This is another column in an occasional series about people in South Carolina who are making a difference. Jennifer Jones-Wood is our guest columnist, and she writes about her work in South Carolina to help young girls around the world.
Today, 130,000,000 girls do not have access to education. Please let that sink in.
One hundred and thirty million girls do not have access to education. If you were to count 
from 1 to 130,000,000 without stopping it would take you approximately eight years. Now that I have your attention let me tell you about The ONE Campaign.
ONE was started in May of 2004 by U2 front man Bono and Bobby Shriver whose family started Special Olympics. ONE is an international, non-partisan, non-profit, advocacy group that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, by raising awareness and
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Letters to the Editor
Recycling plastics
Dear Editor,
Plastics were first used by the Mesoamericans for balls, bands and figures. We use plastics for prescription bottles, grocery bags and the plastic hoist on the back of the knot of clip-on ties.
We use plastic in chewing gum, and chewing gum has been proven by a University of Reading
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As the world turns
We’re living in a complicated world. But even when we’re almost afraid to listen to the news, we need to remember that these unfolding events are just a continuing chapter in world history.
Now some don’t believe there is such a thing as evil. For whatever reason — greed, power or fanaticism — the theory is that evil and crazy are the same thing. But not everything can be explained by saying a person is suffering from mental illness.
We all know a lot of people who are a bit unbalanced. They’re everywhere, and the day we run out of coffee is one of those days on Fowler Farm.
But even without coffee in the day, I don’t believe it follows that we would
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Courier Letters to the Editor
Prayers from Pickens
Dear Editor,
There is a saying “there are no atheists in the foxhole,” meaning that when the rubber meets the road and we are out of options, we recognize that God is God … and we are not. We can come in prayer to the One who can respond to our cry for help.
To some, to many, to most, today, our nation is in the foxhole. The godly
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