Sometimes we remember things as being better than they actually are. And sometimes we remember them as being worse. The test of time is a good one to apply as a standard in rating books, movies and life experiences.
To be fair, something that seemed wonderful years ago might not seem as good now. This subject has come to the forefront because “Gone with the Wind” is being rereleased for the big screen.
We went to see the movie as a class field trip when we were in sixth grade, or maybe

I made the terrible mistake of watching “The Fault in Our Stars” last weekend. It’s an epic film if you want something that reminds you of the amazing and powerful love story your life is lacking.
Sorry to be so cynical, but sometimes I have to let that voice out of my head or, I fear, my brain might implode.
Truth be told, I thoroughly

Every dog that comes into our lives is special. And the little dog we lost in April was such a part of our lives that her death left a huge hole in our hearts.

Cheetah was a five-pound Chihuahua with a huge personality. She was dearly loved and a part of all our activities. When she died, I thought I would never have another dog. And for six months, those were my feelings on the subject.

And then we visited friends who had a Chihuahua named Bullet. He is the son of Trigger, who is the son of Pistol.

He ran over and jumped into my lap and worked the magic spells of dogs. He melted my heart.

It was time to look around and consider what dog would be a good fit

I’m finally getting over this injured leg. The doctor was putting a bandage that prevented me from taking a shower all week. After complaints from several of my friends, she decided a different bandage would work just as well.

Now that I am better, I need to set new habits. I need to exercise every day. Just saying that I get plenty of exercise in my daily routine does not work any more. Honestly, if I only took in 100 calories a day, that would work. But since I have the diet of a small herd of cattle, I need to be more active.

I can find my old basketball at home. My old goal is now part of a fallen tree, but I can drive over to one of the parks the county now supplies and play there. I guess the kids the parks are built for are too busy playing video games to use the parks. Luckily, I’m not smart enough to be any good at the video games, so I still need a

Where is Congress?

Dear Editor,

Where in the heck is Congress? They should be in session debating a course of action for Iraq. Instead they are on a five-week recess running for reelection instead working for the security of this country.

Protecting their cushy jobs is more important than protecting the USA.

They take the month of July off, work eight days in August and then take five weeks off to run for reelection, then people get upset over a salute.

Here’s a real scandal. One-third of our embassies do not have an ambassador. The Russian ambassador was finally

Spring is epitomized as the season of renewal, yet I feel more energized during fall than I do during any other time of the year. On Sept. 22, at 10:29 p.m. EDT (if you want to get as technically specific as The Farmer’s Almanac), the autumnal equinox quietly heralded the fall season to the Northern Hemisphere.

My friends, fall is here, and I am elated.

Fall has been my favorite season since childhood — which is somewhat odd in that we never had a true autumn in Miami. Typically it was December before the humidity and temperatures dropped enough to warrant wearing the lightest of jackets or sweaters. Since making my home in South Carolina, I’ve had the great fortune of being able to enjoy fall

This newspaper is dated October 1, 2014, which means my birthday is only 30 days away.

I was born on Halloween, which confused me when I was young — why did other kids get candy for my birthday? And the part about folks dressing in costumes to help me celebrate confused me too.

I’m in the middle stages of birthdays. At first, you are excited for each birthday. Sometimes it comes with new privileges. Sixteen means you are old enough to drive. Eighteen and you can finally vote, though you honestly can’t think of a reason to vote for anyone. At 25, your car insurance rates supposedly go down.

I guess perhaps they were lowered from “way too high” to

Does anyone remember Saturday mornings back in the day when the wind blew over the wheat field and the masked man thundered across the Earth on the great white stallion?

We knew he was coming when we heard the blare of the trumpets from William Tell’s Overture and heard Fred Foy’s legendary opening to the show.

“Hi-Yo, Silver! A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty ‘Hi-Yo Silver’ … The Lone Ranger! With his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the early Western United States. Nowhere in the pages of history can one find a greater champion of justice. Return with us now to those thrilling days of

Maybe you don’t consider yourself bilingual. And when you fill out an application for employment, perhaps you answer the question that now appears more often, “Are you fluent in a foreign language?” with a no.

But you must not underestimate your abilities.

If you are a human being living on planet Earth, you are much more accomplished than you may think. You are a master of a universal language that has more power to unite people and communicate than Spanish, Latin, French,

I have made up my mind. Many of you know that I’ve had problems with a wound on my right leg. The doctors had treated the wound and said it was cured. It only had to heal up on the surface. That was about a year ago.

Recently, my leg started hurting and breaking out in red spots. I went to the doctor, who gave me some antibiotics and said the wound should have completely healed by now. Somehow an infection had gotten into the wound, causing my pain now. So in addition to giving me antibiotics, he began working on finally getting the wound healed, to avoid other problems.

The first week he wrapped my leg in bandages completely, and said not to get the bandages wet. That meant no