Thank for support for festival

Dear Editor,

A little more than a week ago, our school hosted a very successful Fall Festival. The PTA would like to take a moment to thank all who contributed to this event.

First and foremost, we thank Mrs. Terry, principal of A.R. Lewis Elementary, for her support of the festival. We also wish to thank the teachers, the staff and the parents who donated their time to set up the event, run games, snap pictures, sell balloons, serve food and clean up the event. We also wish to recognize the following sorority sisters from Clemson University who volunteered time to work our event: Megan Meadows of Kappa Delta and Mary Gamble and

It’s time to plant bulbs. This is a wonderful time in the gardening season in that the slate is wiped clean. There are no weeds screaming to be pulled or invasive pests devouring leaves… It’s over. Yes, there are a few scraggly petunias hanging on, and the roses are blooming again, but we know their cycle is almost done.

This year’s garden will soon be last year’s garden, and the time is right to forgive ourselves for things left undone in August and September and to plan anew.

Each fall brings a vision of what could bloom next spring. In mind’s eye are thick clumps of heathy tulips, untouched by ground squirrels and other vermin. Daffodils are nodding their bright heads in sunlight. The smiling faces of pansies greet us

My health problems associated with this wound that never completely heals seem to be close to coming to an end. Each week I go to the doctor and I am told that the wound is improving. Then they wrap me up in bandages that cannot be changed until just before the next week’s appointment.

The leg must be getting better, because nobody enjoys seeing me that often. So with the leg finally getting healed, I need to move on to my next health problem. My weight.

Since I have been disconnected from my former position, I’ve put on a few pounds. I’m not sure how many, because our bathroom scale at some point does not tell the actual weight. It just politely says, “One

Terrorism revisited

Dear Editor,

It’s always been a difficult thing to think about: terrorism, massacres, genocides, beheadings and such. But we’ve known about them for generations. There have been the extermination camps of Nazism, the killing fields of Cambodia, several mass killings scattered around the world from Africa to South America to Yugoslovia. In the Middle East nations, it seems one group or another has been killing people for decades. Well, it’s not just the Middle East nations either — might as well say in some parts of the world. I suppose one of the downsides of old age is to have witnessed by television images most of the worst in human history.

For sure, this latest terrorist group is a bad crowd. They must fancy themselves greater than the worst of what has been. Maybe they are in proportion to the region’s population. They make videos of their actions and post them on the Internet for the world to see. That makes me wonder how World War II would have played out if the Nazis had

God’s Law vs. Man’s Law

Dear Editor,

God created the Heavens, the Earth, all living things and created man in His own image. He created male and female and charged them with replenishing the Earth — not male and male or female and female to do the job, but male and female.

He said He would be their God and they would be His people. In Deuteronomy Chapter 28 verses 1-14, He tells how He

Global warming has so many far-reaching effects that just listing them is almost impossible.

The sad thing is many people with the authority to address the problem are blinded by concerns, largely to do with profit and loss, that encourage denial and defensiveness.

When big problems aren’t addressed, they lead to others.

For example, due to the fact that we’ve had some milder winters, there have been bumper crops of acorns. Why is this

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