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

No Strategy

Dear Editor,

Part of watching politicians talk and news coverage is making a sport out of picking which phrase will be hyped up into its own news event.

When the president responded, “I have no strategy…,” to a reporter’s question, I knew that would be the one. Those who oppose the president at every opportunity have used it to suggest that he’s lacking in leadership and planning the fight against this particular terrorist group. And the news media accommodated that aspect. I think that’s the

Sometimes it’s hard to listen attentively, especially when people leave the most important information until the end of their speech. I am an undisciplined listener. I listen but I don’t hear. All it takes is one word that may catch my attention and snatch my thought process completely away from the topic. This is how I miss the crucial part of directions, schedules and appointments. Unless the speaker is riveting in his presentation and commands my attention somehow, my thoughts flit around from one thing to another, not necessarily in any logical order.

It’s not that I’m consciously inattentive. It’s just that the things I pay attention to may not be what the speaker is saying. He may have wonderful information. But if he speaks in a monotone or has an unpleasant delivery, I may be focused on the collar of his shirt, trying to decide if it’s permanent press that was left in the dryer too

I’m not even certain where to begin my column this week. Current events have provided enough fodder for me to write one column per day and still not cover all the thoughts that I’ve been mulling around in my mind since last I wrote, but I suppose like diving into a freezing cold pool, this is one of those times when I simply jump in feet first.

During my day job, I work for a program through Behavioral Health Services called Empowering Families. Tied closely to the Department of Social Services, I do home visitation with families who have been reported to DSS for alleged abuse or neglect of their child or children. I go to the homes of my families and assess for safety and risk factors that might lead to abuse or neglect. My goal is to look at the strengths the family has and build upon those, connecting them with the resources and support they need so that they can be completely independent and self-sustaining.

Above all this, my job is to ensure that the children in these families are cared for in the ways children should be — that their basic needs are met and that they are loved and treated

Gillespie looks back at board tenure

Dear Editor,

I decided not to run for reelection for the school board because I can no longer devote the time necessary to being a school board trustee. I want to thank the public for their encouragement the last four years. I recently read my campaign flyer from four years ago and I am happy with what we accomplished.

From 2006 through 2008, superintendent Lee D’Andrea hired administrators from all around the state and paid them excessive starting salaries. This was taking money out of the classroom, and I pledged if I was elected to help “reduce excessive administrative salaries and redirect the savings to the classroom.” By promoting from within