With age comes perspective, that most valuable quality and one poor Chicken Little did not possess. After all, he was a very young chicken.

In comparing my life to that of Chicken Little, I do feel that in this one example I have come out ahead. Yes, friends, I feel superior to Chicken Little. What an accomplishment. This should not be considered a trivial achievement either, because I come from a long line of champion worry warts. These people believed in being prepared for the worst. And yes, to give credit where credit is due, I know they had experienced the worst.

Most of our ancestors lived through war, pestilence, disease and poverty.

So yes, they had reason to worry about the future. On their behalf, I must say they never quit and when each crisis occurred they found a way to meet the challenge. Chicken Little did not share their experiences. Far from it. He spent most of his time and energy focused on responding to something that didn’t happen.

His motives were pure. No question. He lacked perspective and common sense. Chicken Little would have benefited greatly if he had reflected a little more wisely. If he had paused to explore the facts, analyze the situation and act appropriately, everyone would have been spared and we would never have had to

Explaining accreditation

Dear Editor,

By law, the South Carolina Department of Education accredits all public education units — school boards, school district operations and schools, and certifies the diplomas issued by school districts in the state. The School District of Pickens County is accredited by the state, which in its 2012-13 report gave our district a 3.93 (out of 4.0) score. The state gave our school board the highest score of 4.0 or “All Clear,” showing it was and is compliant with state education laws, regulations and standards.

AdvancEd is a private organization our school district pays a fee to to accredit its schools, board and district. This is separate from the accreditation process of the Department of Education; it is voluntary and not required by law. Colleges look at this AdvancED accreditation, so our district chooses to participate in its accreditation process.

In December, AdvancED recommended renewal of our accreditation. Like most all audits or review processes,

Wake up, SC residents

Dear Editor,

The article about the fish in South Carolina lakes being unsafe for human consumption is appalling.

Our lakes are still polluted, and our rivers still have contamination from waste. We have a toxic mess to clean up, and what is our governor doing about the problem? Nothing.

Before Nikki Haley became governor, she attended a conference hosted by ALEC. At this conference there were workshops on how to write legislation to bypass the EPA regulations so industries can dump more waste into our environment.

We can expect nothing from her, and our two senators were endorsed by the American chemical industries, so

What comes to mind when one thinks of Pickens County? Is it the beauty of the peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains on our horizon? Is it the many natural breathtaking landscapes — waterfalls, lakes, acres of trees and the countless hidden treasures? Is it the stunning Azaleas? Is it the hometown, great-place-to-raise-a-family appeal? It would have to be all of this and more, as it seems, because more and more major corporations — retail chains, restaurant chains, major manufacturers — are flocking to Pickens County. Even though this county is continuing to spread its wings and fly farther, it maintains the small-town, friendly neighbor appeal that we all hold dear.

It all started when Cedarwood Development completed the construction of the massive Easley Town Center, which holds more than 500,000 square feet of retail space. After Walmart

After a few difficult weeks, I am finally getting back to normal, or at least my definition of the word.

It started a few weeks ago when my father was admitted to the hospital. There were some mistakes with his tests, so he needed to have more tests made before he could go home. A few days in the hospital turned into one week, which my father did not like.

He began to complain about whatever he could think of — the food, the nurses, etc. He swore he would never go to that particular hospital again. He was ready to go sing with his friends and the hospital had not better keep him too long.

Meanwhile, my mother passed out while she was getting together thing for my father at the hospital.

Both are better now. We’re still not sure why my mother passed out, but she’s trying to be more careful now.

So then the engine in my car gave out. It turns out that the oil

Once more a lesson has been learned, but I’m not exactly sure what the lesson is. Riding the river is one of my favorite summer activities. This doesn’t mean it’s something I excel at. It just means it’s something I love to do.

However, it isn’t something I’m allowed to do alone, as Fowler has put his foot down about that because for some reason he thinks it might not be the safest thing to do. And he is probably right. Take a recent Thursday.

Iva and I had previously planned a river run in the kayaks and chose the 12 Mile, as it’s conveniently located and seemed to be high enough to give us a pretty smooth trip.

Since the 12 Mile is shallow anyway, when the water is low you can

My problems continue to pile up.

At the end of my last column, my father was in the hospital and my mother had fallen and injured herself and was therefore staying with my sister, Rhonda, for a few days.

I am a terrible doctor. But my father is a far worse patient. I honestly feel sorry for the folks who had to deal with him after he started to feel better.

It does not take B.F. Robinson long to decide he should be going home. Plans were for him to stay until Friday, but for his sake — or that of the hospital staff — he was released Thursday.

He came home, then my mother came home. We were just one big, not yet healthy family. Then Monday I was set to deliver newspapers early due to the July 4 holiday. When I got into my car and headed toward Pickens, I notice the engine was not running well.

That would have happened to America if we’d lost the revolution? Some of our Founding Fathers would have been tried and convicted of treason, and those who fought against the British if not executed could have been imprisoned.

According to history as seen from the viewpoint of Great Britain, the colonists were considered ungrateful. England had spent long years and lots of money winning the territory from France. They needed the colonies as a source of raw materials for their manufactures. America exported raw materials to England, while England produced the goods and then sold the finished product to the colonists.

The colonists did own guns, but had

We went to Cherry Grove beach in June uncertain of what to expect since the use of canopies has been banned. After visiting the website, we found we could use beach umbrellas up to nine feet wide instead, so we bought one for each person as a start.

Fowler and Buddy welded a handle to a two-inch metal auger to allow us to sink the umbrellas deep enough into the sand to prevent them being blown away.

The first day there we saw some interesting sights on the beach. No, there were no canopies. But in place of one 12-by-12-foot canopy per family, there were now four to six umbrellas put together in clusters to shade entire families.

As the new ordinance says nothing about any distance between umbrellas, this was perfectly legal and lifeguards and beach control could say nothing about it.

Now, we were told the reason for banning canopies was because they interfered with the ability of lifeguards and beach patrol to reach people in trouble.

However, it seems they could simply add canopies to the area behind the lifeguard stand and solve the problem.

Any time there was wind, numerous umbrellas — including two of our own — were pulled out of the sand and turned into projectiles endangering those on the beach.

A number of umbrellas were turned inside out and broken. Many people had to leave the beach because they brought babies and small children with them. Others who wanted to protect themselves from the dangers of skin cancer also had to leave.

The uprooted umbrellas were not blown away because they weren’t firmly in the sand. They were blown away because tie-offs are forbidden and there’s no way to anchor them to the beach.

A sign put up by the city informs visitors that if they arrive without beach umbrellas, rental umbrellas are available from the city. Aha!

That sounds to me as though this whole fiasco is just another way to raise revenue.

Last year our family invested in a new canopy to replace our old one. It was a quality product and a little expensive. But we thought it a good investment, as we planned to use it in years to come.

This year we invested in six beach umbrellas, an additional expense. They together cost as much as last year’s canopy. The difference between the canopy and the six umbrellas is that the umbrellas can’t be secured, while the canopy can. The canopy has four supporting poles, and the umbrellas have six. Both have to be removed from the beach at the end of the day.

So now, Fowler has taken one of the undamaged umbrellas and modified it to attach to the F-150 tractor. It keeps him completely in the shade while plowing. We haven’t figured out what to do with the others yet, but are sure we can find a use for them.

Meanwhile, we’ve decided to cross South Carolina beaches off our list. Next year we will go across the state line to North Carolina and visit Sunset or Holden or Ocean Isle, where our canopy is allowed.

We are the fourth generation of our family who made North Myrtle Beach a vacation destination, but that tradition is sadly at an end.

Maybe we were stuck in a rut and needed a jolt to become more flexible. So now, our fifth generation of beach-goers will continue the tradition, just at another beach.

What a miserable weekend.

Saturday my father was not feeling very good, because somehow his blood pressure was low. That’s pretty much contrary to family history. We generally have problems with high blood pressure.

He sat and complained about his health for a while. Finally my niece, Jessica, who now has a doctorate degree in pharmacy stuff, said we needed to take him to the hospital to be checked out. So my sister, Rhonda, her daughter, Rebecca, and my mother took him to the emergency room Saturday night. I, being ignorant, stayed at home, out of everybody’s way. You can look at me and know I know little about healthcare.

Eventually they admitted my father to the hospital, and my mother spent the night