Nicole Daughhetee

Life As I Know It

By Nicole Daughhetee

My brain is so analytical in nature. I’ve often thought (and I certainly don’t mean for this to sound arrogant or pretentious) that being intelligent has its downfalls, because one can think things to death.

Faith can be a challenge at times because the human mind can think of so many best- and worst-case scenarios for any given equation in life, and yet there is that one variable in the equation that the human mind, no matter how intelligent, cannot fathom: God, in all of His infinite purpose, wisdom, grace, love, truth and possibility.

I have wanted, needed, craved love from a man my entire life. I don’t blame my father or hold this against him; it simply is what it is and there is research and anecdotal evidence to solidify the unequivocal and undisputable fact that girls need to have fathers in their lives. The absence of one in mine (and my grandpa did his best to fill in those gaps for me in the best way he could) made me long for approval from men; I hungered for unconditional love and acceptance; tenderness and gentility; I have always needed to be genuinely “wanted” because I felt like my father never wanted me.

Ben Robinson

All About Ben

By Ben Robinson

I realize that for the past several summers, we have been sitting around, worrying because we did not ever have any rain to speak of.

The television weather girl would give us some unreasonable number on how much rain we were missing out on.

“We’re around 49 inches below our normal rainfall for the year,” she would say on the nightly broadcast.

Which was a lie. Sure, we’ve had some rainy seasons, but the figures quoted on the news must go back to that year when an old fellow named Noah gathered a few pets together on a big boat.

Nicole Daughhetee

Life As I Know It

By Nicole Daughhetee

I have a new job and I absolutely love it! Before I go any further, however, rest assured that I have no intentions of leaving the Courier, as I love wearing the writer’s hat too. The combination of both jobs is what I need to be able to pay my bills. That is simply the fact of the matter.

Two weeks ago I started at the Parenting Place in Pickens County. We are a non-profit organization on a mission to prevent child abuse in our community. Did you know that Pickens County is ranked No. 1 in the state of South Carolina for cases of child abuse and neglect? Startling sad. But true.

Many of my readers know that I have struggled to find work. I sent out resumes and received no response and then, voila, I had the most amazing answer to prayer and find myself in a job that is so well-suited to my

Olivia Fowler

Own The Way

By Olivia Fowler

We’ve owned many dogs over the years. There have been bird dogs, barn dogs, yard dogs and house dogs. They all had distinct personalities and varying degrees of intelligence.

Perhaps the smartest dog we ever owned was King, a beautiful German shepherd who could be counted on to babysit children in the backyard, guard our possessions and patrol at night.

He was like a policeman in that he’d clearly taken an oath to serve and protect.

He thought the world of his humans but was not impressed with our skill set, clearly disapproving of what he considered our lack of good judgment.

Ben Robinson

Ben Robinson

All About Ben

By Ben Robinson

I am currently attempting to change my sleeping habits. It is not as easy as it would seem.

Every night, when I try to go to sleep, I cannot fall asleep for some reason.

I wish I could lie and say I am just too sore from the day’s work, but generally that is not true. As most of you know I am currently unemployed, which means I do not have anywhere I must go early in the morning. The people who make decisions on who to hire and when generally get off work around 5 p.m., and they do not like staying after hours just to tell some fat slob they are not hiring. So I must make my attempts at returning to the world of the employed during the day. People generally prefer to turn me away during regular business hours.

Ben Robinson

All About Ben

By Ben Robinson

Today is a tough day for me. I should be in Middlesboro, Ky., going to and enjoying a Bible School class, then spending time with my friends, sharing stories of the day’s adventures. Instead I am still in a hot bedroom in Dacusville, planning for my several partial jobs and hoping to replace them soon with an actual fulltime job.

Let’s go back in time, close to 25 years ago. I was looking for something meaningful to do with my extra time. Some folks at my church — Nine Forks Baptist in Dacusville — were part of the Pickens First Baptist annual mission trip to Bell County, Ky. The group would conduct Bible School at several small churches. Some would also work on construction projects, but that did not apply to me. I am only good at building animosity.

Olivia Fowler

One the Way

By Olivia Fowler

Now let me see if I have this straight. All of our phone calls, emails, Facebook pages and any other forms of communication are being stored digitally by our government to keep us safe from terrorism.

We are told not to be concerned about any violation of our privacy, because nobody is actually listening to us. We are told everything is being loaded into a sophisticated database.

Should we be worried? Admittedly the technology involved in all of this is beyond my level of understanding. But this, if in fact true, and who knows really, raises questions.

If it’s true that this will keep us safe from terrorism, why didn’t we know about the Boston Marathon bombers? And if nobody is actually listening to the conversations, then how will they know if something “dangerous” is in the works? Why do it at all if the conversations are not being monitored?

Nicole Daughhetee

Life As I Know It

By Nicole Daughhetee

When I was a kid, my immediate family consisted of my mom and I. Often my grandparents made us a family of four, but either way, it was a small nuclear family unit.

I had (have) aunts, uncles and cousins in Colorado and even closer by in Miami, where I spent my childhood; my dad, step-mom and half-sister are out in Montana. There was never an occasion when we all came together as one large family unit.

There were many times when I would imagine how exciting it would be to have a huge family Christmas — all of us coming together from different places in the country — to celebrate en masse. Because I never had this experience as a child, I have created them in my adulthood.

Olivia Fowler

On The Way

By Olivia Fowler

We had a wonderful vacation at the beach. Beautiful weather, congenial people and stress-free activities. In truth, we were so thoroughly exhausted when we finally got there we would have had a wonderful time just sitting by the ocean, staring into space.

Life is never dull. That’s one thing you can always count on. And no matter how much you prepare for an event, the things you are prepared for never happen. It’s the other things you never dream of that derail the train.

Ben Robinson

All About Ben

By Ben Robinson

It happens every summer. I guess it’s God’s way of reminding me that I really should not be carrying this much weight. It gets to be June, it starts getting hotter, and I sweat.

I would use the phrase “sweat like a pig,” but the swine community has threatened legal action if I do so. “We sweat, but nothing like you do,” said the letter from the pig lawyer that I received.

The extra weight I carry does not do me any good throughout the year.

Sure, each December I have dozens of young ladies offering to sit in my lap if I grow a white beard and dress in a red suit. But they never follow through, so that’s no good for me.