Category Archives: Opinions
Cash for change
ALL ABOUT BEN
by Ben Robinson
Being unemployed is never any fun. Since I’ve “misplaced” (i.e. “lost”) the charge card that the State puts my unemployment benefits on, I’ve had to scramble for funds as I try to straighten out the situation.
My nephew was driving my car last year and wrecked it. So now my insurance is roughly half the cost of the car every six months. I’ve promised that my nephew won’t be driving my car anymore, but the insurance company wants proof, perhaps his head on a platter.
That seems a bit extreme. Besides, I couldn’t pin them down on exactly how much that would lower my insurance payment.
So the first payment on my policy was due last week, and — being without a job and missing my unemployment checks for a while — I had to be a little creative. In my car, I keep a little drawer full of change that I receive back from drive-thrus. The theory is that the next time I go through a drive-thru, I will have enough change to avoid breaking a dollar. Of course, I generally forget about the change, it builds up, and eventually I cash it in for “real money.”
It’s a slow week
Life As I Know It
By Nicole Daughhetee
It is difficult to come up with something brilliant to write week after week. Both hyper critical and competitive (I mostly compete against my own personal best, which one might think makes the game a win-win every time. Alas. That is not the case.), I agonize over word choices, sentence variation, tone and cohesiveness.
Often times I desire to deliver a sagacious message — food for thought for my readers — that will inspire just one person to make the world a better place. Other times I think of writers like Dave Barry (I can remember reading him in the Miami Herald and thinking how cool it would be to write for the newspaper) and I want to be funny — to throw out some zinger that people talk about at the proverbial office water cooler.
This happens to be one of those weeks where the thoughts that will eventually translate into words on this page feel stifled — despite the fact that there is certainly a lot of fodder for conversational writing both nationally and in our community.
I don’t have much to say about the recent election.
Truth be told, I am one of the few in the Upstate who voted for Obama. That said, I also voted for many Republican candidates in Pickens County. As if I had a choice! (My editor has made me so paranoid about offending our readership that I have to add — People, that is supposed to be funny.)
While it is possible for me to maintain objectivity and a balance of voices when I write, I can’t help but shake my head and laugh about the recent dog debacle in Easley.
Seriously!?!?
I cannot wrap my brain around how surreally this entire ordeal continues to unfold right before my very eyes. I still don’t understand why, between law enforcement, magistrates, council members and the mayor, something cannot — has not — been done to return the dog to the family who unequivocally owns her, especially when that ownership has been publicly conceded by the people who refuse to return her.
Of course, I could also comment on the factions at war over the old, abandoned Doodle Line. Pickens and Easley would like to combine their efforts and turn the old rail line into a safe, aesthetically pleasing and pedestrian-friendly path where families can ride bicycles, run or walk and not only enjoy the out-of-doors but also reap some of the health benefits associated with physical activity.
As there is any time a current of change surges through the county, certain groups are appalled by the notion that taxpayer dollars would be used to groom Pickens and Easley into anything remotely resembling Greenville. Put in a pedestrian-friendly trail and what’s next?
Yep. This has definitely been one of those weeks when my thought well has been depleted and dehydrated. Here’s hoping something interesting happens so I have something to write about for next week!
Remembering a forgotten hero
All About Ben
By Ben Robinson
With Veteran’s Day Sunday, my thoughts could not help but turn to the only member of my family — at least as far back as I know — who ever died in the service.
We’ve had several who served, including my father, who used to repeat the military training chants when he and I walked up our driveway when I was a kid. (Apparently the drill instructor would shout “You had a good home but you left,” and the soldiers would shout back, “You’re right!”)
I also have seen photos of my uncle Farris from when he was in the service. But the one photo that stuck with me most was the one of my uncle J.B. Robinson, who died while serving the country during peacetime.
Volleyball team shows youth’s promise
Life As I Know It
By Nicole Daughhetee
When we learned that there was going to be a fall volleyball league at the Easley Recreation Center, my oldest daughter, Emerson, decided she wanted to sign up and play.
Prior to her playing volleyball, I’m not certain I would have characterized her as athletic per se. Truth be told, she chose volleyball for two reasons: (1) her love-her-like-a-sister best friend was playing and (2) she wanted to wear funky knee socks.
Punky Brewster-esque fashionista? Absolutely. Athlete extraordinaire? I had my doubts.
Getting in shape, losing weight
All About Ben
Bt Ben Robinson
A few weeks ago I was speaking with my friend Roddey Gettys, COO of Baptist Easley hospital. I asked Roddey if the hospital had any job openings. I think Roddey was a little concerned because I asked about the “chief of surgery” position.
It went something like this: Roddey asked what I knew about performing surgery, and I said “You reckon they will ask that in the job interview?.”
Roddey changed the subject, for some reason.
“Are you still wanting to lose weight?” he asked.
“Well, I was hoping to get back to where I could fit into pants that didn’t have a bunch of X’s in front of the size,” I admitted.
Sandy took the past, changes the future
On The Way
By Olivia Fowler
Prior to Hurricane Sandy, the small amount of information I thought I knew about New Jersey was gleaned from experiences in the Newark airport which were less than pleasant, a general rudimentary and mixed bag of trivial information from several televised sources, and the occasional news story.
The only member of my family who spent any time in Atlantic City was my Uncle Walter, who won a dance contest there sometime prior to WWII and kept the tuxedo he wore while tripping the light fantastic packed in mothballs in the attic of my grandmother’s house.
It’s a crazy, crazy world
On The Way
By Olivia Fowler
It’s been an unusual year so far. It’s not over yet, so we need to stay alert. There are a lot of unhinged people running for office. That is not an exaggeration, just a fact. And if you don’t believe it, check out Arkansas, where running for senate is a man who wants disobedient children to be put to death. Unbelievable as it may seem, it is true.
This may beat the man in Missouri who thinks women who are raped can’t get pregnant. Now really. Is this the best America has to offer? I think not. To add insult to injury, one of South Carolina’s own United States Congressmen has endorsed this candidate, because he says this man’s vote is needed. Every now and then the crazies just come out of the woodwork.
Honoring the real heroes
All About Ben
By Ben Robinson
The Upstate of South Carolina seems to be divided into two different schools of thought: Clemson fans and University of South Carolina fans. It’s been going on for more than a century and will likely continue another 100 years.
I was actually a Gamecock fan growing up, and I vowed to remain that even after I enrolled at Clemson University for my freshman year. But I by chance met one of the Clemson University cheerleaders, one who was destined to wear the crown of Miss South Carolina a couple of years later, at a convenience store in Clemson one morning before a Tiger home game, and she cleverly convinced me I should pull for the Tigers.
Practicing patience
Life As I Know It
By Nicole Daughhetee
My columns, of late, have felt lackluster and as though I am struggling for something profound to say — some wisdom to impart — but I’m drawing a blank. There hasn’t been a lot going on that has compelled me to climb atop my soapbox embracing my first amendment right to free speech even if my opinions are not popular.
The irony in this, however, is that I am going through some of the most amazing and radical changes in my personal life at this time. I am overwhelmed with everything that has and continues to happen; yet if or when I try to write about these things, my brain pictures this enormous wooden block standing in my way. Too heavy to push. Too high to climb over. The surface of the wood is so smooth there isn’t anywhere to rest a foot. No crevice in which to dig the tips of my fingers in an attempt to pull myself over.
We can’t take this lying down
On The Way
By Olivia Fowler
According to a report from the Canadian Broadcasting Company, an investigation is under way regarding a smuggling operation involving Canadian law enforcement officers who are believed to be illegally transporting American goods across the border into Canada.
No, it isn’t drugs, liquor or porn.
It’s mozzarella cheese. Evidently there’s a fortune to be made here.
The American-made cheese, used as a common pizza topping, can be sold for triple the U.S. price to Canadian pizzerias and restaurants.
