Category Archives: Opinions
Peace in a newfound love for old hymns
I was planning to write about how terrible the traffic is on U.S. Highway 123 through Easley.
I’ll get to that soon enough.
But lately I’ve had another highway on my mind. The one that leads to God.
When we walk with the Lord
In the light of his Word
What a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will
He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey.
If those words sound familiar to you, you probably grew up in a church that sang the old gospel hymns like I did.
By the time I turned 11 or 12, I started getting into other kinds of music, beginning with the Beatles. Suddenly all that
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Courier Letters to the Editor 2-8-23
Thanks for sharing love with children
Dear Editor,
I am writing to thank Pickens-area residents for sharing the true meaning of Christmas with children in need this past holiday season.
Generosity throughout contributed to a successful shoebox gift collection season at drop-off locations for the Samaritan’s Purse project Operation Christmas Child. Across the U.S., the project collected more than 9.3 million shoebox gifts in 2022. Combined with those collected from partnering countries in 2022, the ministry is
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Do we only follow God when we feel like it?
Have you ever wondered what is the purpose of television, games, movies and social media?
Many will say they were created to entertain and inform us, but what we may not have noticed is that when we are constantly focused on these things, we are usually not listening to what God is saying. To understand what He wants us to do, we must give Him our undivided attention. This is accomplished when we find a quiet place where we can pray,
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Calling to order the Court of Irks and Peeves
Here beginneth the first installment in the annals of Barnett’s Unofficial, Unorthodox and Unauthorized Court of Crotchety Irks and .
Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! Court is now in session!
The first order of business is to explain that the subject matter to be considered by this Court shall be limited to usage of the English language, both written and spoken.
And to note that the Court’s views on grammar do not necessarily concur with that of crotchety old English teachers, as evidenced by this very sentence fragment.
Secondly, the admission that the occupant of this unesteemed bench makes no claim of being worthy of casting
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Appreciating every day and every hour
I have a good friend who is seriously ill with late-stage cancer. When he was diagnosed about two years ago, he began to write and send a daily text thread to friends about his treatments, how he is doing, the weather, anything associated with astronomy and a generous amount of philosophical thoughts. His personality is that of a thinker who appreciates the beauty of simple things.
As I have read his thoughts and was allowed to see into his soul, it has been such a blessing and encouragement to see the good work that God has been doing in his life. He has gone through a lot more discomfort and challenges than we
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Courier Letters to the Editor 2-1-23
The bottom lines on the YAM jubilee
Dear Editor,
Last Saturday, Jan. 28, our Young Appalachian Musicians held their Winter Bluegrass Jubilee at Pickens High School. It was a wonderful day! I’d like to write about our Bottom Line for our Jubilee. Here’s a list of what I consider to be our bottom line(s) for Jubilee:
- To say “THANK YOU” to our supporters — This year we especially thank those who have supported our efforts to get instruments in the hands of our 400-plus YAM kids — the majority of them beginners.
- To spread the word about our program — We also hired a new person to help with PR/grant writing, getting sponsors, etc. We want to show others what we’re all about.
- To collaborate — We use the committee approach with our Jubilee team and enlist lots of volunteers. This year we had to fill more than 140 two-hour positions, and we did so with 80-plus volunteers. Lots of “buy in,” but a little complicated at times!
- To serve our constituents — provide quality entertainment, teach new skills, etc.
- To make Jubilee (and the YAM program) affordable for all, especially our parents.
- To give a chance for our Yammers to shine — thus the Big YAM Jam!
- To show off our fabulous staff, including instructors, program directors, homework center coordinators, tutors and our admin people!
- To bring our community together to celebrate music and kids — things which are unifying.
- To make music part of our lives — as learners, teachers and “appreciators.”
- To make Jubilee fun and a learning experience for all — thanks to our wonderful performers!
But I’ve left two very important ones till the end. In my opinion, the “bottom” of the “bottom liners” of our event is to raise funds for our YAM program. Please don’t get me wrong, in order for YAM to be a program, we must have funds! We — especially our board members — all know that and spend much of our time being creative with raising income and working hard to stay within our budget. (I call them our “Dream Board” … which, by the way, every board member who lives within 50 miles was at the Jubilee working in full support of this project.) Between our sponsorships (which we doubled the money and tripled the number of sponsors) and grants, we paid for everything before we opened the doors! But we’ve also found that we just have to take a leap of faith sometimes. We’re so fortunate that our supporters have always come through when they know what we want to do is serve our community, especially our children.
I’ve saved the best till last. To me, the most important “bottom liner” and at the top of my list, is the Grand Finale with the Big YAM Jam! This year we had more than 150 kids playing music on stage, along with our Dream Board, our dedicated and treasured staff and our performers — all to thank our sponsors, funders, partners, local government officials, volunteers and supporters, but mostly our parents. I hope this rolled all of the above bottom liners into one! What a grand finale it was!
Thank you, all, more than you’ll ever know!
Betty McDaniel
Pickens
Deliberating details amid the drama
What kind of person would steal a multimillion-dollar wrongful death settlement from the grieving family of one of his own longtime employees?
The same kind of person who would shoot and kill his own wife and son and stage it to look like a random attack, prosecutors are likely to argue in a murder trial starting this week in Colleton County.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know that I’m talking about Alex Murdaugh, whose trial will likely produce the most intensely watched courtroom drama in South Carolina since 1994, when Susan Smith rolled her car into a lake with her two young sons strapped inside.
My only connection to this twisted tale, other than knowing some of the reporters who’ve been covering it, is a certain lawyer who’s involved. He happens to be the one who “broke the dam” that spilled forth numerous other cases of fraud and embezzlement, setting in motion the downfall of the prominent attorney whose family name had been esteemed for more than a century in that neck of the Lowcountry.
My source is a lawyer named Eric Bland. I became acquainted with him when I covered the story of Zachary Hammond, a teenager who was shot and killed in 2015 by a Seneca police officer who claimed he believed the young man was trying
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Courier Letters to the Editor 1-25-23
Sugar-sweetened beverage tax
Dear Editor,
South Carolina ranks 42nd in the country when it comes to health outcomes. However, affording healthier options can be a barrier to one’s longevity since eating a healthier diet is more expensive and inconvenient.
A possible solution is reducing the cost of whole foods and broadening sin taxes from alcohol and cigarettes to include some junk foods. For example, in 2014, San Francisco taxed sugar-sweetened beverages an average of 47 percent. Soon, San Francisco saw a 21 percent reduction in the consumption of sodas.
As for various junk foods, Hungary imposed a 4 cent tax on packaged foods and drinks high in sugar, fat or salt, such as fruit jams and candies. According to WHO,
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Maybe we should let someone hold our mule
“Hold my mule” is a figurative expression from the American South that means when a person is leading a mule and they need to go somewhere or do something very important, they will ask someone to hold their mule.
Sometimes it meant they were going to enter into a confrontation, be it a verbal or physical one, but in church settings where the members were not embarrassed to express their emotions, the phrase meant they were getting happy and praising the Lord or spending time at the altar crying out to God. Do churches still use altars? Do people still get happy?
When it comes to people expressing their worship, I’ve been in a lot of assemblies over the years and witnessed several
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Not in fear, just thinking rationally
No fear.
It’s not just a brand of clothing or a statement of bravado.
It’s the normal way to live.
There are so many things we could be afraid of — being in a car crash, living to see a nuclear apocalypse, getting smashed by a meteor or coming down with one of a thousand different diseases — such as COVID-19.
The likelihood of most of these things happening within the next 24 hours is reasonably low — except for the latter.
Now, I’m just like everybody else: I’d prefer to not worry about COVID.
And I don’t.
I ain’t afraid of it.
So if you see me wearing a mask, it’s not because I’m scared.
It’s because I love my wife.
I’m thinking about putting a sign on my KN95 that says that.
Most people pretty much ignore me when they see me, the only person in the
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