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Columns

  • Take care to avoid heat stroke, sunburn this summer

    I believe I’m as happy as anyone that the sun has started making regular appearances here again. Summer storms are to be expected just about anywhere in the Carolinas, but those recent days upon days of gloomy dark rain, not to mention the flooding they brought, were getting to be too much even for this Cleveland native.

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  • Having a driver's license is a privilege, not a right

    I had my first encounter with a local law enforcement officer on my way home from work the other night when I came upon a driver’s license checkpoint on Old Georgetown Road.

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  • A lot can happen in a decade — looking back 10 years ago

    This December marks the 10th anniversary of my beginning as a full-time employee of The Brunswick Beacon — on Dec. 17, 2003, to be precise.

    I know it’s hard to believe — where did the time go?

    In other ways it seems like a long, long trek. So much can happen and has happened in a decade.

    And as newspapers are wont to do when filling up space, now is as good a time as any for me to do a “looking back 10 years ago” column.

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  • Some of us still remember where we were when JFK was shot

    “Where were you when JFK was shot?” was the question that used to resonate throughout the country as a standard reminder of a time-stopping event nearly every American could recall.

    But the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination looming this week is a stark reminder how time has soared ahead.

    I still remember.

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  • Get to know who represents you

    OK, Brunswick County, I’m going to give you a pop quiz: Name a commissioner.

    No, I can’t be more specific. I’m keeping the question general to make it easier for everyone to pass.

    I am not trying to trick you. It can be your county commissioner or any county commissioner, or it can be your town commissioner or town councilman, or even an alderman or …

    All of the above are acceptable answers, just as long as you have a little familiarity with your elected representatives.

    It’s good to know who represents you.

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  • Being a public servant means being in the public eye

    We have an election coming up here in the next couple months, really weeks as it will be here before we know it.

    So I thought this would be a good time to throw out a reminder to those newly elected officials as well as the ones who will be voted back into office and even the people whose terms aren’t up for another year or two: What you are doing, you do in public.

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  • "Your" going to get a wordy message out of this column

    We already know texting and driving is a bad idea.

    Lately, I’ve seen a number of vehicles sporting little magnets conveying that sentiment, which is a good thing. Please don’t text and drive, and please don’t text and drive drunk, either.

    These days, texting, emailing and Facebooking in and of themselves are mixed bags as well — there are both good and bad things about them.

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  • Not a Brunswick County local...just yet

    I received some jarring news earlier this week, and it’s caused me to take a hard look at my life.

    At least one person in this county, possibly two, think I can no longer say I’m not from here, that having lived here for nine months is time enough to have assimilated.

    Now I’m not from here, but I don’t believe for a second that it is that quick and easy to blend into any new location, even Brunswick County.

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  • From ‘best storyteller’ to writer, I have enjoyed every minute

    It was kindergarten graduation and awards day. A lanky, geeky girl stood toward the back of the group, adjusting her pink wire-rimmed glasses. She was waiting to see what award she would get. Every kid in the class got one, and she couldn’t wait to see what hers would be.
    Everyone was getting good awards: best dressed, most friendly, most helpful, most likely to succeed in first grade. When they called the little girl’s name, she skipped up to the front, hugged the teacher and grabbed her award as they announced “best storyteller.”

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  • Smile — not only will people wonder what you're up to, you'll live longer

    It wasn’t that long ago — last month, I think — Americans were worried about a tight-lipped phenomenon recently referred to in (lighter) news reports as “witchy resting face.”

    Except the first word isn’t really “(w)itchy” — it just rhymes with it.

    For publication’s sake, we’ll refer to this condition as “BRF.” I don’t think it’s quite as bad as Grumpy Cat — another recent irritated-looking phenomenon in the feline world, but it doesn’t lag far behind.

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