opinions
Hall of Fame Gala — By Tommy Purser
Saturday night’s Jeff Davis High School Football Hall of Fame Gala lived up to its reputation of being one of the most enjoyable events I attend each year. This year’s event was particularly enjoyable to me for a lot of reasons. Among those reasons was my chance to refresh my memories by having a chat…
Read MoreWhat If They Win? — By John Reed
What If They Win? Years ago I owned a beagle that loved to chase rabbits. He never succeeded in catching one, but I always wondered: what would he do with it if he actually caught one? The same question could be posed to the Democratic Party. What if they actually won control of Congress this…
Read MoreMaking A Pile — By Tommy Purser
I couldn’t come up with much of an idea for a column this week, so I decided to dust off one of my old columns and offer it here as a reprint. The column was written in April, 1994, so it’s kinda old but, nonetheless, the idea behind it continues today. So, here it is:…
Read MoreThe Gnashing of Teeth — By Tommy Purser
There seems to be an elevated amount of gnashing of the teeth around these parts lately about the new, elevated property tax assessments and, thus, the higher taxes property owners will face in the near future. I, too, am dismayed about the matter but not to the point of having to pay higher dental costs.…
Read MoreConsanguinity — By Tommy Purser
“Consanguinity.” Now there’s a word not generally used in normal, run-of-the-mill conversation. Fact is, I can’t remember the last time I heard or read the word, nor can I remember a time I used the word in writing or conversation. I know its definition and how it might be used, but I don’t use it.…
Read MoreHicksploitation — By Tommy Purser
Barnie O’Quinn mentioned in his column this week how the 55 mph speed limit through Jeff Davis and Telfair counties along the Golden Isles Highway (US 341) was a hindrance to progress for the two counties. Not so much for the speed, perhaps, but rather because speed enforcement cars sit along the side of the…
Read MoreUnintended Consequences — By John Reed
Unintended Consequences Right up there with Boyle’s Law and all the other scientific rules are some social patterns that seem equally valid. Murphy’s Law says anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And the Law of Unintended Consequences is similar to Newton’s third law about opposite reactions. Let’s look at a couple of examples…
Read MoreLook Up! — By John Reed
Look Up! Last week, anyone looking into the western sky soon after sunset was treated to a celestial dance of planets. The annual conjunction of Venus and Jupiter was closer than usual, and was dynamic enough to be seen almost in real time motion. Even to those who don’t ascribe every event to divine intervention,…
Read MoreTrash — by Tommy Purser
I was looking back at some old issues of the Ledger when I ran across a column I wrote some 25 years ago. I said up front in that column that it would be about trash. It was. On that particular day, I was short on ideas for a column which today, 25 years later,…
Read MoreDancing Danny — By Tommy Purser
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my childhood friend Danny. Danny was a year older than I was. Maybe two years older. He was one year ahead of me in school but, since Danny didn’t appear to me to be all that interested in school, or grades, or learning — at least not learning…
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