opinions
Let The Sun Shine In — By John Reed
Let The Sun Shine In Regular readers will recall the distaste I’ve expressed for what some call “contemporary” church services. Three or four people yodeling non-Scriptural platitudes into microphones while video projectors display nature scenes just doesn’t do it for me. One of the few silver linings of our new reality is what I’ll call…
Read MorePlease Don’t Put An Ugly Tower In Downtown Hazlehurst — By Tommy Purser
Most younger readers of this column probably don’t know much about how, during the term of the late Georgia Governor Lester Maddox, state and national attention became focused on the small Long County town of Ludowici. Maddox made it his personal duty to expose to the world that Ludowici was a speed trap. Maddox went…
Read MoreFleeting Fame — By John Reed
Fleeting Fame Another week of sheltering in place. Another week of the media breathlessly proclaiming doom and gloom. And then calling out some famous person who has succumbed to the virus. Apparently famous people are the only victims who deserve mention. If you can catch a ball or sell a record, then you matter. We’re…
Read MoreProud Of Our Hospital — By Tommy Purser
You can call it a bad luck moment or a moment of monumental stupidity. I prefer the latter call. It was stupid. In my old age I have so come to enjoy woodworking. I’m not good at it, you understand, but I’m improving with every project, learning with every project, absorbing years of experience from…
Read MoreNot So Distant Neighbors — By John Reed
Not So Distant Neighbors As the “social distancing” mandates drag on, we’re finding the American mindset really doesn’t adapt well to being told what to do. Protest movements are growing, pushing back against efforts by the local, state, and federal governments to keep people at home. This is especially true in big cities, where the…
Read MoreSquirrel Wars — By Tommy Purser
Despite Jeff Davis Emergency Management Agency Charles Wasdin’s report that there was no major damage from Sunday night’s storm that wreaked havoc across the state, I personally know of one home that was completely destroyed from the high winds and rain that pelted my neighborhood. Monday morning, as I walked to my truck to go…
Read MoreDescent and Renewal — By John
Descent and Renewal This weekend we celebrated Easter in new and pragmatic ways. Sitting in our cars parked in the church yard, we listened to the sermon delivered via loudspeakers from the steps of the building. Whether one was celebrating Easter, Paschal, Pasqua, or even Passover, the message was the same: renewal. For Christians, the…
Read MoreThe Day After — By John Reed
The Day After Hollywood is replete with movies and television programs about life after some disaster or another. Ice age, nuclear war, earthquake, meteor strike, you name it, and they’ve found a scenario. They all follow the same basic script: a plucky few survive against all odds, and live to establish the next society…naturally, one…
Read MoreToday’s Word: Satrapy — By Tommy Purser
I read newspapers voraciously. Especially opinion columns, whether they be personal opinion columns or opinions formulated by a newspaper’s editorial board. The latter are group opinions where the subject matter is discussed among a group of people who usually have proven their ability to formulate reasonable, fact-based opinions, well thought out and reasonably framed. The…
Read MoreAfter COVID — By John Reed
After Covid Despite the doomsayers in the media, the current pandemic will in time run its course. Sooner rather than later, in my uninformed opinion. What will we see 10 years from now? Endless after-action reports will find what we did right, what we did wrong, what were overreactions, and what we should have done…
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