opinions
Battle of the Bulge — By Tommy Purser
[EDITOR’S NOTE: The following column was written by me, your editor, almost 25 years ago. The subject was my battle with gaining weight. As if it’s anyone’s business, I got on the scales this morning and was happy to see that I weighed 198 lbs., down 12 pounds from a year ago. If you, dear…
Read MoreUntil We Meet Again — By Tommy Purser
My friend Terry Toole passed away a couple of weeks ago. Today, he is reunited in glory with three of his “Partners in Crime” — Sam Griffin, Bo McLeod and Billy Fleming. I say “Partners in Crime” good-naturedly, for they were anything but criminals. The four of them had a lot in common — they…
Read MoreNobody Cooks Anymore — By John Reed
Nobody Cooks Anymore At least it seems that way. We seem to have more restaurants, fast food joints, and food trucks per capita than most small towns. Even as I write this two legacy local names (Smith’s, Rebel/Googe’s) and a national chicken outlet (Zaxby’s) have opened or soon will. Sure, the county’s population has surged…
Read MoreCokes and Memories — By Tommy Purser
I bought a Coke at a convenience store the other day. It sold for $2.57 plus tax. I remember as a barefoot boy living in the northeastern part of Florida walking down the side of the brick street on which we lived to a neighborhood store where I could buy a Coke for 5 cents.…
Read MoreIt’s easier to be up-front — By Tommy Purser
[EDITOR’S NOTE: The following column appeared in the Ledger in January, 2013. Its message remains pertinent today.] I’m getting burned out. Burned out on breaking in newly elected officials on some of the nuances they need to learn quickly about public service in this rural area I’ve grown to love and call “home.” I am…
Read MorePiney Grove Church — By Tommy Purser
Fleta McKever made a telephone call to the Ledger recently. It was during the week preceding last month’s homecoming at her church in the southwestern corner of Jeff Davis County. I visited her church — Piney Grove Baptist Church — only once – for the funeral of Mr. Emory “Em” Watkins. The small country church…
Read MoreA Lost Norman Rockwell Scene — By Tommy Purser
Lots of people were happy to hear that a Zaxby’s restaurant will be built on Jarman Street here in Hazlehurst. Site preparation is already underway. And that work makes me sad. I’m not sad that a Zaxby’s is coming to town. Rather, I’m sad to see the home of the late Vernon and Mary Dowling…
Read MoreGreat Father’s Day — By Tommy Purser
What a great Father’s Day I had! All my children came to Hazlehurst to see Dear Ol’ Dad. Actually, that wasn’t why they came to Hazlehurst. They came because they were summoned here by the good wife. They were summoned here to rebuild a deck behind our house. And they accomplished the task in two…
Read MoreThe “Gentle Night” is Ever Closer — By John Reed
The “Gentle Night” is Ever Closer The older I get the more memorials, visitations, and funerals I wind up attending. This often puzzles me as the person I’m honoring seemed so full of life only yesterday. And then it hits me: was I “so full of life yesterday“? Will I be next? Our dear editor…
Read MoreWeight Loss? — By Tommy Purser
Twenty-two years ago, I wrote the following column: “I’m looking forward to this weekend. I wrote last fall about my experience with the AWAR — the Altamaha Wilderness Adventure Race. It was a made-for-young-people event that included running a long way, paddling a long way, bicycling an even longer way and traversing a variety of…
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