opinions
Hazardous Duty — By Tommy Purser
Fifty-one yers ago, during my first season of covering Jeff Davis High School football, 260-lb. nose guard Gerald Briggs bowled me over on the sidelines at the old football field on the Baxley Highway. For the next five decades, I avoided a repeat of such a collision. For years, I was nimble enough to quickly…
Read MoreBlessings Taken For Granted — by John Reed
Blessings Taken For Granted The rain came, ponds and rivers overflowed. The winds blew, tree limbs and powerlines felled. Maybe a dove returned with an olive branch. In the end, we survived with relatively little damage. We take so many things for granted. In most places in the world, storms like this cause far more…
Read MoreThings I learned about Independence — By Tommy Purser
Things I learned about Independence Day — Independence Day has become synonymous with summer fun, as grand fireworks displays and backyard barbecues are integral components of many people’s July 4 celebrations. As Americans and residents of the United States prepare for some festive Fourth of July celebrations, they can keep these interesting facts related…
Read MoreHappy Independence Day — By John Reed
Happy Independence Day! This holiday will see many people standing by our flag–or hiding behind it. I guess it depends on their definition of patriotism: the new version says it’s well and proper to point out the nation’s shortcomings, while traditionalists stick with the tried and true mom and apple pie. I think there’s room…
Read MorePublic Mess — By Tommy Purser
I’ve had on my mind lately the mess plaguing Tallahassee Missionary Baptist Church. In case you don’t remember, church goers there have to endure unsightly and, possibly hazardous, trash dumping around their church. A group of church members attended a recent county commission meeting to ask for some relief from the situation. But not much…
Read MoreFather’s Day — By Tommy Purser
Fathers’ Day Sunday was decidedly special for me for a number of reasons. Two of my three children came to our home to help me celebrate the occasion — my oldest, Laura, was unable to be there because she and her husband were somewhere in the skies returning to the United States after a 3-week…
Read MoreFeeling my age — By Tommy Purser
Over the years, I’ve developed a sense of when we’re going to have enough news to fill the paper and when we’re going to have to leave things out for lack of space. I sensed early last week that filling up the newspaper was going to be tough this week. So the good wife and…
Read MoreGood Food, Good Company — By John Reed
Good Food, Good Company While enjoying a meal out last week, I looked up from my plateful and surveyed the crowd. I’m convinced Southern restaurants are the most culturally integrated places in society: I saw people of every race there, speaking multiple languages. Poor people, rich people. Kids, adults, (very) senior citizens. As a country…
Read MoreHospital Stay — By Tommy Purser
I had another memorable stay at Jeff Davis Hospital last week as Dr. Jason Laney was a concerned that I had become dehydrated, a matter that needed attention. His nurse, Ashley, gave me two options. I could have some fluids injected into my system on an out-patient basis or I could have it done while…
Read MoreHospital stay — By Tommy Purser
I had another memorable stay at Jeff Davis Hospital last week as Dr. Jason Laney was a concerned that I had become dehydrated, a matter that needed attention. His nurse, Ashley, gave me two options. I could have some fluids injected into my system on an out-patient basis or I could have it done while…
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