Opinions

Why is it when you call the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System’s 800 telephone number to enter weekly withholding tax information so the government can deduct withholdings from your bank account there is no option to hear the message in Spanish? Yet, when you call the Social Security Administration the automated attendant offers Spanish interpretation as one of the first options. Go figure. [Full Story »] 

Several years ago, B. J. and I were searching for an ancient colonial ancestral cemetery in the swampy South Carolina Low Country. We had discovered some information in a Beaufort, S. C., library that had led us deep into the remote areas in search of the old burial site. [Full Story »] 

Larry and I enjoy working in our yard and gardens, but I don’t tolerate the gnats very well. A few up my nose, in my eyes, and in my ears will chase me right back inside on the double. Their abundance this summer is daunting, to say the least. The grandchildren are visiting, and living above the gnat line, they are even less tolerant than I of these pests. [Full Story »] 

As I grow older I realize that my memory is just not what it used to be. I have a good recollection of certain events but there are usually no faces attached to that memory unless the event was memorable.
Sometimes someone from my past, for instance an old school mate, will come up to me and stare into my face saying, “remember me?” When they do this I instantly realize I am supposed to know them and I know this has happened to some of you if you are past sixty. When I cannot recognize them it is embarrassing and I will say something like “it’s coming to me. Give me a minute.” Most times it will come to me and if not they will usually say something or start talking about an event they think I will remember, but as I have already stated, if the event was not memorable I generally cannot recall it and I have to apologize and go from there. I hate it when that happens. [Full Story »] 

Romantic love in today’s world, is it possible? Is the high tech, hurry-up computerized world with its digital mentality and remote controls eroded our capacity for genuine romantic love. [Full Story »] 

I had to travel with my family to Texas one summer to see my wife’s parents. I didn’t want to go for I hated to drive long distances, but felt I had to in order to preserve family peace. I knew I would be miserable because every time I travel, I get irregular. It is my nerves, I guess, that ties my intestines into a knot. [Full Story »]