Paw-Paw and More

Over his almost eighty years of life, James Hilton served many roles. Younger than James and a hopeful football player at A.L. Brown High School, I stood in awe of his gridiron powers. He and Jimmy and all those players were the ideal for all of us younger boys. Their school mascot was the Wonders

Service

This week a bulletin arrived via my email that partially read:                         Volunteers Needed for Toy Store for Jesus! More families than ever before. More children than ever before. More VOLUNTEERS needed than ever before! Greatest need at this time: Loaders – Wednesday, December 7 at 2pm Unloaders – Wednesday, December 7 at 3:30pm This

Doing What is Asked

Mr. Graham’s obituary was printed yesterday which is not a surprise because, as a 97-year-old Lake Norman business leader, John Robert Graham, Sr. had planned everything. The obituary told of his long marriage with Louise; the names of their five children and their families; and of his business successes. It told of his church memberships

The World Cup needs a John Carlos and a Tommie Smith.

Football teams for seven European nations announced on November 21, 2022 that their captains will not wear LGBTQ armbands in host country Qatar. The captains for England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland originally intended to wear the OneLove rainbow armband to promote diversity and inclusion. Then the FIFA stepped in to threaten

Boguslaw Wos and Bogdan Ciupek

A note to readers: This post is my final revision, but I think it finally correct. Boguslaw Wos, the 62-year-old foreman of a grain warehouse, and Bogdan Ciupek, a 60-year-old  tractor driver, were killed November 15, 2022 by a wayward rocket as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The two men were working

Scared or Smart

On November 14, 2022, the Observer printed an article by David McLennan. The article was an analysis of how both parties conducted their state campaigns. If I read the article correctly, then I suggest that our state and maybe others are in peril because the most winning party, the Republican, appealed to voters’ emotions by

Election Day, 2022

On election day morning, 2022, I went out to ride my stationary handcycle as I do most mornings. The day was warm, even in the early sunlight, and as I rode the forty-two pine trees in our front yard showered the grass, the cars, the driveway, the roof, and me with pine needles. At each

Cotton Candy or Character

Recently in Sanford, NC a group of masked men with most wearing a bulletproof vest, harassed a gathering of folks who were conducting a drag event in a local brewery. The occasion was a fund raiser for a local LBTGQ organization, but when the masked men became too threatening the organizer had to call local

Beowulf Mistreated

The great epic poem Beowulf dates from about the 7th century CE and in 3182 lines of poetry tells the story of a great leader named Beowulf.  It is a fine story of early feudal England that is rich with battles, bravery, loyalty, evil, and early Christianity. For more than ten years it was part

A Popular Symbol

We all like, use, recognize, and value symbols. Every team has a symbol, usually called a mascot, and every organization has its unique symbol that conveys an idea or philosophy in a visual representation. But can a symbol be a reality or is each one destined to be just a graphic depiction of a firm,