Led by the spirit of Halloween and the gloomy gray skies overhead, I decided to venture out last Thursday to do a little mid-morning adult trick or treating. Rather than go house-to-house in search of holiday treasures, I went from bin-to-bin at Bargain

“I need to get out of the South. Fall here is no good.” A woman from California said that. I don’t get the criticism. Fall in the Kingdom of Grits can be mighty pretty. And even if fall color is flat now and then, four distinct seasons bless the South wi

Ready to get your spook on? In honor of Halloween, I thought it would be fun to share a few ghost stories from around the Pee Dee. There is little or no truth to any of these tales, although I’m sure some out there would swear on their mother’s grave that

It would be hard to misinterpret the unbridled enthusiasm of Catherine Ritch as anything but a passion for the Navajo people. The Stallings, N.C. resident and author of more than two dozen books spoke to a gathering of the Florence Sidney Lanier Literary

The following column was written by Editor Jim Baxley. It first appeared in Baxley’s regular column, “Consider This,” in the Bristol Herald- Courier of Bristol, Va., on June 27, 1982. It is reprinted with permission. We Americans have a day or a week or

Three local authors have recently had their work published. James Austin of Lake City had his 16-page book, “Transforming Minds: Turning Setbacks Into Opportunities, Vol. 1,” published by Amazon Digital Services in May. The self-help book is available fo

If you want to learn about resiliency, just ask a farmer. Resilience means knowing how to cope in spite of setbacks, or barriers, or limited resources. The farmer knows how to persevere and endure through hard times. Resilience is a measure of how much y

It appears Sam is in need of a lesson in loyalty. When Sam’s Club handed Frank Eason his pink slip on July 17, officials at the retailer’s corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., probably didn’t give it a moment’s thought. One has to wonder what the

Like many people, social media and I have a love-hate relationship. I hate, and hate is a word I rarely if ever use, all of the venomous, opinionated, self-centered comments people make without considering for a single moment the harm it could inflict. I

Making small talk before church Sunday last, the conversation turned toward the ever-so-slow eminent doom of Hurricane Dorian. “Hey Tommy, I’ve got a question for you,” I quizzed a local cattle farmer. “What do you do with your cows during hurricanes?” H

So please tell me, what’s all this fuss about a chicken sandwich? I mean, really? Three weeks ago Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen began selling a new chicken sandwich in its restaurants. Since that moment, our world has not been the same. People have scarfed u

If Darlington Raceway, the fabled “Track Too Tough to Tame,” had a fifth turn, it would be into the parking lot of the neighboring and just as legendary Raceway Grill. “The Grill,” as it’s referred to by most locals, has been serving meals for as long a

“I wish I was in Austin/in the Chili Parlor Bar/drinking mad dog margaritas/and not carin’ where you are.” - Dublin Blues, by Guy Clark It may not be the Chili Parlor Bar, but I’ll settle for the balcony of the Francis Marion Performing Arts Center o

When you refer to Garrison Murph as a special needs child, make sure you put the emphasis on the word “special.” If Garrison was anything, he was certainly that. The 11-year-old boy with bright blue-green eyes and an undaunted spirit beat the odds for nea

By this time next week, teachers will already be hard at work getting classrooms ready and preparing lesson plans for the new school year which begins for students on Aug. 19. For the next 10 months, most teachers will go far beyond what is required. The