Columns

When the phone rang, I knew who it was.  It was Skeeter Skates. The phone just sounds different when he calls.  He can be intimidating, even to a telephone. For those of you who may be new to this space, Skeeter Skates is the owner of the eponymous Skeeter Skates Plow Repair and Stump Removal in Ryo, Georgia, only never use the word “eponymous” when talking to … [Read more...] about May 20, 2019: It Is Hard To Be Influential Around Skeeter Skates

Let me get straight to the point:  Georgia Speaker of the House David Ralston is skating on thin political ice.  Ralston holds the second-most powerful position in our state and has for almost two decades.  But those days may be coming to an end.  There is no question that Ralston is a power under the Gold Dome.  Not much happens there without the … [Read more...] about May 13, 2019: Speaker Ralston’s Legal Tactics Could Backfire on Him

What a nice way to celebrate my 1000th syndicated newspaper column.  University of Georgia President Dr. Jere Morehead and Athletic Director Greg McGarity have proposed that the field at Sanford Stadium be named for Hall of Fame football coach, Vince Dooley.  It’s about time.  It fact, it is long overdue.  I have known Vince Dooley for more than 50 … [Read more...] about May 6, 2019: Dooley Field At Sanford Stadium Is Pleasing In A Thousand Ways

If anyone wonders why we have so little faith in our government and those within it, consider the obsession with the Mueller Report.  It is about the only thing the Inside-the-Beltway crowd is talking about these days.  Russian collusion.  Impeachment.  Impact on 2022 elections. Meanwhile, farmers in South Georgia continue to await help from the government … [Read more...] about April 29, 2019: Some Random Thoughts on Some Random Subjects

You never know where you are going to find good friends.  Maybe it is someone you grew up with or met at school or worked with.  Or maybe it was just a guy walking up the street.  Like Tom Horton. In one of life’s ironies, Tom lived on one of end of our block-long street and I lived on the other and yet we were never in each other’s home.  Still, we became … [Read more...] about April 22, 2019: Remembering A Good Friend Who Walked into My Life