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When younger, I never paused long enough to re-read a book because, charged by my youthful ignorance, I felt the need to rush on in an attempt to learn as much as possible. After all, as a child from the Mill Hills of North Carolina, I was a late starter and felt a strong needContinue reading “Reading Old, Reading New”

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …., writes Dickens in what could be the most famous beginning sentence of any novel. However, when I think of Clifton Titus, Jr. , what I remember of Dickens’ words is, It was the best of times,…. Those six words describe the time,Continue reading “Clif”

Every morning when I ride the stationary bike, I use a worn, blue belt to hold my knees together. The belt keeps my paraplegic legs from flopping about and being hit by my hands as I crank the wheel. The belt belonged to Bill Foley, who I had the honor of coaching when he wrestledContinue reading “Bill Foley’s Belt”

An evil man has severely disrupted the world’s order. Like others before him he told the world what he was planning, and now democratic world leaders are working together to stop him. One measure is economic sanctions against his country, but there is deep concern about the impact of such sanctions as removing Russia fromContinue reading ”    For the Common Good”

Early evening and suddenly every bird at or near one of the three bird feeders in our back garden disappears. No bird song. Only the silent flutter of wings as the quiet before the storm passes, and the storm settles on a limb of a dogwood tree. The resident Cooper’s Hawk perches, facing the house.Continue reading ”  Garden Enigma”

Hips! Every sport has its basics and in high school wrestling every wrestler is coached to control his/her own hips but also the hips of his/her opponent. Without that established control, wins will be limited. Thus, every wrestler drills to learn and establish and perfect hip control: To use his own hips for power inContinue reading ”            Legless Wrestler”

Another young, Black life is extinguished by police executing a no-knock warrant while looking for a suspect. Last week 22-year-old Amir Locke sleeps on a friend’s sofa, wrapped in a white blanket just before 7 A.M. when shouts, noise, and confusion wake him. Startled out of a deep sleep and likely only half awake, andContinue reading “Protection or Poison”

When schools were closed because of COVID-19, students were taught by Zoom and other means of distant learning. It was a system of necessity not choice. We often heard about the ills of distant learning from parents, politicians, and other pundits. There is much lacking in distant learning and all of us welcomed the returnContinue reading “Distant Leaning and Basketball Elites”

The Veteran’s Cemetery Annex in Salisbury, NC is a peaceful gathering place for our dead soldiers. Its rolling hills fade to railroad tracks in the distance, and on a mild February afternoon in 2022  my wife and I attended a service for a Marine. His memorial service was held in a hilltop pavilion surrounded byContinue reading “He Deserves Better”

It’s a good thing that second-grader Dillon Helbig doesn’t live in Texas where book banning is in full swing.             Young Dillon wrote and illustrated an 81-page book telling about a Christmas adventure (The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis) he had in which he travels back to the first Thanksgiving. Illustrated with colored pencils inContinue reading “Swallowed by a Giant Turkey”