Tag: Opinion

I learned to drive shortly after I learned to ride a bicycle.  Since I didn’t need a license to ride a bicycle, I figured...

On July 29, there was the full moon, the Buck Moon – also known as: Thunder Moon, Salmon Moon and Hay Moon. The name...

As summer draws to a close, excitement is building across our community as the Cullman City School System prepares to welcome 3,200 students back...

“The Calamity Club” was one of the most anticipated books of the year. It has been 17 years since Stockett’s first book, “The Help,” was published. “The Help” was wildly successful and was a...

My memories were transported back more than half a century ago, even before I ever smelled the scent that firmly landed me there. I...

Dear Editor:   Anyone who has faced pancreatic cancer knows the statistics can be terrifying. Too often, patients are diagnosed late, and treatment options can feel...

It’s the sound more than the smell that takes me back. Not a loud sizzle like bacon, but quieter, softer. As a kid, when...

Summer is in full swing, and Alabama and Florida beaches remain popular vacation spots. If you traveled to the beach this summer, or at any point, you may...

Have you ever wondered or imagined what it might be like to not be able to see? The ability to see is one of...

When you become a parent it is easy to purchase more items than necessary. The bassinet now gathers dust in the corner, practically used for storage. The changing...

It was the kind of week that most people would like to forget. There were definitely some highs in the week but some frightening...

In Washington, healthcare debates often focus on insurance plans, reimbursement rates, and federal spending. In rural America, the conversation is often much simpler: Will...

There is a dangerous misunderstanding on social media that needs to be addressed.  Just because something is posted on Facebook does not mean it is...

Summer heat is no joke and nothing to handle unprepared. Though it’s not so easily avoidable, especially when you have children.   Here are some tips to keep...

July, July – my, oh my – is it really July? – Christmas was only last week – and now the new year is...

Every time Alabama sees a case involving an educator, a school employee and a student, the same public argument erupts.  One person says the age...

When I die I hope I go to a familiar place. I pray it’s as simple as falling asleep, waking up to laughter in the next room and I’m not...

September is recognized as National Hunger Awareness Month, though awareness of child hunger extends beyond a single month. For some children and families this can span over the...

Some of my longtime readers will remember Ginger (65). Ginger was our sweet yellow lab and Cocoa’s (15) big sidekick. Ginger died back in...

There are moments in life when the distance between an ordinary day and tragedy is measured in inches.  I’ve thought about that a lot lately.  A few...

I’ve heard it said that our first friends are our first cousins. I had a bunch from which to choose, but one of my...

Alabama is football country. So, what do we do when it’s not football season? This week we had a most unusual sporting event. At...

No one should mistake this position for sympathy toward anyone who attempts to prey on a child.  If a person knowingly seeks sexual contact with...

Have you seen them? They first arrived in America about 40 years ago. Back then, there seemed to only be a small gaggle of...

During my sophomore, junior and senior years in high school I painted props in advanced theater. I tried to place the color yellow into every piece...

“The Correspondent” is an epistolary (a story told through letters) debut novel.   The book is about Syble Van Antwerp, a retired law clerk in her 70s. Syble tends to be cranky and...

In the spring of 1989, my little family and I moved to Rainbow City, Alabama, where I had been called as pastor of White...

Romantic comedies in the 2020s don’t feel like the ones from the 1980s. I made it my mission to stop procrastinating and watch some highly recommended films. These two are my...

Many have experienced storm anxiety since the tornado outbreak of 2011. The panic can set in quickly – when the out-of-nowhere summer rain shower blocks your...

There was a time when a childish prank meant ringing a doorbell, running away and hiding in a ditch while your friends tried not to laugh...

Ready or not, we finally said adios to the South of Spain and the Costa del Sol. We headed back to Malaga where we...

Have you ever wondered what volunteer opportunities are available for you to assist the Cullman community? Doing your part has never been so easy! Here is...

Reading is whatever you would like for it to be. It can mean a long awaited vacation at your fingertips. Perhaps it is a magical garden, a cold...

I’m in my bathroom, standing in a nasty puddle of water, with a plunger in one hand and a bent coat hanger in the other. It’s hard...

Water is gift from God that we may take from granted. Water is a necessity of life, and as far back as I can...

When I was growing up, I often wondered who my mother planned on feeding with all that food we grew in her vegetable garden....

Mother’s Day has always served as a day when we honor and celebrate the cherished mothers and mother-like mentors in our lives. It’s a day...

It was usually about 8:45 on a rainy Sunday night when the drama began.   One of my boys would burst into the den, chest heaving...

My husband was the first to recommend this book to me. It was spoken highly of to him by his godfather and his copy...

I know the song says, “Amarillo by morning, up from San Antone,” but on our tour across the South of Spain, I found myself...

From the mountains of the Tennessee Valley to the shores of the Gulf Coast, and everything in-between, our state is second to none in...

I am a writer. I write articles, books and songs. While I have won a few awards for some of my newspaper and magazine...

Now, before you let your mind go where it shouldn’t, this Ronda is not a woman. Ronda was the next city we visited in...

I woke up at 3 a.m., which is not unusual. At my age, the bladder rules. It was time to take a bathroom break, return...

In recent years, the Corporate Memphis style has been widely used for advertising. This form of art is known for its “low-effort” presentation. It is highly popular...

What is Flock Safety? What does it do? What does it mean for residents and visitors?    They are small, often mounted high on poles or along...

This novel by Sean Dietrich has a dual storyline. The first is about Sheriff Winston Browne and the residents of Moab. The second is about a young girl...

Yes, I know the songs says, “Well, I’ve never been to Spain, but I’ve been to Oklahoma,” but the opposite is now true for...

To the Editor,  Domestic violence is not a distant issue – it is a daily reality in our community. I see firsthand the impact this has on individuals and families across our county.  Law enforcement in Cullman County responds to domestic-related calls regularly, many involving repeat offenders and escalating violence. One of the most dangerous moments for a victim is immediately after an offender is released from custody. We have seen cases where victims are re-assaulted within hours...

Publisher’s note: Some stories aren’t about answers. This is one of them.  I don’t think about her death first. That’s what I didn’t expect.  It’s her smile.  That big, effortless smile that showed up before anything...

Larry was an unusual sort. In fact, to even say such would be like saying that Babe Ruth was a baseball player. Everybody who...

CULLMAN, Ala. - In the next three weeks, Alabama (April 11) and Auburn (April 18) will play in their "A-Day" spring games, and UAB...

One of the most complex things you can do for yourself when becoming a parent is allow yourself to grieve who you were. This...

What? Well, that’s how they said it where Jean and I recently spent a little more than a week. The translation in my native...

Alabama has legalized medical cannabis. That is not a debate; it is law.  Yet as the program begins to take shape across the state, a new...

Howard Cannon, a restaurant expert witness and forensic scientist, last year released his book “Restaurant Ridiculous: Dram Shop & Alcohol Liability Personal Injury Lawsuits.” It advises the reader of...

As if by magic, he pulled a folded $100 bill out of a pile of gray lint.  “Look what I found,” he said, waving it in the...

Worms…some of the first money I ever made came from selling worms. With two ponds and a creek right beside our house, I grew up...

After marching the streets of Birmingham to get their program back then watching the most successful run in school history under Bill Clark, securing...

It seems there’s so much nastiness, rudeness and hate in the world now. It’s everywhere, and it makes me sicker than the thought of drinking warm...

If Murphy’s Law is, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong,” the Mechanical Law would be, “What can break down, will break down.”...

In honor of “Read Across America,” I would like to share my two cents on what it means to be a “reader.”  I didn’t always love to read....

The closure of Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) left a significant void in West Birmingham. For decades, the 192-acre campus served as an educational and cultural hub. Its vacancy represented a loss of activity and uncertainty for the surrounding community and local economy.  The recent purchase of the campus by the United States...

Election season produces a familiar pattern.  Bold promises. Absolute declarations. Assurances that sweeping change will occur the moment one candidate takes office.  Then governance begins. And...

Seventy-two years ago, Capital Records released a recording of a young Andy Griffith. He recorded under the name Deacon Andy Griffith. Side A of...

There is a difference between launching a Facebook page and operating a newsroom.  In recent days, a newly created local social media news platform generated...

A letter to the editor recently questioned Cullman Electric Cooperative’s motives behind our Community Cupboard initiative. While we welcome open dialogue, it’s important that...

I walked about 75 yards from the visitor center, stepped to the railing, looked both ways and gawked.  I’m not a big gawker. In fact,...

Last week I was listening to a Christian radio program when the host of the show asked the radio audience, “Is your Christmas tree...

Like many kids in Alabama in the 2000s, I didn’t grow up in a boxing-centric household. I heard stories of Marino, Sanders and Favre...

For most of my life, my personal motto has been, “I had rather be busy than bored.” Honestly, I don’t remember if I heard someone...

I used to be so scared to talk to people that I would have to avoid eye contact. If I were in a situation...

Sonder, defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “the awareness that other people all have their own complex set of feelings and experiences.”   As a child...

Hurricane Creek Park is widely known for its rock formations and waterfalls. It is roughly 70 acres of peace and tranquility – a perfect...

I wish every boy could experience snow the way we do in the South. Since it’s a rare occurrence here, there’s a sense of...

Have you heard about “Theo of Golden?” If you have not, let me tell you, it is a fabulous book that is sweeping (if not the...

I have decided, sometime in my not-as-young-as-I-once-was years, that I don’t like cucumbers. Well, at least I don’t like raw cucumbers. I’ve given them...

The following a guest article from Cullman County EMA Specialist Brent McDonald.  In emergency management, one thing has always remained constant: the responsibility to protect...

Every Feb. 14 arrives with the same confidence, dressed in red, trailing balloons, chocolate and the unmistakable belief that it is doing the Lord’s...

What bothered me most of all going into parenthood was that I knew there were things I would have to learn on the spot....

Valentine’s Day is a day to convey love and admiration. Though at any store you are almost forced to see the stuffed animals, heart-shaped...

What kind of lunchbox did you have when you were growing up? Perhaps, I should have said lunchboxes, because you may have had more...

There comes a moment, sometimes quietly and sometimes after damage has already been done, when you realize your level of self-respect was never where...

At a Lieutenant Governor political forum in Hoover last month, one of the moderators posed a simple question: name your favorite historical figure. Without...

I have spent my life serving the people of Alabama, from joining the US Marine Corps at 18 years old, to serving the last...

Among all of the things going through your mind in the last stages of your pregnancy, hospital bag preparation is one of the most...

There is a quiet truth many families in Cullman County already know but rarely see acknowledged in public.  If you are experiencing a mental health...

It looks like we dodged the storm down here in L.A. (Lower Alabama). Much of our nation is caught in the grip of more...

Every year, people create New Year’s resolutions. As the beginning of the year approaches these are goals commonly set to support their “New year,...

I think some make themselves appear as a “good person,” but what really defines us as that? Are you a good person because the...

The Lincoln Lawyer is back with the eighth novel of the Mickey Haller (Lincoln Lawyer) series.   Mickey Haller is the half-brother of Harry Bosch, a...

Where were you when the phones stopped ringing, that January day? That January day was Wednesday, Jan. 14. For roughly 10 hours that day,...

I have come to understand that rest is not simply a matter of distance. I can leave town. I can change scenery. I can stand...

I had never experienced anything quite like it. To say I was shocked would probably be an overstatement, but I certainly didn’t see it...

It has become very common for electronics and media to be incorporated into children’s everyday routines. Highly stimulating shows, for example, are used as...

There was a time when hobbies were simply for your enjoyment. You had one or two, at the least, that perhaps you were good...

Learning when to stop being available to those who never planned to stay  There comes a point when you realize you have been the last...

We have lost another old friend. Not to be morbid, but I’ve come to that age in life where I begin each new year...

I have a character flaw, one I can no longer dress up as self-preservation or strength.  When relationships fracture in my life, with family, friends,...

Do you know the Hokey Pokey song? It begins with, “You put your right foot in, you take your right foot out. You put...