Living on Purpose: The power of staying positive
By Bill Holland Those who have a certain amount of worry and concern are not necessarily weak. Stress, like all the other negative forces which attempt to influence our thoughts every day, is real and there is no condemnation toward those who battle against it. However, it would also not be a balanced perspective on this subject without adding that negativity is actually an invited guest rather than an unwelcomed intruder. You are...
This silent, strange spring
By Tom Poland Spring’s springing. I put my hummingbird feeders up for soon the feathered jets will arrive. My azaleas burst into living color as Disney phrased it, and hardwoods’ newly minted leaves look so green they’re fluorescent. The cypress I planted long ago sports tender bright green needles. Yes, spring’s here but there’s no joy in Mudville, nor any town for that matter. A silent strange spring we have. Most folks have nowhere...
Living on Purpose: Even now, God is in total control
By Bill Holland Praise the Lord, I am feeling better and beginning to regain some of my strength. I want to thank everyone for your prayers. Pneumonia is a formidable opponent, and it takes a while for the body to defeat the infection and manage the healing process. I received an e-mail yesterday from a sweet lady who attended a church with us back in 1997. The church was called “Christ Fellowship” and was facilitated by Bob Neff and...
Living on the West End: The 1930s
Editor’s note: This is a reprint of a Bill Shepard column published last year. By Bill Shepard The 1930s were trying years, not only in America, but around the world! Most of the world was trying to free itself from the stranglehold that the war had on them. World War I had ended in 1918. Wars are costly and wars end, but the cost of wars continues on! Presidents Coolidge and Harding had wrestled with America’s problems but with...
Hauling up water
By Tom Poland The cold water hurt my teeth, and it didn’t come from a cooler. Nor a faucet. There was no faucet. My grandparents cranked a windlass, lowering a bucket into a hand-dug well and hauling up water a dowser said was there. Hand-dug wells and dowsers … erased by time. But the dowser was right. Water was there. Well, memories live on. I recall hauling up water from Mother Earth. I never came up empty. I drank cold water from...
How you can help Darlington businesses through this crisis
Over the past week, life has changed dramatically right before our eyes. Our communities that were founded on innovation and hard work face adversity and hardship like they have not faced in our lifetime. Businesses have transformed the way they operate within days and some within hours. Darlington is strong and we are resilient. I am fully confident that we will all come out of this on the other side stronger, more confident in...