LIVING ON PURPOSE: Trusting the God of hope
By Bill Holland Like you, I’m hearing about acts of kindness during this time when the virus is causing so many problems. We realize it’s easy to become so distracted with how bad things are, that we forget all the good that is going on all around us. In a world where the attitude is many times based on an “everyone for themselves mentality” it’s good to know there are still caring people out there who are sincerely compassionate....
The wonder of woods and waters: Remembering Harry Hampton
By Tom Poland Fall 1980, a Columbia office park known as Dutch Plaza teems with activity. We’re packing up files, desks, cameras, magazines and more and moving the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department headquarters to the Capitol Complex. A busy and disruptive time it was. Perhaps that’s how I missed the news. Harry Rutledge Elliott Hampton died Nov. 16, 1980. What I didn’t miss once we settled in at the Rembert C....
March memories
By Bill Shepard This is March and I have not seen the first kite sailing in the blue skies overhead! March is half over and I have not seen the first marble game in progress! Ah, if I could be a boy again! I pity the boy who has never had the experience of standing at the edge of an open field, bracing himself against the cold March wind, while holding tightly to the roll of twine in his hand. The tug on the end of the line sends a...
Living on the West End: A memory
By Bill Shepard I have heard it said many times that one picture is worth a thousand words. I don’t know if that is true or not. This I do know: The picture of the Old Post Office building on the front page of the March 4 News & Press has awakened a lot of memories in this old writer’s mind. On some of my visits to Darlington and passing by the empty building, I have thought, “What a shame that old building looks so neglected and...
LIVING ON PURPOSE: Fear and faith are choices
By Bill Holland Fear and anxiety are negative byproducts of modern life, which unfortunately attempt to influence us every day. Our jobs are often stressful, our relationships and finances, and even our children struggle with social pressures we hardly faced when we were their age. Some people turn to natural remedies, like the newly popular cannabidiol products, while others find relief in meditation, but there is even better news...
The past still lives on back roads
By Tom Poland The past lives in a rural version of an assisted living center for a parallel exists between elders and the sights along back roads. A lot of people live out their final days in homes these days. Unless you have reason to visit them, they are invisible. Like a society you never see they nonetheless are there. The sights along back roads remain out of sight too unless you drive by them. It’s like a country you’ll never...