Yarbrough: Reflecting on the loss of three heroes

Dear, Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia; Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Georgia, and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia, I did not know you personally and the likelihood is that our paths might never have crossed. That does not matter.

Smith: Love at first sight

SIGNAL MOUNTAIN, Tenn. – A most extraordinary couple lives in this affluent mountain town where spring flowers and autumn leaves offer inspiration that would captivate daydreamers, sentimentalists, Pollyannas, artists, and poets.

Rich: More than worldly accomplishments

In an old-fashioned diner in Staunton, Virginia, the four of us sat in a leather booth against a wall of windows. Over eggs and biscuits, we were having the kind of conversation that close friends enjoy between sips of coffee. An older man approached, reaching out to shake the hand of Don Reid.

Smith: RIP Uga X

In the late 1950s, when I became connected to the University of Georgia, Uga had already become one of the premier personalities on the campus of the oldest chartered university in the country. The patriarch mascot had it all. He was as handsome as a bulldog could be.

Yarbrough: Georgians seem satisfied with one language

I saw a poll recently that says Georgians aren’t very interested in learning languages. I don’t know what your excuse is but I’m still trying to master the language we already have. When I get who vs. whom figured out, you will be the first to know.

Rich: The photo of back then

There is a photo that I discovered a couple of years ago and immediately I put it on the refrigerator, so I’d never forget who I am. Who I really am. It is a color photo made with a Kodak Instamatic camera. Remember those? The little silver box with a flash cube snapped on top.

Yarbrough: Fulton County DA finds herself in ‘fine mess’

When something went awry in one of their old slapstick movies, Oliver Hardy would declare to the hapless Stan Laurel, “This is a fine mess you’ve gotten us into.

Smith: Habersham County

While the Chattahoochee will always be my favorite Georgia river, flowing from the “hills of Habersham down the valleys of Hall,” there are several runners-up, one of which is the Soque, representing a total of 28.5 miles in length. This means the mighty Mississippi is about 82.1 times longer.

Rich: When the good ones leave

Over the past few years, I’ve lost too many loved ones who meandered out of this life and crossed the River Jordan. “I don’t know why the Lord keeps taking the good ones and leaving the bad ones,” I complained to a friend, recently widowed. Her husband had been a celebrated legend of the ages.

Smith: Visiting 'salt-of-the-earth' friends is the reason for so many north Georgia trips

Owing to a warm friendship with Jimmy Harris, the good-natured mayor of Nacoochee Bend, just outside Helen, I have for the longest time experienced some of the most refreshing sojourns into the northern half of our state.