Crane: Still learning to say goodbye

Though I communicate for a living, I find at times it is the simplest of sayings and messages which trouble me most. As a young kindergarten student, my brothers, sisters, and I were blessed to attend a private kindergarten in a large, converted former residence.

Stone: Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet

I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy A Yankee Doodle, do or die; A real-life nephew of my Uncle Sam Born on the Fourth of July “Yankee Doodle Boy” by George M. Cohan This coming Monday is Independence Day, more commonly referred to as July Fourth.

Rich: Simple Sunday mornings

It is a small country church in which we assemble most Sundays for worship. From the midst of those who gather there, a simple faith cloaked in humility rises up. Mountain people are ‘humble’, as the Appalachian folks saith, because none of us ever had enough to be haughty about it.

Yarbrough: Is our democracy in danger of eroding away?

We all know the story of how to boil a frog to death (Frog lovers: I’m not suggesting you do so, I’m just trying to make a point here.) The premise is that if you suddenly plopped a frog into boiling water, it would jump out.

Smith: David Allen - From athlete to physician

David Allen was a fine defensive back as a Tennessee undergraduate who prepared for a life after football that would have him returning to his hometown of Athens to practice medicine. In his three varsity years, the Volunteers posted a 31-5 record that included three bowl trips.

Rich: The thrift of my people

This story will tell you a lot about me. It will tell you what friends and family already know about me. It will tell you what Tink took a good many years to learn but knows steadfastly now and jokes about it.

Yarbrough: What will ‘RITOO’ Republicans do now?

Okay, RITOOs (Republicans in Trump’s Orbit Only), what’s next? Planning on sitting out November’s general election in a funk so that Democrats can elect Stacey Abrams governor and give Georgia four or perhaps eight years of left-leaning policies?

Stratton: I am from sandy shores

I am from sandy shores and the wind-swept beaches of old Florida. The Kodachrome days of film sold in the stores that lined Collins Avenue in Miami Beach and the crumbling Art Deco buildings of South Beach that will predate its resurgence in 50 years.

Hembree: Lake Country arts remain intertwined, support each other

Each art medium is beautiful in its own way. Paint, oil pastels, dance, collage, acting, stand up comedy…each way of creating art is great in its own right. This is the same for the arts organizations in the community.

Rich: The father’s words

There’s no disputing it. No doubting it. Not denying it. The man, who was our family’s North Star, was raised in an isolated, backwoods shack where hope rarely appeared but then dissipated quickly like dew on a hot summer’s morning.