Smith: Coast-to-coast arrivals

With the semester system in place at most colleges across the country, most incoming freshmen have now settled in, beginning a journey that should be enhanced by their campus experience.

Smith: The small town of Blakely

If you don’t have culinary affection for fried quail and peanuts, you might not enjoy spending time in the town of Blakely, population 5,000.

Smith: Enjoying Eastman

It takes three hours – maybe a little more, depending on traffic between Madison and Eatonton where the widening of U. S. 441 into four lanes sometimes brings traffic to a standstill – to get to Eastman, the seat of Dodge County. That’s where I lay my head when the sun goes down.

Smith: Daylight waxes and wanes

In case you haven’t noticed, daylight is coming just a little later now. That trend will continue as the calendar moves toward the cooler temperatures of autumn and then winter. I don’t live by the moon and stars.

Smith: Of grapes and wine

Since my college years at the University of Georgia, I have had a long-standing affinity for grapes. That’s when I first had an opportunity to partake in this extraordinary fruit.

Smith: Jacques Bergerac

While I am not a pack rat, I tend to hang on to anything that can be filed away. Then I forget where I filed it or the name of the folder which has treasured flashback content.

Smith: European summer vacation

It is difficult to book a seat on a plane or find an empty hotel room almost anywhere in Europe in the summertime. The continent is overrun with tourists, many of whom are students who head over for studies abroad or in-depth tours.

Smith: Appreciating all things Irish

I have always been told my forebears were Scots Irish, but I have never had the urge or the time to explore the past, although it would be nice to know that, perhaps, one of my ancient kin tossed the caber with Rob Roy or enjoyed a wee dram of Bushmills with Michael Collins.

Smith: Remembering Lewis Grizzard

I stopped in Moreland recently after a trip to Greenville, which is in the heart of the Pine Mountain Range, one of the most becoming and emotionally uplifting strips of geography in our state.

Smith: New life for hometown newspapers

Lately, I’ve been hanging out with a few newspaper publishers who remain convinced print journalism is not dead. They are not doomsayers. They are intrepid entrepreneurs.