In case you see some strangers talking loud and saying stuff like “fuhgeddaboudit,” it has been revealed that New York City has shipped off a number of their tired, their poor, their huddled masses yearning to breathe free (i.e. welfare recipients.) Only they didn’t tell anybody.

I speak today in defense of tacky.

When I see the ads about stores being open until midnight and beyond during the Christmas shopping season, I want to cry. Where were these people when I needed them?

It is a truism that a blackmailer is rarely satisfied. Once the payoffs start, there often is no end to them.

Among the great treats that come from my job as a writer are all the wonderful, handwritten letters I receive. Few are typed, and though I receive many emails, these scripted letters are always the most joyous.

So, PETA — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — that hypocritical group of attention-seekers that has been known to euthanize up to 75% of the pets in their shelters — is at it again

I could make a list of all the things I’m not good at, and it would fill this column space. It would include swimming, singing, cooking and anything that requires athleticism or construction skills. I wouldn’t even include the things I haven’t yet tried, but in which I know I would fail. Those would include skydiving, roofing and performing surgery. Truth be told, the list of things I can do well would fit in one sentence. Like for instance, math.

I have traveled a right smart, across our great nation and around the world.

You might be interested to know that there have been only 12 lieutenant governors in Georgia’s history, going back to 1947 when the position was created. Four went on to become governor. One became lieutenant governor after having served as governor. Four others tried for the state’s highest office and failed. Two left politics after their term in office.It is safe to say that the 12th occupant, Geoff Duncan, didn’t have the job on his radar when he graduated from Georgia Tech. A pitcher for the Yellow Jackets, he was signed by the Miami Marlins organization and made it as far as the organization’s AAA affiliate, the Calgary Cannons of the Pacific Coast League, until a shoulder injury ended his career.

John Bednarowski, MDJ’s esteemed sports editor, had a poignant piece recently about the ending of another high school football season here in Cobb County. While we have produced and continue to produce some outstanding individuals who will go on to play college football and a few perhaps who may make it to the professional level, many will take their jersey off for the last time. Bednarowski calls them “the glue,” the ones who make the others look good. Amen to that. I am the father of a former high school lineman and came to appreciate that the best quarterback on the planet can’t throw a football while sitting on his wazoo. Somebody has got to block. A lineman will make 30 or more blocks in a game, but if the poor guy commits one mistake while doing so, he gets identified publicly and everybody groans. It is usually the only time grunts get public recognition. Unfair.

Our nation has come a long way, brothers and sisters — in the wrong direction.

Editor’s Note: Final installment of a four part series on the Andy Griffith Show.

Turn with me now to those not-so-thrilling days of yesteryear while I talk about — toys.

Election season is upon us.

I was surprised when the phone rang this morning. I expected it to be a friendly robot offering me a credit card I don’t want or a back brace I don’t need. What to my wondering ears should appear but Skeeter Skates, the proprietor of Skeeter Skates Tree Stump Removal and Plow Repair, located in Ryo, Georgia.

Editor’s Note: Third of a four part series on the Andy Griffith Show.

First, baptism is essentially something God does.

Seth Owen was known to be a passionate hiker, cyclist and kayaker, and enjoyed restoring classic cars and spending time with his family. 

“Well my daddy left home when I was three, and he didn’t leave much to Ma and me, except this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze. Now I don’t blame him because he run and hid, but the meanest thing that he ever did, is before he left, he went and named me Sue.”

When Henry County residents head to the polls next week, they will get to vote on whether or not to pass a countywide referendum to renew the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).

I bow to no one in my love for and loyalty to the University of Georgia. 

Don’t look now, y’all, but October is just about over. How did that happen? It just started day before yesterday.

I have trouble sleeping. I toss and turn and my mind runs here and there, and drifting off for a peaceful night’s rest doesn’t come easily. 

Depending on the polls you read and how you read them, nearly half of those surveyed want the House impeachment inquiry of President Trump to continue. That is not the same as wanting him impeached, much less convicted by the Senate and removed from office, but it represents a momentum the president needs to address and soon.