When my Uncle Jack was a very little boy, he’d get out of bed very early in the morning and toddle barefoot out to the stables, carrying his bottle with him.

Once there, he’d grip the nipple of his bottle between his teeth and crawl up Queen’s foreleg until he could grab her mane and pull himself up onto her back.

He was a wizard with animals and completely fearless.

Queen was Granddaddy’s special pet. She competed on the racetrack in sulky racing. A sulky is a two-wheeled, one-seat lightweight cart, and Queen won a lot of races.

Racehorse though she was, she was amazingly gentle and patient with Uncle Jack. He was a towhead with curls so light they looked white. Although he looked

First, I’d like to thank all of you who have been praying for my wife, Kathy, as she has been struggling with the aftermath of a near-fatal bout of sepsis, with other complications. She’s getting better but still has a lot to deal with, so if you’re inclined, please continue to pray.

I’m going to be taking some time off from writing a regular weekly column, but I felt compelled to weigh in on the controversy that has stirred protests across the country recently.

I don’t think it’s possible to really know what it feels like to be a black man in a nation dominated by white people — unless you are a black man in such a nation, as America is.

But I’ve come closer, perhaps, than most to getting a taste of what it must be like.

For a time in the late 1970s, I was the only white guy in an

Not so proud of Pickens

Dear Editor,

Normally, I am very proud to say that I am from Pickens, a peaceful little town in the upper corner of South Carolina. Today, though, not so much. Let me tell you why.

Last Monday night, there was a demonstration — a peaceful protest, if you will — marking righteous outrage over the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a man who betrayed the trust we place in

Many of us haven’t been eating right lately. Sometimes the stores are out of what we want; sometimes we can’t get an available pickup time. But there are a few other safe options for getting what we need.

Community Supported Agriculture: Farmers near you like to know in advance if their crops will have a market once it’s time to harvest, and they sell “subscriptions” that allow you, as a shareholder, to pick up fresh food once a week. Do an internet search for “community supported agriculture” in your area. Look for ones that sell more