Opinion
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Willie’s Adventures (part #4)
Before we get into this week’s Willie’s Adventures about him and Patches stumbling on a likker still, a little background on moonshining might be helpful.
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Child care deserts aren’t empty
A Center for American Progress report confirms that 46 percent of children under age 6 in the United States live in a “child care desert,” a designation based on census and state licensing data. In remote rural areas, that number climbs to 70 percent. North Carolina has long struggled with…
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NC’s workers and veterans faced asbestos exposure
When someone is evaluated for lung cancer risk, certain questions are almost automatic: How old are you? Do you smoke? How many years did you smoke? When did you quit? Those questions matter. But there is another question that deserves far more attention: What did you do for a living?
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Willie’s Adventures (Part 3)
Seems around the fall of each year older churches would have homecoming and revival services. Why those evening services would end up lasting a full week. Most churches like Bethel, where Wille attended, would have a guest speaker and most of the time he would stay at the regular preacher’s…
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North Carolina can’t afford to lose its best teachers
We often measure an education budget by how many new teachers it attracts. Perhaps it is time to ask a different question: How many accomplished veteran teachers does it inspire to stay?
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Willie’s Adventures (part # 2)
You were introduced to Willie Hudson in last week’s column. We found out where he was born and lived his family as well and how his Pa thought that Willie had a curse. In this week’s column we’ll explore more about Willie, his family, friends and about the culture surrounding…
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Willie’ s Adventures Part #1
In the late eighteen and early nineteen hundreds a lot of folks in the south still lived on small farms. The south’s economy was slowly coming back following the Civil War. Some families still farmed the land that had been handed down for generations while some had lost their land…
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Monsters, myths, and mozzarella sticks: Re-reading Homer’s The Odyssey
Odyssey fever is sweeping America. Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya — what’s not to get excited about? These are huge stars taking on a massive story — calling it epic isn’t overstating it.
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A rhude awakening …
Growing up in Michigan, you learn to accept certain universal truths. The winters last until May, the potholes can swallow a Honda Civic, and rhubarb is a weed.
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Meet Henry, the murder goose
Recently, I took my annual road trip with my boys up to the “motherland,” a.k.a., the great state of Michigan.
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They fought for this country, they shouldn’t have to leave it to heal
Veterans with severe PTSD and depression are increasingly traveling overseas for treatments they cannot legally access in the United States.
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Vicious Summer Storm
Last Monday July 6th started out to be a regular Monday morning for my wife and I. We enjoyed the 4th of July with fireworks and hot dogs but were unprepared for the excitement that was still to come that very Monday evening and night.
