A friend of mine from my newspaper days is touring university campuses with his daughter, who is a high school senior. They drove here the other day from Gastonia to take a look at Elon University. Their reaction to the campus? "This place is amazing," the dad told me. "I had no idea." That's a … Continue reading In need of education about following a strategic plan
Month: April 2017
The Sazerac special: ‘This whiskey-beer is very good’
While there is some dispute about whether the Sazerac is America's oldest cocktail, it can be generally agreed upon that it's very much a New Orleans tradition. After all, the drink isn't in high rotation on cocktail lists at many North Carolina restaurants. What I find is most people haven't heard of it at all, … Continue reading The Sazerac special: ‘This whiskey-beer is very good’
Mission almost impossible on Tax Day 1989
A memory that reveals just how much times have changed. 11:30 p.m., April 15, 1989 . . . I have no idea why I volunteered to do it, but somehow I found myself standing outside the main Burlington Post Office branch off Maple Avenue as the clock wound toward midnight on Tax Day, 1989. No … Continue reading Mission almost impossible on Tax Day 1989
Can anyone over 30 be trusted with emojis?
Am I way too old to use emojis? Well, maybe. Deep down, I sort of knew this already. This isn't because I have a violent reaction every time I see someone on social media compose sentences, paragraphs or stories using nothing but tiny computer-generated illustrations. This isn't exactly an old fart "get the hell of … Continue reading Can anyone over 30 be trusted with emojis?
Poignant moment: ‘What is the county doing?’ about health issues
Selling public health, community wellness or even health insurance as sexy topics for college students is akin to offering spinach and Brussels sprouts sandwiches at a Super Bowl party. There usually aren’t many takers. So it wasn’t a huge surprise Tuesday night that attendance at our third and final Community Connections forum for this school … Continue reading Poignant moment: ‘What is the county doing?’ about health issues
There’s always a but ….
The other day I wrote to a friend of mine. The email was slugged: “I don’t want to be that guy, but …” Yeah, there’s always a “but.” My observation was about what was otherwise an outstanding newspaper story in the Burlington Times-News the other day about death penalty cases in North Carolina – how … Continue reading There’s always a but ….
Retirement, newspapers and conspiracies: How two stories and fake news were related
Three seemingly unrelated events this week . . . 1. Berkshire Hathaway, the company founded by investing genius Warren Buffett and owners of a few dozen newspapers nationwide, announce staff cuts, including deep ones at two of the larger newspapers in North Carolina – the Greensboro News & Record and Winston-Salem Journal. Further cost-cutting measures … Continue reading Retirement, newspapers and conspiracies: How two stories and fake news were related
Not exactly my cup of beer, yet
The science of brewing is something I never thought much about nearly 40 years ago when I first started drinking beer. Cheap and available was about all I cared about. So at that time, I drank a lot of crappy beer because it cost less than $2 a six pack. In college, for example, we … Continue reading Not exactly my cup of beer, yet
Madison's Avenue 