A couple of years ago I wrote a column about some newspaper resolutions I had on one of those giddy -- not to mention halcyon -- reporting and editing days way, way back in 1990. In hindsight those were great days. Sure the Internet had emerged as something very real and was becoming a noticeable … Continue reading Foreshadowing: Looking back, the end was obvious
Column archive
Then one smoky Christmas Eve
I few years ago I wrote about Christmas Eve memories of going to my grandparents house on my mother's side of the family. It was a great event with a house full of rowdy men and children along with the women who did the real work and put up with the shenanigans. I'm only slightly … Continue reading Then one smoky Christmas Eve
The story of Big Dave, a big man with an equally big heart
I probably should've posted this on what has become Giving Tuesday -- the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday, and Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday and whatever they think of next to fill the hours on Sunday. It's inevitable. For many of us giving is something that's a part of the season stretching from … Continue reading The story of Big Dave, a big man with an equally big heart
We’re Thanksgiving people
On Saturday we had a pre-Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving dinner for 20 at our home in Burlington -- and that's not the record. Three years ago I believe we had 25 for what has become known in this family circle as "The Big Dinner." And indeed, the event lives up to its name, something that evolved from … Continue reading We’re Thanksgiving people
Updated 2021: Joe Morgan gets it right about the Baseball Hall of Fame
UPDATE January 27, 2021: This is a post from November of 2017 containing a letter written by a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame -- Joe Morgan -- during that year to the baseball writers who decide what former players and manages are in or out. It also contains a column I wrote in … Continue reading Updated 2021: Joe Morgan gets it right about the Baseball Hall of Fame
Celebrating Nov. 18; or, how I met my spouse
This is a column I wrote in November a couple of years ago. The timing makes sense, of course, because timing is everything. Life is full of seemingly random events, but when we examine them more closely weird patterns emerge. It can be running into the same people over and over again for years before … Continue reading Celebrating Nov. 18; or, how I met my spouse
The time I got to look inside LabCorp
Thought about this experience the other day as I was thumbing through my longtime friend Don Bolden's new book about the history of LabCorp, Alamance County's largest employer and a global giant in medical testing. Yes, LabCorp is headquartered in downtown Burlington but its branches spread throughout the community -- and the nation. Indeed, specimens … Continue reading The time I got to look inside LabCorp
Throwback Thursday: A night I would rather forget
This throwback column was first written in June of 2010 but is about something that happened nearly 30 years before, an event I had neither written about nor spoken of in years. I think I felt the time was right to put it out there because of our coverage of a now deceased legislator who … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: A night I would rather forget
Throwback Thursday: A reminder about the treachery of politicians
I wrote this in October, 2015 about something that impacted my home county. This still pisses me off to be blunt about it. Never forget what politicians are capable of doing -- ever. --- In Stokes County, where I was born and raised, a lot of good people I know very well fought the good … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: A reminder about the treachery of politicians
Throwback Thursday: My best friend at work
Five years ago this week my spouse, the lovely, talented and now long-suffering Roselee Papandrea, announced she would be leaving the newspaper business and the Burlington Times-News for a position at Elon. I wrote this on her last week but thought today might be a good time to share it again. The newspaper business … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: My best friend at work
Madison's Avenue 