AUTHOR'S NOTE: Reflections of summers growing up in Danbury, North Carolina in the late 1960s and early '70s. It was fun living in the country back then with little to worry about and a river to play in. I first wrote this in 2014. The Dan River in Danbury, North Carolina in a photo taken … Continue reading The joys of summer in a small town
Past imperfect
Covering our first hurricane: Hot, dirty, exhausted and oddly satisfied
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The 25 year anniversary of Hurricane Bertha slipped past me the other day -- July 12 to be precise. That was my first journalism experience -- or any experience at all -- with a hurricane making a direct landfall. This one was at Topsail when I worked for the Jacksonville Daily News. At … Continue reading Covering our first hurricane: Hot, dirty, exhausted and oddly satisfied
‘You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone’
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a column I wrote for the Burlington Times-News in 2014, when Tim Sutton attended what was then thought to be his last meeting as an Alamance County commissioner. He was defeated in the 2014 primary after 20 often controversial years on the board. He told me then he was likely through … Continue reading ‘You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone’
My old man and Ralphie’s old man shared a common language
This is a column from deep in the archives. It was published on Father's Day --June 19, 1994 -- by the Jacksonville Daily News. At the time my dad was almost two years past a heart transplant and he would live another 14 years before passing away in June of 2008. I doubt he ever … Continue reading My old man and Ralphie’s old man shared a common language
Carrying a life and death message forward from now on
As a newspaper reporter, editor and now community blogger, I have written about the evils of racism for almost 40 years. I have pointed out biases, called out politicians, noted historical incidents like lynchings, attempted to define the idea of privilege, saluted black and white leaders who mattered, taken part in Rev. Dr. Martin Luther … Continue reading Carrying a life and death message forward from now on
Apollo 11: ‘The story of a big adventure’
Click here to see a collection newspaper front pages covering the Apollo 11 mission provided by Poynter. Houston, Monday July 21 -- Men have landed and walked on the moon. That was the lede graph in the story published by the New York Times on July 21, 1969. It was a simple statement, clean and … Continue reading Apollo 11: ‘The story of a big adventure’
Learning to balance eagerness and caution, a baseball story
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've told this story a few times over the years. It should probably stand as my Father's Day and summertime post for the rest of my days. ---- Probably no little kid wanted to play Little League Baseball more than I did. That might seem like an exaggeration. I don't think so. If … Continue reading Learning to balance eagerness and caution, a baseball story
Satisfying my longtime curiosity about the old May Hosiery Mill, uh, May Hosiery Lofts
I have always had some curiosity about the old May Hosiery Mill in downtown Burlington. During my first nine years working across the street from it at the Burlington Times-News it was still a functioning operation. It was joined to another building across Morehead Street with an overhead connection between the two buildings with Kayser-Roth … Continue reading Satisfying my longtime curiosity about the old May Hosiery Mill, uh, May Hosiery Lofts
Speaking of journalism: What I told a civic club in 2014
This is the basic text of a speech I gave to the Burlington Kiwanis Club five years ago -- May 29, 2014 -- back when I was editor of the Burlington Times-News. I was coming to the end of my journalism career then and I knew it. But I had seen a lot in terms … Continue reading Speaking of journalism: What I told a civic club in 2014
Eulogy for a friend: Did Mike Wilder really say that out loud?
People develop interesting bonds in compact work spaces where creative minds are churning in a highly combustible atmosphere. Co-workers alternately love, loathe and tolerate each other -- the occasional shouting aside. They laugh easily, sometimes with gallows humor while minor jealousies simmer within a cauldron of bad or slightly nervous annoying habits. When things go … Continue reading Eulogy for a friend: Did Mike Wilder really say that out loud?
Madison's Avenue 