The last total (or nearly total) eclipse occurring over North Carolina that I recall with much clarity was the first one. I don't remember exactly what year and attempts to figure it out are muddled with conflicting information. Some say 1970. Others have written 1974. I've seen a few other options, too. Let's just say … Continue reading Riding out the eclipse
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Updated: Community Connections at Elon hits a milestone year
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This post was updated to reflect a time and date has been selected for the first Community Connections forum for 2017-18. It will be 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23 in Lakeside at the Moseley Center at Elon University. That's a new site for the forum but the same building. "Can it really … Continue reading Updated: Community Connections at Elon hits a milestone year
Nixon in the rearview mirror: What happened then echoes today
I've said on more than one occasion that when I was a newspaper editor I wasn't much of an editorial writer. I didn't like that part of the job very much and even lobbied to get rid of the opinion pages entirely. Often the editorials didn't reflect my own views but the collective voice of … Continue reading Nixon in the rearview mirror: What happened then echoes today
Political aspirations . . . thanks but no thanks
A few weeks ago I had an exchange on Twitter. It came during the often contentious debate over public education funding in Alamance County, it was a fight the pro-education folks – let’s call them the “good guys” – lost by a whisker to forces that, well let’s face it, have a stake in forging … Continue reading Political aspirations . . . thanks but no thanks
Throwback Thursday: Our bug-infested megalopolis to be
This is something I wrote in 2014 after reading a very revealing study about what North Carolina might look like in the year 2060. Think a bug-infested wasteland -- something like "Blade Runner meets the Andy Griffith Show." This column actually sparked a Community Connections discussion at Elon. Here it goes ... --- It’s almost … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Our bug-infested megalopolis to be
Book review: The Captain Class
“The Captain Class”; by Sam Walker; 333 pages; Random House, 2017. Sam Walker began with one simple question. Through his research, the quest took a new direction. By the time he had completed his journey Walker had produced something both intended but also serendipitous. The outcome is both ironic and coincidental. That’s a rather sloppy … Continue reading Book review: The Captain Class
How I survived summer camp in the Village, maybe even thrived — a little
Every day during the Summer in the Village camp at Elon University we opened our class of rising eighth and ninth-graders by asking them to write a brief essay or short commentary about a subject selected the night before. We gave them 10 minutes or so to write and then all were asked to read … Continue reading How I survived summer camp in the Village, maybe even thrived — a little
Flashback Friday, special edition: The return of Harold Owen
I wrote this editorial in August of 2015, shortly after then-Burlington City Manager Harold Owen called me to let me know he planned to retire. He called me again the other day to let me know he might be seeking a return to city government, but this time as an elected member of Burlington's City … Continue reading Flashback Friday, special edition: The return of Harold Owen
Throwback Thursday: Importance of July 20, 1969 lost on new generations
This is a column from 2014 on the anniversary of the historic landing on the moon. --- How I came to be talking about the moon landing of 1969 to a group of third-graders whose parents weren’t even born when it happened, was sort of an accident. After all, I’m seldom in the company of … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Importance of July 20, 1969 lost on new generations
A glimpse of a next generation of voters
Suddenly, I don’t feel so anxious about the long-term future of the nation. I’m in the second week now of a two-week volunteer morning gig with the Village Project summer camp at Elon. It’s a cliché to say I’ve learned as much from the 12 to 14 rising eighth and ninth-graders in our class as … Continue reading A glimpse of a next generation of voters
Madison's Avenue 