Off Script
My husband emailed me something from The Atlantic the other day, accompanied by the comment,...
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
OPINION
No Fairy Tale
My daughter called out of the blue from Clemson Thursday and asked, “Mom, did you hear about the...
Read MoreOn Kudzu and Butterflies
Note: Here’s an oldie from August 2017. I think it’s evergreen. Unlike kudzu. – Margaret I was out...
Read MoreSmall Pleasures & The Big Picture
Here in the US, we’re deep into the dog days, but the weather’s not the only thing overheating. I...
Read MoreThe Monsters of Summer
My family and I were watching the final episode of ‘Stranger Things,’ Season Four. Amelia had...
Read MoreKitten Smitten
Allow me to interrupt our regularly scheduled program of doom, gloom, and apocalyptic hysteria to...
Read MoreA House Divided?
Have you seen the latest issue of The New Yorker? It’s been years since I subscribed, but the...
Read MoreTraveling Mercies
I’m writing from the Victoria Hotel in Budapest, Hungary, midway through a family travel...
Read MoreLuke Warm on Hots Takes
Hot Take: (noun.) A piece of commentary, typically produced quickly in response to a recent event,...
Read MoreTo Be An American
New York photographer Robert Kalman and his wife Linda have been on the road for weeks now. It’s...
Read MoreConversations with My Daughter
My daughter, a rising college junior, calls me every day from Clemson. Sometimes more than once....
Read MoreOn Propaganda
I’ve become obsessed with propaganda. Not actual propaganda, mind you, but the concept. Actual...
Read MoreI Have Questions
As an “opinion columnist,” I have always known – deep down – that what I do on this page is a...
Read MoreDreams of War
I’m stuck in traffic on Carteret Street, just past Bellamy Curve, near the university. We haven’t...
Read MoreLove, Longing, and Detachment Disorder
It was the first Sunday of Lent, and the revelations came fast and furious. It started with Sunday...
Read MorePat Conroy in the First
By Grey Brendle I ran across Pat Conroy’s “Prince of Tides” in the bookcase and it reminded of his...
Read MoreBeaufort’s Film Festival Turns Sweet Sixteen
The Beaufort International Film Festival turns Sweet Sixteen next week, and – God willing and the...
Read MoreRoll With It, Baby
Last week I was at Hearth, devouring an excellent wood fired pizza (‘The Meat’) while debriefing...
Read MorePursuing Perseverance in 2022
I choose the word “perseverance” as my guiding light for 2022 because I’m so bad at it. I start so...
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