Cherishing memories of the old ways

It was a Friday afternoon a few weeks ago, and I was chafing. Perhaps you saw me. I was that 65-ish guy with sunglasses and a ball cap standing outside the REACH second-hand store in downtown Hazelwood. My lovely wife, my beautiful daughter and my spectacular three-month-old grandson are inside, browsing.

This must be the place: ‘Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one’

By the time this newspaper hits the streets on Nov. 12, it will have been 70 years to the day since Marty McFly was accidentally sent back to the future (1955) in a time machine created by Doctor Emmitt Brown in Hill Valley, California. The film was “Back to the Future,” which just celebrated its 40th anniversary. 

This January 6, it’s back to the routine

It’s Jan. 6, 2025, and my mind was on established routines and rituals. The warm frenzy of the holidays is now behind us. Time now for my wife, Lori, and me to re-establish some of that routine. 

Nostalgia’s great, but ditch the rose-colored glasses

Like a lot of middle-aged-to-older Americans during the holiday season, I’m a person with a healthy nostalgic streak.

A broken heart is an open heart

It was a beautiful sunny morning when I felt the urge to make the 45-minute drive to my hometown of Weaverville.

This must be the place: ‘Scarecrow and a yellow moon and pretty soon a carnival on the edge of town’

Mailbox 278 (pictured) along Route 581 in the unincorporated community of Nahunta, North Carolina. In the rural depths of Wayne County on the outskirts of the small city of Goldsboro. 

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