Movement in the front yard caught my attention. The sun was barely peaking over the trees as a rain shower set in, and it took a bit for my eyes to adjust….
Category: Editorials
From the sunny side: A new Independence Day
I remember as a youngster, I always looked forward to the Fourth of July. Mostly because of all the firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman candles and any other legal munitions and explosives I…
Emerald’s Gem Box: Happy 4th of July
As we celebrate the Fourth of July this Saturday, let’s not just think of this day as just another holiday and a day to get off work, play and have fun. Let’s…
Learning As I Go: Flowers grow when we aren’t looking
Every day for a week, I walked around my house looking for evidence that my old-fashioned lilies were about to start blooming, and each day I was let down. All the houses…
From the sunny side: Noticing
For those of you who have not seen me in the last couple of weeks, I am happy to tell you that I am now out of the “walking boot.” My left…
Emerald’s Gem Box: God answers prayers
Prayer works!!! I’ve always been someone who prayed all my “thanks” to God but never really prayed my “needs” to God. For the last several months, I have been compelled to pray…
Learning As I Go: End With “I Love You”
There’s a meme floating around social media lately that’s says, “Tell your friends you love them. Tell them a lot. Make it weird.” I smiled a little as I read it. I…
From the sunny side: Nature shows
I have always liked nature shows on television. Somehow, listening to Richard Attenborough tell me about elephants on the Serengeti plains makes me feel more intelligent. It must be the British dialect….
Learning As I Go: Hunting armadillos
My husband is a critter man. He loves to catch, chase and get rid of unwanted critters around our place, but he especially likes to help others move these unwanted varmints out…
Emerald’s Gem Box: I support Trump AND I’m a Christian
I am sick and tired of news articles, broadcasts and people on social media telling me that I am less of a Christian for being a Trump supporter … and telling me…
From the sunny side: The search for intelligent life
During the course of doing what I do for the newspaper, I have subscribed to a variety of newsletters that are delivered to my email inbox on a quite frequent basis. I…
Learning As I Go: What If?
What a wonderful feeling to be back with people today. I got a few hugs and a bunch of fist bumps. I had forgotten how wonderful it was to sing with a…
Emerald’s Gem Box: Guess what news you have missed?
If you watch television or read your big city newspapers, all the news coverage, for months, has been about the coronavirus, and here lately, more about the riots. But what news have…
From the sunny side: Two wrongs
Those of you who are regular readers of these weekly visits know that I try to stay on the “lighter” side of things. There are times in which I do feel compelled…
Learning As I Go: Take off your mask
Christy Bass Adams, Guest Columnist Many churches, including ours, are opening their doors again. Drive-in church, live-streaming videos, and Zoom meetings have kept folks as connected as possible throughout this quarantine. As…
Emerald’s Gem Box: Children learn what they live
Emerald G. Parsons, Publisher When I was a child, on through my teenage years, a scroll hung in my bedroom (on my closet door) with a nice saying on it. I used…
From the sunny side: Look before you sit
I like to consider myself a “humorist.” Perhaps not on the same level as a Mark Twain or even a Lewis Grizzard, yet. But I do hope that more than a few…
Emerald’s Gem Box: Is America still free?
Let me start this column out by saying, “The coronavirus is real!” COVID-19 is a real virus that sickens some; proves fatal to others, mostly the elderly; and does nothing to the…
Learning As I Go: Add A Little Sunrise
I rolled over and looked at the clock. 5:28 a.m. Who gets up at this time of day? Three days in a row I had woken up at that same exact time….
From the sunny side: Be bold
Like probably everyone else, I have followed this pandemic thing since it first crept into the news earlier this year. I have to admit, I’ve seen some strange things since then. I’ve…