Was Editorial Page Editor of the Press-Register newspaper in Mobile 1995 to 2012. Now a freelance columnist, writer and editor.
In their longing for the "good old days," Harrison Butker and people like him stoke and feed on paranoia.
According to the NFL's Harrison Butker, among things we should be afraid of are homosexuals, career women and churches that are too "nice."
Well, it's almost hurricane season, and we all know what that means. Or do we? I have some thoughts for people who are new to the Gulf Coast.
If you don't know anything about getting ready for a hurricane, then start with these two simple words: Don't panic. Panic can lead you to do dumb things.
When a best friend dies, you realize the impact she had on your young life. Or at least that's the case for me.
Even though we'd drifted apart over the years, I still appreciate my high school buddy's affection and also her nurturing family.
Why would anyone who's studied history think that blending God and politics is a good idea?
What is it about us, that we can't seem to grasp the fact that church and state don't make good bedfellows?
A friend and I used to joke that we'd be on Social Security by the time the new bridge was built. Turns out, we were so wrong.
Back in the 1990s, my colleague and I joked that we'd be on Social Security by then. He's dead, I'm 70, and we have no bridge.
Lately, I find myself wanting to ignore the news. But that's never a good idea.
Now I see why people say they can't stand to read or watch the news. It's too upsetting.
Alabama politicians know exactly what they're doing when they mislead their constituents.
How can Alabamians not see that their political leaders are playing them for ignorant fools?
Fascinating!
My state has a painful racial past, and its politics are often corrupt, but I love Alabama for the same reason Lyndon Johnson loved his Texas Hill Country.
We have a painful racial history, and our politics are often corrupt and sometimes downright ridiculous. And yet ...
When it comes to having difficult conversations, politicians will change the subject faster than Clark Kent can shuck his business suit.
When confronted with solving important issues and problems, many a politician will say, "Look, over there."
Things have gotten so bad that people can hardly talk about politics without shouting at each other. In today's column, I suggest a few ways to head off political discussions that have the potential to turn ugly.
These days, nothing will break up a dinner party, or maybe even a friendship, like politics.
You can make excuses until you're blue in the face, but in aviation, when you screw up badly, the penalty can be death.
Remember: In aviation, the penalty for serious mistakes can be death. And for the rest of us, if we're not careful, reality is always ready to make us stall, spin, crash and burn.
Public figures do a public service when they're open about being diagnosed with cancer. In this column, I talk about Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's attempt to conceal his diagnosis.
It's regrettable that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin tried to conceal his cancer diagnosis.
An old friend died the other day, making me sorry I hadn't kept up with him and his family, other than through Facebook, and reminding me of some great lessons I learned from him about being a leader and a boss.
I wish we'd kept in touch beyond Facebook, but I have great memories from when we worked together.
And we thought Watergate was scary! Look at what's happening in and to our country now.
Would corrupt politicians of the Seventies believe what's happening in our country 50 years later?
My Christmas Eve advice: Tread carefully when you talk about Santa Claus with a 6-year-old.
What do you do when a 6-year-old wants nothing to do with Santa Claus?
Who would've thought a doctor would say to me, "No alcohol"? I certainly didn't, but here I am, sipping Diet Coke and iced tea.
When the doctor says, "No alcohol," you learn a lot about yourself and others.
The food's important, but so is sharing the pleasure that comes from gathering with friends and family.
Shouldn't every meal be special? It can be, when our focus is on welcoming friends and family to our table year-round.
What's in a name? A rose by any other name may smell just as sweet, but still, names define things and people.
Names say a lot about us, even if a rose smells just as sweet by any other name.
As we debate who's right and who's wrong, the suffering in Israel and Gaza goes on and on.
In the Israel-Gaza conflict, each side decries the other's tactics.
An antidote to stress? Get an old car.
It's easy to let the world drag you down, but it's important to try to resist.
It can be so easy, and so tempting, to succumb to negativity. But we can't. We just can't.
(And by the way, if you read the column right after it was posted, and you thought it started rather abruptly, it did -- it was missing the top half! But it has been fixed and is now here in its entirety.)
In this chaotic world, it can be easy to succumb to negativity.
Even though as a society we have greatly relaxed traditional dress codes, there's still some truth in the adage that "clothes make the man" (and woman).
P.S. I frequently dress very casually -- and sometimes sloppily. But I still recognize that some people judge and respond to others based on how they dress. And I promise I never wear "slob clothes" to weddings, funerals, cocktail parties, etc.!😉
Whether we like it or not, people assess us by -- among other things -- the clothes we wear.
When politicians propose bills that would brand librarians as criminals, they're shilling for votes, not trying to protect your children.
I can see Mama now, posing for her mug shot and taking a perp walk with the cops.
There's something scary about so-called "artificial intelligence." Are we afraid of the machines, or of ourselves?
One problem with AI is that humans aren't predictable.
Buying and operating a coffee maker shouldn't be a big deal, right? But it is, if you love coffee like my husband and I love coffee.
Eight years of college and my husband couldn't figure out how to work the new coffee pot.
American politics can be nasty business. But what we're seeing now is worse. Much worse.
Even the crimes and lies of Watergate pale in comparison to what's happening now.
Miracle of miracles, it’s raining at our house!
I'm pretty sure that I assumed I'd get smarter and smarter as I got older ...
I thought I'd be smarter and wiser by now.
I learned a lot about marriage by working in a law office. At my 45th wedding anniversary, I offer some lessons.
Start with the basics: Don't marry a drunk, drug addict or violent person.
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