Smith: Pumpkin season begins

October is pumpkin month. Pumpkin season lasts into November—all the way to Thanksgiving. Pumpkins are among the oldest known domesticated plants, dating back to 7000 BCE.

Rich: My David (part one)

Over the bathroom tub hangs a small painting of a turn-of-the-20th-century high society woman in an orange silk off-the-shoulder dress, which matches the room's orange accents.Tink came out of the bathroom recently, shaking his head. “Every time I see that painting, I have to laugh.

Yarbrough: Goodbye, Helene, and good riddance

Hello, Hurricane Helene. Goodbye, Hurricane Helene. Please pardon us for showing a lack of Southern hospitality, but you were not welcome to come in the first place, and we will be glad to see you go. Speaking of hospitality, you didn’t show much yourself.

Letter to the Editor: Sharing the Gatewood limelight

Dear Editor,Last week’s article (The Eatonton Messenger, A1) about the ribbon-cutting for the new Gatewood High School might give the reader a false impression of my role in its founding. That is understandable since I failed to credit the many who were instrumental.

Letter to the Editor: SPLOST No. 10 questions continue to add up

Dear Editor,The only things adding up on the SPLOST No. 10/Bond issue are the questions and lack of answers. To better understand the SPLOST No. 10 bond debate, I completed several open-record requests on the road bond earlier this year for $22 million plus interest and fees.

Letter to the Editor: Democratic challenger for County District 2

Dear Editor, Campaigning for political office is an unpredictable and enlightening experience. (I am running for County Commissioner in District 2.) Dog wrangling and toddler chasing are just two unexpected duties I’ve performed while in Putnam neighborhoods.

Letter to the Editor: Quite literally, a Stepback in time

Dear Editor,Over the years, my family and my friends have enjoyed opening Stepback for all to see and get an idea of how people in a rural setting lived in the late 1800s to early 1900s.For those who have never been to Stepback before, it is a recreated agricultural community from that period.

Rich: The once incredible friend

There was once a friend I had who was incredible.Remarkable. Exciting.It's too splendid for any adjective in the English language.She is still my friend.But she no longer fits any description above.What she is now is what most of us are – ordinary.Normal. And, too often, downright ho-hum.But once?

Yarbrough: Kindness is needed daily

Can we do it? You and I? Can we be kind? More importantly, can we be kind at least once a day for a month? I didn’t think of this idea, but I wish I had because it’s a great and much-needed one.

Crane: The choice ahead, and choice

Readers, viewers, and listeners most frequently ask me, “Who is going to win the White House this fall?”If I knew that answer with absolute certainty, I would place heavy wagers in Las Vegas and prepare for a comfortable retirement.