ADAIR: Dawgs, Great Chicken Chase Challenge, and a new year

The idea of coming out of winter into brighter days has its appeal. It is the celebrations surrounding a particular day that I never fully grabbed.

YARBROUGH: Junior E. Lee takes a look at Y2KXXIII

The New Year is upon us. 2023. It seems like only yesterday that we were up at midnight on New Year’s Eve, 1999, wringing our hands at what catastrophes might await us at the beginning of Y2K – the year 2000.

CRANE: One of our brightest stars

As we wave farewell or at least say “See ya’ next time,” to this pandemic, and soon 2022, I note that both took from me my mother, as well as several irreplaceable and close friends.

A tribute to the beloved woman who shared my name

Two years ago this week, I told you a final goodbye. In some respects, you were not the woman I knew and loved that left me.

YARBROUGH: Walker and advisors fumbled campaign

One of the givens in occupying this space weekly is that when I talk about politics, which I do on occasion, anything I opine will be construed negatively by one side or the other. It is difficult for some to comprehend that I might be in the middle of the political road, unlike many (most?

ADAIR: Of harvests and signs

Some last-minute thoughts were written before Tuesday’s election, along with a reminder that an election is a starting point for governing, not an end in itself. First, consider harvests – or more specifically, vote harvesting with its long history, in both the near and distant past.

RICH: The prayer march

The old man shuffled along the sidewalk, his work boots dusty with a hint of red mud clinging to one heel. From the pocket of well-worn overalls, he pulled a red bandana and wiped his nose.

CRANE: The giving $ea$on is upon us

  As we finally emerge from this pandemic and folks are traveling and having holiday events again, a gaping recession apparently looms ahead. But for now, at least judging by the crowds on Black Friday, consumers are exercising some pent-up demand.

YARBROUGH: Can our democracy outlast us?

This is kind of a bummer way to start your day, but it is worth reflection on: “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” Who said that? Karl Marx? Ayatollah Khomeini? Vladimir Putin?

YARBROUGH: Column produces an extraordinary reunion

It is one of the most rewarding experiences in my 25 years of churning out columns. And it was a total accident. A happy accident. You may recall that back in July, I asked my friend Hans Trupp in Brunswick for his take on the recently-released Top Gun Maverick.