The cursed door no longer seals the mausoleum By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net A road down Edisto Island way will take you past green swamps and oaks dripping with Spanish moss and shanties with bright, sky-blue doors. Churches white as egg whites line the road. Hauntings live there. AsContinue Reading

By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net Cell phones are a big deal but to some of us the transistor was an even bigger deal. I was disobeying my parents staying up late (school night) in my bedroom listening to clear channel WLS in Chicago over a transistor radio. I wasContinue Reading

By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net He was charismatic and a lightning rod for trouble. He was a roadie for the Allman Brothers Band. What little I know of his life tells me one thing: his is a movie in the waiting. Twiggs Lyndon. Too bad he’s dead. In 1974Continue Reading

By Jennifer Tardy You’re motivated to improve your health this year—but you’re also tired. You want better energy, fewer symptoms, and more consistency without juggling a dozen new habits at once. When people feel off, they often chase complexity—jumping from supplements to protocols to diet trends—without first anchoring the body’sContinue Reading

New Facility-Use Agreement for Irmo Little League and Richland County Recreation Commission Baseball   School District Five is pleased to announce a new Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Richland County Recreation Commission, marking the beginning of a long-term partnership for the use of the H.E. Corley Elementary baseball field,Continue Reading

By Radley West “If I can inspire just one person to take a step toward better health, then every challenge has been worth it.” Earlier today, someone asked me why I do the things I do. More specifically, why is it important for me to compete, especially after all theContinue Reading

You told yourself you’d take it easy this season—but between travel, wine, rich meals, and skipping your routine, your body now feels bloated, irritable, and off-balance. The issue isn’t one indulgent night. It’s the compounding effects on your hormone, gut, and immune systems. Overindulgence—particularly with sugar, alcohol, and ultra-processed foods—disruptsContinue Reading

It makes for a good photo but it doesn’t take selfies. By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net In rural Georgia the party line was our lot back in the early 1950s. When the phone rang, we counted. Our phone rang two times. Three for another and so forth. Today’s youngerContinue Reading

By Sarah Ostergaard LexRich5 Schools offers different programs at different schools. That said, most students attend their zoned school (and school zones are always a hot topic since Chapin is overcrowded, but the possibility of shifting school attendance lines toward Irmo causes much hooting and hollering) and families have theContinue Reading

By Radley West “You don’t need to be extreme, just consistent.” When most people think about reaching their fitness goals, they picture big changes, intense training schedules, strict diets, and dramatic transformations. While those stories make great headlines, the truth is that most real success comes from something far lessContinue Reading

By Jennifer Tardy You start the month feeling motivated and productive. Then, a couple of weeks in, your energy drops. You feel wired but exhausted, reach for caffeine, and wonder why your body suddenly feels sluggish. Many people assume low energy is a personal shortcoming—that if they pushed harder orContinue Reading

Pictured above is the author and James Dickey, June 24, 1995. By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net Each January, my thoughts turn to a fellow Georgian. James Dickey died January 19, 1997, of the same disease that took my mother’s life. On June 24, 1995, I interviewed Dickey for ReckonContinue Reading

Photo: Osprey at Anthony Shoals with a fish too big to lift. By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net Three birds hold me in their thrall. The osprey, whippoorwill, and oft-slighted buzzard. I love the whippoorwill’s lilting call. The noble osprey and its distinctive M-shaped wings stands out, and the utilitarianContinue Reading