Artwork of Buffalo Bill from the Colorado Encyclopedia By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net I’ve drifted far from home . . . Dearly Departed they call this Denver bar. With good reason. Joseph Bona pumped embalming fluid into Buffalo Bill here. Plus, they sold caskets in this bar once uponContinue Reading

By Mike DuBose   Criminals exploit speed, fear and trust. The telephone and internet have made life easier, but they have also opened our homes, cars, businesses and smartphones to criminals thousands of miles away. Robocalls, fraudulent texts and emails, and official-looking websites arrive daily. Artificial intelligence has made itContinue Reading

You don’t have to eat perfectly to improve your health. When it comes to gut health, one of the most useful goals may be to focus less on perfection and more on variety. One simple approach is to try eating 30 different plant foods each week. And before you think,Continue Reading

Photo: Army Chaplain (Capt.) Emil Kapaun (right) and Army Capt. Jerome A. Dolan, 1st Cavalry Division, carry an exhausted soldier off the battlefield in Korea, early in the war. Credit:Army VIRIN:500712-O-D0439-001   By Dennis H. Klein and Wade Thompson The Korean War lasted for 3 years (1950-1953) and was a warContinue Reading

Shannon Bobertz helping guide one of America’s most complex conservation agencies By Thomas S. Mullikin Every agency needs a rock who is not always the loudest voice in the room or the person chasing the spotlight or searching for the next headline. It needs someone who remains standing when theContinue Reading

By Radley West August is a fascinating month. Children are mourning the end of summer. Teachers are mentally preparing for a brand-new school year. Meanwhile, parents are standing in the school supply aisle trying very hard not to look too excited. It’s one of the greatest examples of mixed emotionsContinue Reading

Bottled in Meridian, Mississippi — A long-distance winner. By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net I didn’t call them pop. I didn’t call them sodas. I called them Cokes. Cokes could be Pepsis, Fantas (remember those?), Orange Crush, or RC Colas. Tossed out windows, Coke bottles waited along dirt roads, gravelContinue Reading

By Sarah Ostergaard Another tax-free weekend has passed. Every August, families spend significant amounts preparing children for a new school year. And there is real value in that preparation. A new backpack, fresh notebooks, sharpened pencils, and other supplies create excitement or ease nervousness about a new school year. AcquiringContinue Reading

By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net Each August I think of my father’s service in Japan, specifically Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Recently I came across one of his base passes that had been hiding from me all these years. Dad was stationed in Yokohama. The date on his pass is AugustContinue Reading

By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net When I see photographs of Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park I want to explore a desert right then. Until I do, the fragile deserts along the Atlantic Ocean will do just fine. Wind, it shapes the earth, yet we never see it, justContinue Reading

Photo: Cool, comfy, and a tad literary. That’s seersucker.  By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net Seersucker. A cool word, and cool is the word. Before AC came along, a Southern gentleman worth his salt wouldn’t be caught without a seersucker suit. Just one gentleman back home wore seersucker. With hisContinue Reading

Photo: A stack of 1964 Reader’s Digests, a trip back in time. Courtesy of Brenda Bancroft. By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net I read my mother’s Reader’s Digests from cover to cover. It’s hard find one today, but if you do, it will take you back to another era. And itContinue Reading

For the past 18 years, I have unlocked the doors to the same gym. I’ve watched members walk through those doors as nervous beginners and transform into confident, healthier versions of themselves. I’ve celebrated weight loss victories, strength gains, new friendships, weddings, retirements, and even a few grandbabies along theContinue Reading

Photo – Winnsboro’s clock tower, the country’s longest-running clock By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net In my journeys across the South, Georgialina, in particular, I take note of clock towers, watchtowers, and steeples. How can I not. They command the eye. They set me to thinking. I’ve written many timesContinue Reading

By Sarah Ostergaard It’s summer and school’s out. But education doesn’t take a rest. Members of the Social Studies Standards Revision Committees are volunteering their time and expertise to draft new standards for SC’s K-12 Social Studies courses. The final draft of the revised standards is due later this month,Continue Reading