No Man Is An Island
October 7, 2025
I have no idea what bonded us together. I know it was for real, and forever.
Opinion
294 articles
Precious Memories, How They Linger…
September 30, 2025
I went back home for my 60-year high school reunion. And I don’t know exactly how to gently, or politely, say this… But...uh…er...uh...I found myself completely surrounded by old people the entire weekend.
Beware the Triple Dip
September 30, 2025
Just like the ocean tides, our lives have an ebb and flow, ups and downs.
Hail to the 1963, ‘64 Gleason High School Bulldogs
September 23, 2025
GLEASON — More than three dozen Gleason High School graduates gathered here over the Labor Day weekend for the Tater Town Special with many not accepting the notion of an American novelist and rock band that “you can’t go home again.”
Think You Used Enough Dynamite There, Butch?
September 23, 2025
This is the prototypical good news/bad news story. The bad news is Robert Redford died. What an actor! He looked like the Sundance Kid in that terrific historical movie he made with Paul Newman. He talked like the Sundance Kid. He walked like the Sundance Kid. He could shoot better than the Sundance Kid. I THOUGHT he was the Sundance Kid!
To the Citizens of Carroll County
September 16, 2025
The deaths of Destiny Henry on August 13 and Luke Scott and Martin Perez on September 6 at the railroad crossing on Harris Road are a tragedy that weighs on the hearts of this community. These deaths are not to be ignored, as they have shed light on an issue that needs to be addressed about this crossing and others like it.
I Don’t Recognize My Own House
September 16, 2025
My first wife is sooo excited. Her brother is bringing his whole family down for a visit. She has been trying to get him to come see us for years. I am excited for her. But I’m also counting; he’s got children and grandchildren, a son-in-law, or two….
Fred’s Place
September 16, 2025
Picking up from the previous week’s edition... Until I awoke in the middle of the night hot as blazes. Our sheets were damp with sweat, and not from a night of passionate lovemaking.
LETTER: To the People of Carroll County from County Commissioner Jason R. Martin
September 9, 2025
To the Citizens of Carroll County: The deaths of Destiny Henry on August 13 and Luke Scott and Martin Perez on September 6 at the railroad crossing on Harris Road are a tragedy that weighs on the hearts of this community. These deaths are not to be ignored, as they have shed light on an issue that needs to be addressed about this crossing and others like it.
EDITORIAL: A Desperate Plea
September 9, 2025
Editor’s Note: I published this call to action on The Banner’s Facebook page on Saturday, September 6, 2025 after two young men died in a truck-train collision on Harris Road, raising the death toll to three in the past three weeks at that intersection.
Fred’s Place
September 9, 2025
Picking up from the previous week’s edition... (Sign #4)
Holding Three Horses Wasn’t Hard Work
September 9, 2025
I spent Labor Day thinking about Mrs. Boaz’s walnut tree. She gave me my first ever paying job. I was six years old. I picked up walnuts one afternoon for 17 straight hours. It seems like there were maybe eight thousand walnuts spread out all over that big yard….
Joel’s Heart is Bigger than Mine
September 2, 2025
I am not a soccer guy. And that is not a knock against the sport. I just grew up playing baseball, football, and basketball. It was all we had in McKenzie, Tennessee, back when Ike was running the country.
Fred’s Place
September 2, 2025
I didn’t grow up with Jimmy King, and it’s a good thing I didn’t because I probably wouldn’t be alive today based on stories I’ve been told by the few childhood friends of his who lived to tell about his escapades. Things like burying people up to their neck and turning beetles loose on them or forcing boys to lie on the sidewalk so he could see how many of them he could jump over with his bicycle.
They Absolutely Can’t Take It Away From You
August 26, 2025
We are knee deep into another August. I haven’t “gone back to school” in years. But you let it get a week or two into the dog days of August and my heart kinda sags. Like it did back WHEN I was going back to school every year.
Radiate or Drain?
August 26, 2025
Recently, I’ve been sharing Ed Sheeran’s song “Save Myself” with clients who are struggling to give themselves permission to take care of themselves and letting go of helping people who aren’t interested in changing.
We’ve Gone From Watergate to Tipgate
August 19, 2025
Listen, I’m not the guy to point out when something gets out of whack. We’ve got real writers for that. And I’m not angry, or about to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge over this. But I do have a bit of a burr under my saddle this morning.
The Hairy Catfish Caper, II
August 19, 2025
...Picking up from last week’s edition.
Don’t Get Caught Up in the Terminology
August 12, 2025
I was driving up to Tennessee yesterday when an old gospel song you probably won’t remember came blasting over the airwaves, “Everybody’s gonna have religion in glory, Everybody’s gonna be singing that story….”
The Hairy Catfish Caper
August 12, 2025
Patrick had an easy smile and a winning way about him. He was easy to like. But his Achilles heel was his gullibility. Not that being gullible is a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it can often be an endearing quality.
