Please check out this public service announcement from the non-political Ellen Degeneres. I love her comment that she could buy the governor’s mansion, redo it, flip it and make $7 million.
Georgia and North Carolina Governors take very different approach to discrimination
It’s been a crazy week in anti-LGBT legislation. For a boy from South Carolina, it’s been interesting to see how my neighbors, Georgia and North Carolina, have behaved. On March 23, 2016, the state of North Carolina passed a law that struck down an ordinance passed by the city council of Charlotte, the state’s largest […]
North Carolina Legislature and Governor Hate Gay People
I try my best to be balanced. I want to be a voice of reason and try to understand both sides of an issue– any issue – and see how we can reach common ground. But there are some times that I just have to call out hatred and discrimination for what it is. In […]
Advice for Same-Sex Couples on How to Navigate Anti-Gay Discriminatory Laws
This November, Missouri voters will be able to pass an amendment that will enshrine in the Missouri Constitution the right to discriminate against same sex couples on the grounds of a sincere religious belief. With a change in their procedural rules, Missouri Republican Senators stopped a thirty-nine-hour filibuster of the anti-gay bill, sending it to […]
The South Carolina writer who inspired me – Pat Conroy passed away
Pat Conroy died last night. As his wife, novelist Cassandra King Conroy, said, “The water is wide and he has now passed over.” It’s a common question writers get. Who were your main influences? I know that I’m a writer today primarily because of Pat Conroy. Growing up in South Carolina, I had an inferiority […]
Peanut Butter Crackers and Childhood Memories of Myrtle Beach
Every summer when I was a kid, we’d go to Myrtle Beach for a week. It was a four hour drive from where I grew up in Upstate South Carolina so there would be a couple stops along the way. Dad would give us a couple bucks, and my brother and I would go into […]
Finding my way back to Church with the guiding light of Sarah Bessey
On Friday night, my husband and I went to the First Church of the Nazarene to hear Sarah Bessey, a Christian blogger from western Canada. From the moment we arrived in the gym where chairs and a mock living room stage had been set up for the conversation, I was touched by the energy in […]
Learning from my failures in the sermon of Franklin Graham
I failed today in my mission to be a voice for discourse in our nation, not a voice of discord. My high school debate coach always told us to agree to disagree without being disagreeable. And that’s what I want to do, but I let my temper and anger get the best of me today. […]
Any glory in 2nd? Carolina Panthers suffer same fate as Clemson Tigers
What does it mean to come in second place? Last month, the Clemson Tigers tarnished their undefeated record with a loss to Alabama in the college football playoff. In the Super Bowl last night, the Carolina Panthers were stunned by the Denver Broncos. Is there any glory in 2nd? In the United States, coming in second doesn’t […]
Why would someone vote for Trump? Watch video to find out.
I had lunch yesterday with some friends, several of whom are Republican, and nobody got Donald Trump’s appeal. But it’s very important to me to understand the other side. To listen to the views of Trump supporters on issues and try to figure out if we have areas of common ground. I grew up in Anderson, SC. […]