September 2, 2026
Opinion
Braves organist is most valuable player
Atlanta Braves fans are familiar with the names Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, and Chris Sale. These are among the many All-Star players we cheer for at Truist Park 81 games a year. All of those guys get plenty of media coverage, becoming household names among baseball fans. But there are so many people off the field who deserve our praise as well. From the parking lot attendants, to the food workers, ushers, security officers and more. I can’t leave out the video, radio, and social media crew, the in-game entertainment staff, world-class TV broadcaster Brandon Gaudin, and opera singer Timothy Miller, who delivers perfect renditions of “God Bless America” at Sunday home games.
Sweet as Honey
As many of you know, my Papa Billy Allen, is known around town as the “Honey Man”. His dedication to preserving honeybees in Moore County and the countless hours he has spent with bees is admirable. As his granddaughter, it has become hard for me to not also want to be involved in the honey production side of agriculture.
Could you write your own eulogy?
Serendipity strikes. While I was struggling to motivate myself to write about a company that will turn your life story into a keepsake book, based on the answer to 50 questions (questions which I hope are more insightful than the ubiquitous “Hot enough for ya?,” “Think it’ll rain?,” “Finished with the sports section?” and “Was that you or the dog?”), I stumbled across something even catchier.
Taylor Swift’s Wedding: A Modest, Low-key Affair
Just to put it up front, like most 40-year-old-and-older heterosexual men, I am not a Taylor Swift fan. If she sang at my funeral, I would get up and leave. I do not like her songs. But of the ones I have had to listen to, I like the fast ones the most because they end sooner. However, I do admire her financial success, the jobs she has created and the example she sets for some.
Going vegan reduces environmental footprint
A new study shows that many people dramatically misjudge the climate impacts of their actions, often choosing to recycle rather than go vegan, even though going vegan is much more effective at reducing one’s environmental footprint. According to the study, respondents were presented with 21 ways to reduce their carbon footprint, and most participants overestimated the climate benefits of what they perceived to be easier changes, such as recycling and using efficient appliances, while underestimating the impact of avoiding animalbased foods.
We need friends on our side
I totally agree with the concept of putting our own nation first, but I totally disagree with Mr. Trump’s concept of how to go about it. In order to defend America from foreign threats we must develop good relations with as many other countries as possible.
Regarding the Tullahoma Senior Center
Regarding the Tullahoma Senior Center
The world’s longest running group project
It is Independence Day, a great American tradition which combines three things we like: eating, alcohol and fireworks. It is set against the pent-up tension of having to be around all your relatives in scorching heat with dubious potato salad. We Harts have a great time. We drink, and then Uncle Mac (my “Drunkle”) does his fireworks show. Nothing brings back memories like hearing the kids say, “Quick, ice down his finger.” My Druncle saw something special in me: when he saw me, he’d always give me a high 4. day The extraordinary thing about America isn’t that we always get everything right. It’s that we keep arguing, inventing, rebuilding, laughing, and trying again. Democracy has never been tidy. Our Founders never supposed it to be. It’s less like a precision Rolex watch and more like a family road trip where everyone insists they’re navigating and elements are always disgruntled.
Time for a vacation from social media?
Inow understand my late mother’s quest for stress avoidance. For years, she and Uncle Doug maintained a daily phone chat. Inevitably, they would broach subjects that got on their last nerve, necessitating a multi-day “time-out.” Following in Mom’s footsteps, I recently decided to do a weekend detox from X (Twitter). It wound up lasting 10 glorious days.