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Today's Opinions

  • Rethinking Education

    Usually in February my thoughts begin to wander toward the joys of the upcoming spring.
    School curriculums should be doing the same thing, but are not, becoming bogged down over increasing testing concerns. This sterility of the school atmosphere is a shame, because spring offers unprecedented opportunities for a real, diversified and hands-on education for all children.
    They should be planting and tending to gardens instead of being stuck in testing centers.

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  • Along Twin Ponds Road

    Have you ever experienced an epiphany?
    I believe most of us have at least a time or two in our lives.
    “Epiphany” is defined as a time of sudden and profound understanding of something, as a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way.
    For example, someone has lost a set of keys and has been looking for them when suddenly has an idea of where they are.
    Another definition would be an appearance or manifestation, especially of a divine being.

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  • Along Twin Ponds Road

    It seems that ever since my wife and I have been able to stream our movies all I’ve been watching lately are “chick flicks.”
    I don’t have a problem with my male ego or machismo and would readily confess to anyone, I watch more than my share of the Lifetime and Hallmark movie channels.
    In fact, I enjoy a good many of them and shed a tear or two over a good love story that focuses around a couple with some substance and likeability.

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  • Along Twin Ponds Road

    Thank you, dear friends, for taking the time to email me some of your thoughts on my recent columns.
    Most of my loyal readers must know by now how much I value any feedback you are willing to offer about the worth of this
    column.
    I’ve shared with you more than once how much I love writing for you each week and am honored to be doing so and now entering into my eighth year.
    I am used to sharing the loneliness that so many writers experience often in our
    careers.

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  • 4GEN Journal

    By Jack Levine
    It was late August 1963. I was 12. I remember my father calling me into his room. The radio was on, and I heard cheering.  It was not a baseball game kind of cheer.....it seemed louder and longer. It was a sustained roar.
     My dad, aged 72 and blind, pointed in the direction of the radio with one hand, and put his other index finger to his lips....he was telling me to be quiet....and to listen.

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  • Along Twin Ponds Road

    It’s been a while since I’ve taken early morning walks in the cold.
    Not since living in Tucson a decade ago do I recall walking with gloves and hat on when the temperatures were at the freezing mark.
    The only difference is that in Tucson I wore my cowboy hat, and here, in Aiken, I wore my Carolina Gamecocks baseball cap.
    What I thought most about along my walk this morning is how fortunate I am to have a wonderful, brick home with plenty of heat and hot water, and living like royalty compared to those who are homeless.

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  • This, too, shall pass (really)

    In retrospect, it would have been a great idea to ask all the staffers here at the Times to write a few paragraphs about what they’re thankful for this edition. Everybody’s list is always different because every life path is different, even though some may run parallel for a long, long time.
    But once a parallel line starts deviating by any amount — even  just a degree or two, over time the separation becomes more and more pronounced until those lines wind up in vastly different places.

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  • 4GEN Journal

    As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, let’s remember that the holiday’s name is a compound word — Thanks and Giving. Take these few moments to consider my ideas for enhancing Thanksgiving and the entire holiday season ahead.
    Each of us has much to be thankful for —our lives, families, friendships and work that fulfills us.  While there is no perfection in life, let’s admit that the glass is more than half full for most of us, most of the time.

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