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Search and recovery

Some people run triathlons; some people climb mountains. I conduct search and recovery missions. In my house. Our 90-year-old home, aka the Love Shack, has much charm and zero storage. It has just four closets plus a dilapidated metal shed in the ba ... full story

Lowcountry Riffs

As Tom Petty says, the waiting is the hardest part. But sometimes that wait makes the moment of truth that much more delicious. I had no way of knowing it was going to be such a brutal summer back in April when I first happened upon the website for ... full story

Fanfare for the Common Man: Bugs drive me crazy

I hate bugs. Bugs drive me crazy, and yes, I know that’s one of those really short drives, like to the end of the driveway and back. Butterflies are okay, but if one of those ever landed on me I still get all wigged out and go into one of those ful ... full story

Smith Says

When three adult kids try to take care of one ailing mom, the result is regression—all the way back to childhood days. We don’t push each other in the pool or scream and stomp our feet. We just snarl things like, “I can’t hire a caretaker from 200 m ... full story

Lowcountry Riffs: By the time you read this

I will be long gone. Out of sight, out of mind, and not a moment too soon. It’s vacation time, and when it comes to my time off, I’m very old school. Simply stated, I’m not available. To anyone. For any reason. Period. My cell phone is very likel ... full story

Fanfare for the Common Man: Beating the heat

There are two things you should never do: One is go shopping when you are hungry. The second is go shopping when you are hot. I walk out of Walmart $109.40 poorer and I have among my purchases: (3) fans, (20) pairs of socks, (2) lightweight t-shirt ... full story

Smith Says

Kids are—or were – getting sick from pet food. I believe it; I’ve sampled a Milk-Bone or two in my time. In my experience, children will eat anything that isn’t hissing at them. When I was a kid, there were very few things I didn’t bite or taste. F ... full story

Lowcountry Riffs: Tatum’s modern life

I’m reading a terrific book, Craig Nelson’s “Rocket Men,” which is the story of the race to the moon. The irony that strikes me is, I’m really enjoying turning pages in a great big bard-backed 400 something page tome, not squinting at it on a compu ... full story

Fanfare for the Common Man: Cell phones

You know … they say using a cell phone will fry your brain. I’m sure everyone who walks around all day with a cell phone attached to his or her ear has heard this once or twice from either a spouse or parent. I can hear it now. You are switching fa ... full story

Smith Says: Remember when chicken was finger-lickin’ good?

It still may be, for all I know, but I don’t know because I can’t remember the last time I actually licked my fingers. And that’s because I’ve morphed into a walking, talking germ-o-phobe. Howard Hughes has nuthin’ on me. These days I spray Lysol o ... full story

Lowcountry Riffs: Wheel of misfortune?

Do you ever get the feeling that we are living in a game show? It’s pretty easy to see, if you think about it. On TV, the tacky Middle American shlubs spin the wheel or press the button or otherwise cavort foolishly in the hopes of winning some gran ... full story

Fanfare for the Common Man: We’re in the top 10!

It must have been a slow business news cycle for the folks at Business Week. Last week they published a report announcing the Top 20 Laziest States in the U.S., and in that report South Carolina was voted the eighth laziest state in America. Fina ... full story

Smith Says

When I was a child, my mother loved spring cleaning. In fact, she enjoyed cleaning anytime, anywhere. Even when she visited other people’s houses, she’d casually pick up a washrag and a can of Comet and take a swipe at the kitchen sink. Most folks we ... full story

Lowcountry Riffs: Dancin’ with the dog

The late, great Will Rogers once said that if there were no dogs in heaven, when he died, he wanted to go wherever they were. Amen, Will. There is no place worthy of the name “Heaven” that would deign to keep our furry friends outside the gates, pea ... full story

Fanfare for the Common Man: I wonder why…

This summer I started a project called “I Wonder Why.” Each time I was presented with a moment that made me pensively scratch my head and say, “I wonder why … ” I wrote it down here. It took about six weeks. Given the nature of people I wonder why ... full story

Smith Says

British scientists claim to have finally solved an age-old conundrum: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? After studying clues such as biogenetic markers and chemical enzymes, they announced their findings. (Cue drum roll.) The chicken came fi ... full story

Fanfare for the Common Man: Coffee… must have coffee

Coffee… Must… have… coffee… It’s been one of those mornings. I think I must have died during the night and stumbled downstairs as one of those newfangled zombies that everybody’s talking about lately. I feel like the walking dead today. I slept fi ... full story

Lowcountry Riffs: Sensory overload in the modern world: Part Deux

I can remember laughing at my niece and nephew not too many years ago. We had gathered for the holidays at my mother’s house in Camden. The kids were not quite in their teens, but already enjoyed overloaded social lives. This was a couple of years b ... full story

Smith Says: Sounds to live with and without

Yesterday I saw a woman in Publix who looked suspicious, by which I mean she seemed awfully serene for someone buying $200 worth of groceries at 6 p.m. She didn’t look the least bit rushed or anxious. In fact, she was nodding her head and smiling sli ... full story

Lowcountry Riffs

It’s a loaded question, one that, if you live in the Carolinas, you ask yourself quite a bit as a matter of course. Or maybe not, maybe I just ask myself such things as a matter of course because I’m one of those weirdoes who likes to talk to h ... full story

Fanfare for the Common Man: Play dates make me cringe

I read something this morning that made me cringe. A phrase: Play Date.Who invented that anyway?“I scheduled a play date for Devin today.” It’s like I bit into a Sweet Tart too soon. I literally shut one eye.I hear the words “play date” and I’m think ... full story

Smith Says

I spent some time with one of my oldest friends last week. Well, she’s not the oldest—that honor goes to an 80-year-old lady who makes me laugh like a jackass—but she’s been my friend since high school, so that’d be… let’s see… 32 years.We sat up gig ... full story

Lowcountry Riffs: Beyond the tin foil hat

So I was reading this article the other day about UFOs. It was pretty funny – obviously the writer is not a believer in flying saucers and crop circles – and he snarkily derided everything from the Roswell incident to the Hill kidnapping. But what I ... full story

Fanfare for the Common Man: I cleaned off my desk today

I cleaned off my desk today.Here are some of the things I found.I found…• Electric bills from March 2009, Sept. 2009, Jan. 2010 and March 2010.• Phone bills from Dec. 2009, Feb. 2010 and April 2010. • Four CDs. • Three auto insura ... full story

Smith Says

So, Sullivan’s Island is going to outlaw hooting, whistling, singing or hollering in the street.Somewhere, my father is laughing. (Well, smiling broadly. He only laughed about three times in the 26 years I knew him.)According to The Post and Courier, ... full story

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Columnists

Jim Tatum

As Tom Petty says, the waiting is the hardest part. But sometimes that wait makes the moment of trut ...

Dan Brown

I hate bugs. Bugs drive me crazy, and yes, I know that’s one of those really short drives, like to ...

Ellen Priest

I am disappointed in Governor Sanford. He has indicated that he will veto an important piece of legi ...

Julie Smith

Some people run triathlons; some people climb mountains. I conduct search and recovery missions. In ...

Judy Watts

Apparently the old adage, “The customer is always right,” skipped a generation.My sister was in town ...

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