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Opinion

  • A magical Masters moment

    Some moments - unrehearsed, unexpected, perhaps even unintended, become magical -  capturing a feeling, releasing an emotion, finding a destiny, taking on a significance beyond the moment itself.

    Another Masters Golf Tournament has come and gone, now embedded two weeks in history. But Phil Mickelson’s victory will endure as much as for what he did for his wife as for his brilliant performance on the golf course. It was after he won the championship that he seized the moment, and made it magical.

  • READERS WRITE: Reader shares...

    Dear Editor,

    Major changes in education tend to occur in lurches rather than in incremental baby steps. That’s largely because it takes time to build a consensus about what’s important for our children’s future. The last major lurch was the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) enacted in 1990. Tweaks to KERA during the past 20 years have included changes in testing and more emphasis on reading, math and science.

  • An idea that doesn't work

    “The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas.”

    Alfred Whitney Griswold

     

    I’ve been reading with interest the recent push to increase high school graduation rates in Kentucky.  The current idea is to require compulsory schooling to the age of 18, or when the child gets their high school diploma.  

    I think it’s a bad idea.  

    You’re probably asking, “How can that be?  Don’t you care about our kids?  Don’t you care believe in education?”

  • A penny saved is a one-night stay

    I’m not rich, and I can’t toss money around like it’s nothing, but I must admit that I don’t think much of a penny. If I drop one, I probably won’t bend over to pick it up, and if I get a penny or two coming back in change at a store, I’ll probably leave it in case someone else needs it later. You just can’t buy much for a penny, can you?

  • Us, we, and them

    Sports fans - boy, we sure love our teams, don’t we?

    I’ve always loved my favorites - the Kentucky Wildcats, the Cincinnati Reds, the New York Yankees and Indianapolis Colts - but it dawned on me over the weekend just how personally many of us fans take wins and losses.

  • Readers Write: April is Child Abuse...

    Dear Editor,

    April is Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month. The Washington County Homemakers are once again sponsoring the Blue Ribbon Campaign.

  • The Easter people

    “Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people, and hallelujah is our song.”

          Pope John Paul II

     

    You know the Good Lord could never make anything without two sides to it in this old world.

    If there is light, then there must be darkness.  If there is up, then there must be down. If there is life, then there must be death.

  • Proposed tax changes concern Higdon

    Even before the House of Representatives passed its $17.5 billion budget proposal, the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee had our first meeting to discuss some of the tax measures that affect business. I am very concerned that these measures will hinder job creation. In the committee, I heard testimony from 10 business representatives who discussed how taxing businesses, including farms, which are already struggling would have a negative impact on employment.

  • Mistakes along life's way

    “A picture is worth a thousand words,” so the saying goes, and I might add, “It lasts forever when it’s on the Internet.” I have no idea if Rielle Hunter or the eighth grade girl whose boyfriend allegedly sold the nude pictures of herself she sexted (sending sexually explicit messages or photos by mobile phones) him, thought about the implications of what they were doing when they posed, Reille before a professional photographer, the girl before her own cell phone.

    If they didn’t then, they have now.

  • Things aren't always as they...

    I’m guilty of a grievous breech of southern etiquette. I fail to wave back to people when driving down the road.  

    If you’ve ever waved to me when you’ve seen me driving, then please don’t take offense if I didn‘t wave back.  I never see anything except those white and yellow lines while driving down the road.  I never look into other people’s cars while driving.  I didn’t even know that people were waving to me until my kids mentioned it one day.  

  • Life without lyrics

    All I needed were the lyrics to go with the title of my country music song.

  • What goes around comes around

    “Kids, you can’t beat them.  Especially where it shows.”

    Unknown Parent

     

    I stopped off at St. Dominic to pick up Cindy last Wednesday right after school.  I was surprised to find her rolling around the office while laughing her head off.  

    “Poor old girl.  She’s finally lost it,” I thought.

    I immediately took charge and said, “Get off the floor.  Your clothes will get dirty.”

  • The story behind "Lean on Me...

    Lean on me

    when you’re not strong

    I’ll be your friend

    I’ll help you carry on

    for it won’t be long

    ‘till I’m gonna need

    somebody to lean on

     

    Stanza of Bill Wither’s song, “Lean on Me”

     

    Years ago I went shopping with Cindy in a mall in Louisville or Lexington.  I can’t remember which.  It must have been before we had kids because it was just us that day.

  • Life after suicide

    Neither of my high school friends let me in on their secret: they planned to commit suicide. They succeeded.

    Not at the same time. And by then we were miles and years apart. But it still shook me to the core when I heard the news. “Death by suicide.” My friends, they were, at least for some fun years. Football. Friday night school dances. Parties. Cruising. Hanging out.

  • The big thud theory

    Tipping Point: The critical point in an evolving situation that leads to a new and irreversible development.

    We’re all going to die!

    Well, that’s true, but just not today.

  • Higdon gives highlights from...

    We are now halfway through the 2010 General Assembly Session and while the House of Representatives continues to labor, as constitutionally required, on a budget proposal, the Senate’s work, while on a smaller scale, is no less important. Both House and Senate Appropriations and Revenue chairmen are in close consultation so that when the House budget proposal is finalized and moves to the Senate, we can hit the ground running.

  • Our fantasy with reality

    “Robin is better than the girl of my dreams. She’s real.”

    - From the movie “(500) Days of Summer”

    Our obsession with reality television has run amuck.

  • Washington County's own Steel...

    “M’Lynn, your husband is the boil on the butt of humanity.”

    Ouiser’s line from Steel Maganolias

     

    Hey, Margaret Chelf!  I’ll be waiting in the front row when you belt out that line!

    Steel Magnolias is the latest play being performed by the Central Kentucky Community Theatre. It will be playing February 26-28 and March 5-7. Showtimes are 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays.

  • Enjoying winter Olympic '...

    I’m an outdoor guy. I enjoy the warm, sunny days that come along with baseball season, and even the cooler days that bring the college and NFL football seasons.

    That’s why even I have been surprised to find myself enjoying the winter Olympics so much this year. Other than basketball and hockey, I’d rather be playing an outdoor sport, or even watching one played outdoors. That’s just me. But this whole winter Olympics thing has found me sitting in my chair with, well, let’s say, other events on the TV.

  • Readers Write: Reader thinks...

    Dear Editor,

    What a wonderful and welcoming facility we have in our Washington County Library.

    As soon as you enter, people are at the computers, others choosing a video, while some are deciding which book they want, or just sitting at a table reading. If you need help finding anything...no worry...a smiling face will be right there for you. Need a copy or two run, they’ll do that also.