Old age, I have decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be.  Oh, not my body!  I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt.  And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don’t agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.  As I’ve aged, I’ve become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I’ve become my own friend. Read the rest of this entry »

Fred Taylor

By LAMAR THAMES

Fred Taylor is no longer a Jacksonville Jaguar and my wife and I have decided not to renew the season tickets we have held since the very first year. One thing doesn’t have anything to do with another, however. We were not going to renew our season tickets regardless of what occurred during the off-season. The two events are just coincidental.

I will miss seeing Taylor in a Jaguar uniform. He is as good an open-field runner as there has ever been in the NFL. I am not saying he’s the best back, just as good as anyone in the open field. As good as Emmitt Smith, LaDainian Tomlinson, Walter Payton, Jim Brown whomever. Even Gale Sayers. Fred’s 4.6 yards per carry over an 11-season career is testament to his running ability. I’ll never forget the big 200-yard plus day he had against the Steelers and all the other big games he had. You knew that once he got past the line of scrimmage that he was going to go for a few yards. And if he ever got into the secondary, look out; he was TD bound. Fred’s raw speed was awe-inspiring.

Read the rest of this entry »

Walking can add minutes to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursinghome at $7,000 per month.

My grandpa started walking five miles a day when he was 60. Now he’s 97 years old and we don’t know where he is.

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

The only reason I would take up walking is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

I have to walk early in the morning, before my brain figures out what I’m doing. Read the rest of this entry »

• For the week ending Feb. 13, 2009
  
  
• U.S. government aid plans get tepid reception
• Companies forecast future slowdown, announce job cuts
• Consumer confidence falls as job losses mount
• Cisco sells bonds as credit markets begin thaw
• Eurozone economy contracts

Stocks lost ground this week as investors reacted with skepticism to the U.S. government’s $789.5 billion stimulus package and the U.S. Treasury’s bank rescue plan. Markets seemed to conclude that the stimulus plan would be insufficient to turn the U.S. economy around and the bank rescue plan lacked details. Reports that the U.S. government may subsidize mortgage payments helped stocks recover some lost ground late in the week. Read the rest of this entry »

Robert Thames

A Review By Robert Thames

I’m gonna go ahead and confess that I saw an Elvis impersonator in concert for the first time last Saturday night. That’s not entirely true. Actually I saw two Elvis impersonators in the same show at the Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts in Orange Park, FL. (Yes, I’ve officially reached middle age).

The two performers were Scot Bruce and Mike Albert and the evening was billed as “Love Me Tender — From Elvis with Love.” It was a very warm, enjoyable evening that played out like a living tribute to Elvis’s legacy as a soft-hearted gentleman who never took his faithful audiences for granted. 

 The first performer portraying The King was Scot Bruce. This guy looks a lot like Elvis, ladies.  He played the role of the young, freshly famous 1950s Elvis. He had flawlessly-styled jet black hair, a snazzy red blazer and a pair of baggy-waisted, tapered-legged black slacks that were so cool they had to have been stolen from a closet in Graceland. His small but talented back up band resembled the line up of one of Elvis’s many famous performances on the Louisiana Hayride.

 Bruce actually just used a smaller version of Albert’s back up group, The Big E Band. His set list of songs included some of Elvis’s biggest early hits like Love Me Tender, Teddy Bear, Can’t Help Falling in Love and the rockin’ Little Sister  (the lead guitar on that one could have been louder). He sang very well, sounded a lot like Elvis, moved his hips just like The King and enjoyed many genuine moments of affection from the females in the audience. In fact, both performers said several times that the Thrasher-Horne crowd was easily one of the most enthusiastic and excited crowds they had played for.  

It was a sold-out house full of Elvis die-hards, many of whom acted as though they were in Read the rest of this entry »

Contributed by Bill Wilson of Builders Care

I am sure you have heard about this tragic story about Milton “Oshay” Johnson. Milton is the young man in Baker County who, at football practice last August, broke his neck. Milton and his family live in a mobile home and it simply cannot handle his special needs. Several business leaders in Macclenny decided they would do something and took on the daunting task of building a new home for the Johnson family. As Oshay’ mom stated in a Time Union article, “The response from the community has been overwhelming.” Read the rest of this entry »

Contributed by Florida Federation of Young Republicans.

Fleming Island, Florida — The Florida Federation of Young Republicans is speaking out against the possible parole of Ronald Mclendon. Twenty-four years ago, Ronald Mclendon murdered Linda Vaught-Worgum by shooting her seven times with his .25 caliber pistol in front of her 7 year old daughter. Mclendon was sentenced to life in prison and a minimum of 60 years behind bars before he would be eligible for parole. Now, only 24 years later, Mclendon might be released back into our communities. Read the rest of this entry »

The call from my grandson Jack came a little after 8 a.m. Wednesday. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the call because I was taking Rusty the Wonder Dog for his morning walk. I did get his mother’s call a little while later, however, and I am so glad I did. She said Jack had called earlier to ask me if I would have lunch with him at school.

With the televised interview showing the anguish of Haleigh Ann-Marie’s father fresh in my mind, I immediately said yes. If my grandson wants me to have lunch with you, you bet I am going to accommodate him if I possibly can. With six grandchildren, four boys and two girls, I am absolutely heartbroken at the prospect that this young girl has been kidnapped, or worse. The same for Caylee Anthony and all the other youngsters who have been kidnapped and murdered over the years.

Read the rest of this entry »

I know you may be expecting commentary about “American Idol” in this posting, but not this week. For one thing, nothing is really happening on Idol worth talking about, and for another Idol Chatter is just meant as a catch-phrase for all kinds of chatter, which is what I am doing this week. So here goes:

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FALLEN IDOLS

Too bad about Michael Phelps, A-Rod (I hate those nicknames) and all the other athletic superstars who have been, or will be, discovered to have used illegal and/or performance-enhancing drugs. I don’t really waste too much time worrying about them or their images, except in the regard that so many of our impressionable young people might be seduced into Read the rest of this entry »

 Here are some funny sayings and cartoons that Annette sent my way. Enjoy! 

Just click on the gallery button at the top of the page.