Lamar Thames

One of the questions I have learned never to ask my wife is, “Do these pants make me look fat?” Especially when I am buying jeans, as I was last weekend.

Jeans are especially difficult for me to buy since I am one of those ‘tweeners, meaning I have an odd-shaped body. One of my former co-workers once told me I had a squatty body. I think he was being kind. A video-tape of me playing golf in an earlier post on this site confirms it.

Basically, my problem is genetics. In other words, not my fault. I was supposed to be in the neighborhood of 6 feet tall. Instead, I am not even in the same zip code, at just above 5-foot-7 and three-quarters inches tall. I blame it, too, on unnatural selection. My father was the tallest of his seven siblings and my mother was the shortest of her seven. Go figure!

When I sit down beside someone who is 6 feet, I sit shoulder-to-shoulder with them. It is when we stand up that you notice the difference. I only get a little taller when I stand while the 6-footers keep on going. My torso is the same length as most of the taller folks; it is my legs that got short-changed, so to speak. Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to Larry Horne of Clay Electric for supplying a link to the following letter:

In a letter to President Obama, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Glenn English voiced strong objections to the Administration’s plan to auction the carbon emission allowances under a cap and trade scheme.

In the letter, English pointed out that “[s]uch a program would only serve as a backdoor, variable tax on consumers. Even worse, the level of the tax would be determined by Wall Street and large multi-national energy companies who would likely be the highest bidders in any auction.”

Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you who are no email buddies of our governor, here are the remarks he made today in his state of the state address.

By Gov. Charlie Crist

For the nearly 20 million people who choose to call Florida home, to not just raise their children and build their businesses, but to truly live out their dreams; the future is now.

 

The strength of our state and national economies are being tested in ways not seen in decades: unemployment is at a 16-year high. We are in a national housing crisis and foreclosures continue to rise; businesses are shutting their doors in the communities they have long served; and a weakened Wall Street has left us in a credit crunch that is cutting into hardworking families’ nest eggs and Read the rest of this entry »

***Note to Clay County media:  I sent the letter below to my friends and supporters today–this is an open letter, so feel free to use it (or not use it) however you would like…thanks for always being professional during the campaign and during my stint on the BCC; as always, feel free to call me anytime (as long as we don’t have to talk about this election stuff anymore!)**** 

 

Friends:

 

I write to update you on the status of the County Chair seat. As you recall, a trial court ruled that I would serve for four years on the Commission pursuant to the results of the November election. An appellate court overturned this ruling.  Yesterday, the Florida Supreme Court refused to hear the case. In sum, the legal proceedings are over, and neither Diane Hutchings nor I will serve.

 

The news from the Florida Supreme Court is not surprising. Once the appellate court issued its decision, it was unlikely that the Supreme Court was going to intervene and reverse.  Nevertheless, my wife Jenn and I are disappointed that we will not be able to serve our community in this capacity.   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 »

Written by Elyse Johnson  

The chilling crowded streets were beyond exhilarating for an aspiring “poli-sci” student. There was never a better time to go to D.C. Everyone you accidently bumped into had the nicest (sometimes unexpectedly nice) demeanor. Everyone who came was there for one reason: to see a change in the world and to witness history. Most people who went were told they were crazy for going, but we all responded, “We’d be crazy not to go.” Sure it was below freezing, and, yes, there was no telling if you’d be able to see a thing, but my mother reminded me the night before the inauguration “You’re not there to see Obama’s twinkling eye but rather, to be able to say you were there and you were why that twinkle was there that day.” Read the rest of this entry »

This is from a Partner at Heidrick & Struggles who was on Flight 1549. Thanks to Greg for forwarding it.

As many of you now know, Gerry McNamara (New York/Charlotte) was on U.S, Airways Flight 1549 last week. We caught up with him to discuss the harrowing incident and – in a departure from our usual format – present his stirring account as told to us:

“Thursday was a difficult day for all of us at the firm and I left the Park Avenue office early afternoon to catch a cab bound for LaGuardia Airport.

I was scheduled for a 5 p.m. departure, but able to secure a seat on the
earlier flight scheduled to leave at 3 P.M. As many of us who fly frequently often do, I recall wondering if I’d just placed myself on a flight I shouldn’t be on! Read the rest of this entry »