Opinion Archive

I’ve worked in three different states during my journalism career, covering education in all of them.

My wife and I had houseguests not long ago, decades-old friends from southeast Florida that we had not seen in years. Our friends had never been to this part of Florida, so a significant part of our “catching up” conversation was dedicated to describing what life is like here on the Florida panhandle.

I have noticed a recent trend – well, a trend I call recent because I just noticed it – people thanking the universe. I first heard it a few years ago from the lips of an acquaintance, who had just come through a very dark period of depression. He emerged thanking the universe for his recovery. My initial, unspoken reaction was, “I wonder where he got that notion?” Since then, I have noticed an uptick in the number of people, celebrity and average Joe alike, thanking the universe.

We spent Monday morning at various schools around Santa Rosa County, taking in the sights and sounds as students walked into classrooms for the first day of the 2024-2025 school year.

There have been very few times in my life where the world has stopped and everything else has seemed to matter so much less.

Thursday, Aug. 1 was one of those days.

It’s football time in Okaloosa County.
Friday night Baker and Crestview have dress rehearsals for the 2024 season with their respective Kickoff Classics.

At the beginning of the school lunch line was a basket of delicious-looking red apples. There was a sign above the basket that read, “One apple per student. Remember God is watching you.” At the far end of the line was a basket of homemade chocolate chip cookies with a sign that said, “One cookie per person.” A student had written, “Take all you want. God is watching the other end of the line.”

Last week, we wrote about a two-vehicle accident involving an alleged drunk driver and a 28-year-old, who lost her life.

It’s not a secret that I’m probably the biggest sports fanatic out there.

I know there are many people who would challenge me on that, and that’s fine. But I rarely can get enough sports talk, and I enjoy watching just about any athletic event, though nothing beats football on the weekends.

Sometimes in the busyness of life we forget some of the upcoming big days that have impacted our lives. That was recently the case for me when, I didn’t forget July 30, but didn’t remember the impact of the day until writing my previous columns as I was caught up in the excitement of the upcoming fall sports season.