GARY SMITH: Mileage may vary
As I'm sure I've mentioned before, my father was in the Air Force, which means I spent most of my formative years on Air Force bases, going to Air Force stores, living in Air Force housing and, when n...
January 15, 2021
GARY SMITH: Just six days in?
Remember last weekend when we were all excited and filled with hope at the new dawn, the new day and the New Year? Yeah ... good times.
I mean, come on, 2021. You didn't even make it seven whole days...
January 8, 2021
GARY SMITH: Avoiding the stupid
So it's that time of year again. The time when those of us blessed with the opportunity to share our thoughts with readers get to take stock and present our New Year's resolutions.
Hey, it's either t...
January 1, 2021
A Christmas letter, 2020
Christmas is upon us and with it comes the joy, laughter, happiness and warm wishes of the season. And, those "holiday letters" that typically fill us in on all the wonderful activities our friends an...
December 25, 2020
GARY SMITH: Weathering the storm
One of the wisest pieces of advice I've received in my life is that I should be very, very careful what I wish for. I'm pretty sure this applies not just to me, but the idea is that we all should be c...
December 18, 2020
GARY SMITH: Things that make you go "hmmm"
The thing I've noticed the most about my yearly physicals isn't the sights or the smells or the paperwork or the waiting. It's the sound.
Specifically the sound my doctor makes that he didn't used to...
December 11, 2020
GARY SMITH: "Georiga, Georiga"
I was checking my news feeds the other day (I believe the phrase is "doom scrolling," for obvious reasons), when I came across an announcement of a march in Atlanta to protest the outcome of the recen...
November 27, 2020
GARY SMITH: The never-ending story
I'm probably not the biggest country music fan in the world. Frankly, I'm not even in the running. But if there is one thing about the genre I appreciate, it's the lyrics.
Country music lyricists may...
November 13, 2020
GARY SMITH: A pitch for boring
These are significantly challenging times for a columnist like me.
OK, I know. Cry me a river. Times are tough all over, and honestly they're tougher for a lot of other folks than for me. Again, intr...
November 6, 2020
GARY SMITH: The dread of voting
So, let me get this straight. We have a worldwide pandemic, raging wildfires in the West, hurricanes and flooding along the Gulf Coast, civil unrest and an economic depression. And, on top of that, we...
October 30, 2020
OPINION | GARY SMITH: You really should wear a mask
If we have firmly established one thing in our time together in this space, it's that I'm not the Hard News Guy.
On a regular basis these particular pages are filled with the thoughts of folks far mo...
October 23, 2020
GARY SMITH: A neighborly contest
In addition to all the fun family games we've learned while in Pandemic Lockdown, we've added a new backyard pastime: "Just Whose Yard Does This Belong In?"
I have to admit, we already had most of th...
October 16, 2020
GARY SMITH: Giving up the ghost?
I am all about streamlining processes, eliminating waste and creating situations where I don't have to do something more than once. Mostly, it's because I'm so lazy I don't really want to do it the fi...
October 9, 2020
GARY SMITH: No time for 2020
Those who know me will tell you I am somewhat oblivious to most things, even those that directly impact me. Potentially, that includes even those things directly impacting me at the moment (which expl...
October 2, 2020
GARY SMITH: My pandemic checklist
So, we're officially God only knows how far into the pandemic, which means we have God only knows how long to go before we officially have all the drastic measures we've had to take in the rear view m...
September 25, 2020