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Columnists

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Bring Back The War Department

President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a prescient and heartfelt speech in Chautauqua, New York, on August 14, 1936, about the tragedy and horrors of war.  Reflecting upon his own experience as...

FRED FIRST: Changing of the Guard

The theme for the Lenoir Words Writers Group this month is AUTUMN. And since I...

BOB BROWN: The Truth About Lying

Everyone lies! That’s the truth. Most people are relatively honest most of the time. The average...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Hurricane Erin Is Our Future – Part II

Unfortunately, the U.S. is not the only country experiencing climate change. It is a global...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Hurricane Erin Is Our Future – Part I

I read a prescient and depressing article in the Associated Press written by Danica Coto on August 16,...

Public Speaking Requires Divine Intervention

Perhaps the most common phobia shared by people of all ages is the fear of speaking in public.  Clearly, the thought of standing before...

Making the Most of Christmas Eve

Years ago churches in Roanoke would have double, even triple their normal attendance on Easter Sunday as the unchurched and nominally churched came...

My Christmas Donkey Miracle

Several years ago I agreed to coordinate Journey to Bethlehem, a Christmas tradition at Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church that began shortly after our...

Rise of the Beta Male

Watching my one football game of the year, share for a moment my perplexity at a Super Bowl commercial showing a pathetic gaggle...

Is Your Adoption Complete? by Ed Dunnington

“Are they both yours?” was the question from a stranger in the grocery store as my wife walked through the fresh produce.  That...

Something Wicked This Way Comes

by H. Bruce Rinker, Ph.D. In the greenhouse adjacent to my lab, I grow dozens of species of tropical plants.  Orchids, bromeliads, banana palms,...