County Signs: Rainy-day ruminations

By MONTE DUTTON Peroxide has agreed with the Raiders. (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. Things I’ve noticed in movies and TV: It never drizzles. Movies shot in a studio have rickety doors. Many times the bad guy or gal in modern movies is the one who smokes. In old movies, everyone smokes. The second coming …

Readin,’ writin’ and watchin’

By MONTE DUTTON (Pixabay) The weekend was uneventful but worthwhile. I spent most of my time writing my next, and 10th, novel, The Graduate Transfer, which doesn’t get italics until it’s published. I already had 19,000 words, but now the 19,000 are different ones (as if most weren’t already). I decided to use the original …

Eating peaches and pondering other stuff

Clinton, S.C., July 10, 2022,10:28 a.m. (Pixabay photo) First of all, the highlight of the week was peaches. Like all self-respecting South Carolinians, I love peaches and know that my home state produces more peaches than the so-called Peach State, Georgia. Even though modern times have made produce available year around, it generally isn’t produce …

The Definition of Getaway

The Pilgrims and the Loggers were headed in opposite directions. It was “getaway day” at quaint Fitzgerald Field. The Pilgrims had won the third of four games the night before, after two rain delays, and were poised for a sweep. They were three games ahead of the Suns, thanks to six wins in a row. …

A Strange Significance

Clinton, South Carolina, Wednesday, August 19, 2020, 1:05 p.m. The coronavirus blurs the lines between major and minor accomplishments. On Monday night, I finished the 22nd chapter of a novel. I’m closing in on the completion of the rough draft, but it’s not quite as rough because I’ve done a lot of retracing my steps …

Dreeeaaaam, Dream, Dream, Dreeeaaaam …

Clinton, South Carolina, Tuesday, April 28, 2020, 8:48 a.m. She was a level-headed dancer / On the road to alcohol / And I was just a soldier / On my way to Montreal … That I think a lot about John Prine songs is in part because he recently died, but it’s also because I …

Satire at Sunset

Clinton, South Carolina, Saturday, April 18, 2020, 8:37 a.m. Back when I traveled most of the country, writing about race cars that went ’round and ’round and the mostly white men who drove them, my favorite device was not a shock absorber but its literary equivalent, satire. Once -- it was in Dover, Delaware, I …

Stormy Thursday

Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, February 6, 2020, 1:18 p.m. Storms never last, do they, baby? Bad times all pass with the winds … Waylon Jennings had the perfect voice to sing those words. The storms of life keep washing me away. Ditto, Randy Travis. It’s rainin’, rainin’ in my heart. Damned if it hasn’t knocked …

Easily Mistaken for the Mystical

Clinton, South Carolina, Monday, December 23, 2019, 1:17 p.m. Most bad things have good sides, and vice-versa. For a solid week, I have been sick. I’ve been getting better through the weekend. I’m close to well, though my throat is full of congestion and I don’t feel like yodeling. Last week, when I had to …

My Breakfast Is My Life

Clinton, South Carolina, Monday, November 11, 2019, 9:51 a.m. Most mornings, I get up, put some coffee on, plug in the cell to recharge, take some medication, and retire to the facilities. Then I return, sit down and arm the laptop (okay, sign on), let the coffee cool a bit, and check the morning email …