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Columns

  • Fishing Lines: Sea bass crazy

    My very favorite fish in the frying pan is the black sea bass, and the time to catch them is now. This is the only time of the year that the big males are within reach of my skiff, the spawning season.

    The males have a distinctive "hump" just behind their head and their underside has more white coloration, to attract the attention of the females I imagine. Attracting a mate in their world must work up quite an appetite because they feed with reckless abandon during their seasonal ritual.

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  • Reflections: Where to go from here

    The past has brought me across a large spectrum of life. I have gone from being a mechanic to a teacher with a few other occupations in-between including a stint in the military.

    After 24 years of teaching, however, I finally retired to a part time job doing what I love: working at an airport with airplanes.

    Alas, though, with taxes and insurance being what they are, and not making very much money working part time, I have given up the airport job for a full time job again.

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  • True Faith: Inseparability of Politics and Religion

    "When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; but when the wicked rise to power, men go into hiding." (Proverbs 28:12 NIV)

    Right in the middle of a heated presidential election, it is not surprising that some folks want to revive the worn out debate over "separation of church and state." The phrase itself doesn't seem to accurately depict what was on the minds of the founders of the United States of America. The big issue on the minds of those early Americans was their intention that our government must not establish a state sponsored church.

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  • Abort-Retry-Fail: Heeeee's Baaaaaacccckkk!

    It has been over eighteen months since I last wrote for the Beacon, but it is time to get "back in the saddle" again.

    As many of you know, I have not been away all of that eighteen months. My trips have been pretty sporadic, once to Denver, Colorado and once to Seattle, Washington. Not to mention all of the trips to Texas, New Orleans and North and South Carolina. (There was also the two trips to Deal's Gap in East Tennessee!)

    Although I am not finished with my travels, I plan to continue my writings as long as I can and as long as there is someone out there that reads them.

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  • Reflections: And the new President will be...

    The new President will obviously be the one who caters to the elderly because seniors will dominate this year's elections.

    We are into the age of the baby-boomers. There are more baby-boomers voting than any other age. Their vote will be mighty and the one that will put the candidate they want in office.

    Many of us are curious about the newness of women and black candidates running for election, but it is the candidate who will do the best job for the seniors that will be elected. That person has little to do with race, color, or creed.

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  • From the Kitchen: Interesting information gives 'food for thought'

    A friend of mine sent me the following information as she thought it would be of interest not only to me, but also to some of my readers. I do not know its origin, nor have I validated it as factual, but after reading it; I felt it had enough merit to share. My father believed in using foods to prevent, as well as to treat, deficiencies in the body; he did not rely on vitamins and pills of any kind for that purpose. I have always agreed with his philosophy, for the most part, and shall, therefore, leave you to research further and/or draw your own conclusions.

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  • True Faith: Are all statues idols? Are all idols statues?

    "Dear children, keep yourselves from idols." (1 John 5:21 NIV)

    The leaders of Ukraine recently made another bold move to rid their beautiful capital city - Kiev, of all the many statues of Lenin and Stalin. Many citizens of the former Soviet Union spent their entire lives under the stare of these huge figures made of stone and/or iron. Most cities in the old USSR had one large Lenin statue situated in Lenin Square that was usually located in the heart of the city.

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  • Reflections: Fly another day

    Airplanes are not go anytime, go anywhere vehicles.

    My airplane is a good example. If the weather is bad you cannot fly. Flying a small Cessna in severe weather can be extremely hazardous to your health.

    I remember one time when flying in bad weather, I got stuck in Clewiston, Florida for a couple of days. I was lucky. I landed at the airport before the weather got so bad I would have been forced down in the Glades. The Everglades is no place to be forced down, anytime, let alone in bad weather.

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  • True Faith: Your church doesn't have music

    "When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." (Matthew 26:30 NIV)

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  • From the Kitchen: Post-holiday healthy eating and exercise requires commitment for success

    In selecting a topic for this week I did some soul searching about how and why I, as a senior citizen, find it difficult to stick to any New Year's resolution regarding a diet plan or new healthy eating habits and exercise. Any nutritionist or doctor will tell you that dieting is pretty much a "quick fix," most of the time, and then the pounds return once you reach your goal weight and slowly slip back into your old eating habits. Changing your eating habits and developing a reasonable exercise program are the keys to successful weight loss and keeping it off.

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