CLASSIC CITY NEWS

By T. W. Burger   At a campsite on the coast of Nova Scotia: So, today I’m working away at my genuine L.L. Bean roll-up camping table (I’ve used it as a traveling desk for at least 20 years,) while sitting on my genuine L.L. Bean folding “What-A-Chair.” I leaned over to get my briefcase off the rocky ground. Something went SNAP! Suddenly, I was lying on my side, looking out at the sea in the gathering dark. I waited a bit to see if anything would start hurting or even bleedin

By Erik Hogan It was September and the year was 1683. Empires clashed and had been doing so for hundreds of years. The Ottoman Empire to the East had been growing in power and influence, expanding into Western Europe. The city of Vienna, Austria held them back. The Holy Roman Emperor Leopold fled the city, taking 60,000 with him. The Duke of Lorraine withdrew, taking 20,000. Count Ernst Rudiger von Starhemberg remained, but with only 11,000 troops and 312 cannons to defend th

By Eddie Whitlock Well, it’s not the FIFA Peace Prize, but it’s all I’ve got. ​Here are my awards for 2025. Let’s start with the world of politics. ​In general, it was a horrible year in politics. Donald Trump returned to the White House in much the same way an infestation of roaches will return if you don’t properly address the problem the first time it appears. ​The award for best appearance by a loser wanting to look tough: Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of the Department of

By T. W. Burger I am sitting here in a comfortable chair with my feet stacked up, all laid-back and comfy, laptop teetering on what remains of my lap, and a mug of hot tea perched nearby. I am thinking about my father. Standing at the other end of the room is the eastern red cedar we just murdered out in a farm field and mounted on the sill of the bay window. My father has been dead for more than a quarter-century, but now and then I see him in the mirror, lurking in the bone

By T.W. Burger Breakfast this morning reminded me forcefully of what I love about small-town, mom-and-pop diners. You can get an acceptable breakfast in all sorts of places, sometime even those franchise outfits with their written policies and corkboards with pronouncements from the HR office at HQ thumbtacked thereon. But that’s not here. I have never been in the kitchen, so maybe this place actually has a bulletin board, but you catch my drift. This is the kind of place whe

By Erik Hogan I’ve hiked along the Chattooga River and these mountains and valleys my entire life. The crystalline streams flow through my veins. Damp soil and underlying rock aggregate to form my bones. I feel my own pulse in this earth; in this ground that gives rise to the enveloping vivid red and yellow autumnal foliage of the trees. Stepping into this forest feels like a return home. Yet, can I really call this land my own? The land does not belong to me. Others have cal

By Eddie Whitlock My friend Kelly posted a meme on social media that said, “Can we skip to the end of this Trump movie where it fades out & captions tell us how long they each got in prison?”   Since the Trump presidency is truly a nightmare – and it’s close to Halloween – I think it’s logical to think of it as a horror movie. That way, we can look forward to the end.  After some reflection, I’ve decided to stick with the classic Universal Studios monsters for my column. The

By James P. Hilton Introducing Mr. Steep Hill. Yup, my very best friend in the whole wide world. I visit him often, usually 7 days a week.  And why exactly is he such a great friend? Because he never lies to me and he always makes me stronger. Plus he helps me save thousands of dollars on things like fancy gym memberships and expensive hospital visits! Do yourself the favor of a lifetime and make friends with him too. Find yourself your very own Steep Hill. He will help you c

By Erik Hogan The word ‘Elk’ has a confusing history. It is historically derived from the Latin ‘Alces alces.’ This creature is an ‘elk’ in Eurasia, but referred to as a ‘moose’ in North America. The animal we are examining here is ‘Cervus canadensis,’ a larger relative to what Europeans refer to as ‘red deer.’ In Native American terminology they were often called ‘wapiti,’ a Shawnee and Cree word referring to their ‘white rump.’ As European settlers sprawled across America t

By Erik Hogan The leaves are changing color late this year. At approaching mid October, the morning breeze has only now begun to carry an...

By T. W. Burger I figured out a solution to too many nights trying to calm down my deep anger and despair over lots of issues I have...

By Albert DeSimone I believe the cold civil war we have been experiencing over the last several years is turning hot.  The predominant...

By Erik Hogan A poem in words and photos, to the month that slipped by It was damp and gray in the early morning when you left. Clouds...

By T. W. Burger Now and then I visit the small town where I was born and find myself visiting graves, particularly those of my mother and...

By Erik Hogan Hey. Pull up a chair, we have some philosophical hatchet work to do. Today I’m going to throw a big question at you right...

By Erik Hogan Subtle cues hint to a turning of the seasons. Here in the South we learn to tolerate summertime. We bear the oppressive...

By T.W. Burger  Charles “Ches” McCartney, aka The Goat Man, had been a personal hero of mine ever since I was a boy growing up in Athens...

By Albert DeSimone Walter Cronkite was the voice of the news in the United States throughout the 1960s and 70s. He anchored the CBS News...

By James P. Hilton Mark my words, we are about to witness one of the greatest showdowns in all political history  Tulsi Gabbard, Director...

By Eddie Whitlock ​I got together with my sister Cathy recently. We hadn’t seen each other since Christmas, so it was overdue. Because we...