Louise Mathews retired from a career in community colleges, and before that, theater. A 13-year come-by in Beaufort, she has been a dingbatter in North Carolina and an upstater from New York.
On July 4, 2026, we celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States of America. That date is also the 200th anniversary of the deaths of two founding fathers: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson died earlier on that day. John Adams, not knowing this fact in those pre-telegraph and all subsequent electronic communication days, said as his final words, “Jefferson still lives.”
Founding Frenemies Read More »
I am writing this on Donald John Trump’s 80th birthday. About a third of the people are happy to wish him well. About a third of the people would like to see him six feet under. About a third of the people just get on with their lives and may be indifferent as long as prices come down.
Mathews: Happy birthday, Mr. President Read More »
School has been out for about two weeks, and I bet almost all parents have heard “I’m bored!” at least once already this summer.
Mathews: School’s out for the summer Read More »
As I was looking up another word for a Voices article, I noticed the Word of the Day for Mother’s Day in the Cambridge Online Dictionary was “ghosting,” that is, a way of ending a relationship with someone suddenly by stopping all communication with them.
The Serpent’s Tooth Read More »
I know developers replant trees, but many years must pass before a tree provides the benefits of “air quality, stormwater management, wind buffers, increased property values, and cooling effects to our homes and communities …” as the Port Royal Tree Ordinance states. To paraphrase the poet, Joyce Kilmer, “Essays are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.”
Elegy for the trees Read More »
Mr. Trump must recognize the utility of peace with the Pope if he plans to retain Catholic voter support in November 2026. Apologizing would go a long way to rehabilitating his image. No one is asking him to kneel on the church steps in Canossa and ask the Pope for forgiveness as Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did in 1077. A simple expression of regret and sorrow would do.
Whether or not Iran has enough weapons-grade uranium to imminently attack is not the question. Is a small cancer tumor an imminent threat to a person’s health, or should the medical team wait until it is big enough to actually kill the patient? As it has proven for almost half a century, the Iranian regime is a cancer on the world, and the United States finally has a President with the resolve to excise it.
Iran’s “Great Satan” strikes back Read More »
This week, I have been struck by the contrast between one death in the United States and three deaths in Iran.
Four deaths and a funeral Read More »
Over the last two weeks, one of the more meaningful moments of the war on Iran was the celebration of the Iranian people when they learned of the death of the longtime tyrant, Ayatollah Khamenei. I was particularly impressed by the women who jubilantly burned their hijabs.
Several years ago in a Sunday sermon, my pastor said that dogs and other animals do not go to heaven. I know that is the theology passed down for millennia. I believe, though, that if dogs don’t go to heaven, it can’t be heaven.
To all the dogs I’ve loved before Read More »
