A dear deer tale

One view of a harvest moon

I used to worry we’d get in trouble when I’d ride in my grandfather’s old blue pickup to the Kmart in Marion. He always parked right up front, ignoring the little signs that depicted the guy in a wheelchair.
Not much older than my eldest is now, I knew one or two things for sure. 

It’s too early for his roots to be dissolving, but that’s what’s happening, at least according to the books we’ve been reading. 

With the anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy having recently passed, I could not help but recall where I was during the moment the first plane bombed the World Trade Center in New York City.  I had always heard people older than me talking vividly about their memories of where they were when they heard of a national tragedy such as the assassination of President Kennedy or even the moment when the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor.  For some reason, I never thought that I would be the person who would tell a story to someone else involving my own personal memories of a national calamity of unspeakable terrorism such as the one that occurred on the very soil of our nation six years ago.

A dear John letter—sort of

The Associated Press reported that a Georgia McDonald’s worker spent the night in jail because a police officer’s burger was too salty. It was salty enough to make him sick, according to the news report. The woman was charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct. 

When a titan such as Paul Dellinger retires from the world of journalism, the world suffers.
Dellinger the man has been described as defining the term “gentleman.” Dellinger the reporter has been applauded for his unbelievable output, his accuracy and his 44 years of commitment.
However, words like “polite” and “charming” don’t fully capture the man. And while knowing that a phenomenal 17,600 stories have appeared under the Dellinger byline increases the sense of awe, it doesn’t begin to tell what’s being lost as the 69-year-old wraps up a storied career.