tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40882552024-03-05T08:02:50.192-05:00The Blog of Columbus, GeorgiaNearly nine years of often-humorous views on life in Columbus, Georgia -- the government, the people, the flow of the river, whatever.
From 2003-2011: coverage, community, comedy - concluded.Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comBlogger2726125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-51153453319241714482011-09-25T01:00:00.000-04:002011-09-25T01:00:03.657-04:00THE BLOG OF COLUMBUS
-> Our other blog starts with poker, then goes in directions you might not expect. See what we mean at "On the Flop!" <-
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25 SEP 11: In Conclusion....
You've probably heard the phrase, "All good things must come to an end." Today I apply that phrase to this blog -- although I realize some of you never have been really sure about how good this blogRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-51993387335165342192011-09-24T03:00:00.003-04:002011-09-25T01:06:23.632-04:0024 SEP 11: Mentions of Troy(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find the following items humorous, serious, or a little of both - but we offer these thoughts from time to time, as we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.) Did he do it? I really don't know. Even after hearing and reading plenty of arguments pro and con, I don't know. When it comes to high-profile cases like the one which caused all the controversy Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-55044354799546039382011-09-23T03:00:00.002-04:002011-09-24T22:06:21.115-04:0023 SEP 11: Water-Fall Today is the first day of autumn in Columbus. During my college years, I drove home from campus one fall Saturday morning to relax with the family. But I wound up on top of the house, because the rest of the family decided it was time to put new shingles on the roof. For a while, political science textbooks seemed a bit more appealing. After a hot and dry summer Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-26776863497226659322011-09-22T03:00:00.001-04:002011-09-24T22:05:46.500-04:0022 SEP 11: Where-a-Cop-a Parked Wednesday night was a night of tension and anxiety for a lot of Georgians. You can't blame some of them for being nervous and on edge. It's left to your humor blogger to attempt to offer a bit of comedy relief -- so I will say nothing here today about Atlanta's baseball team losing to Florida again. We'll focus instead on a place I considered the "Central Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-68411837789053622182011-09-21T03:00:00.000-04:002011-09-23T00:00:36.701-04:0021 SEP 11: Call the Bouncers
Yes, I know what the big local news story was Tuesday. But no, I'm still not planning to make any jokes about it here - because people on both sides probably are ready to set up a picket line outside my door.
Instead, I've noticed something else on Columbus TV in the last 48 hours. If you've been counting the days until the big change at WTVM's digital channel Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-587524958521559302011-09-20T00:28:00.000-04:002011-09-21T08:19:00.710-04:0020 SEP 11: Something or Nothing?
It's been quite a long time since we played a game here about the news of the day. So today let's try one called - hey, the title's already up there - "Something or Nothing?" We'll consider several developments around the area, and determine if they amount to something or nothing. And remember: if it's "next to nothing," it's probably still something.
1Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-66313332551563913802011-09-19T03:00:00.000-04:002011-09-20T00:28:40.241-04:0019 SEP 11: Circus Mark's-imus
The weekly Columbus siren test went as scheduled over the weekend. And this time I was awake at 12:00 noon to hear it. It's not that I'm keeping score, mind you - I think that's part of the reason why Riley Land still has a city job.
But moments after Saturday's siren test, the phone rang - and it was completely unexpected. Muscogee County School Board Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-16434190352797823872011-09-18T02:27:00.000-04:002011-09-19T08:09:31.074-04:0018 SEP 11: Pipes Down
Leave it to our readers to offer challenging topics for jokes. They could have brought up weekend football games, or Saturday being Constitution Day. But no -- today our lead item involves sewer pipes. Humor doesn't get much lower and dirtier than this....
SUNDAY SOAPBOX: The sewer pipes are, uh, dug up by someone who hasn't written us in several weeks. He titled this Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-84353608001390260382011-09-16T03:00:00.000-04:002011-09-18T02:30:22.603-04:0016 SEP 11: Mission Accomplished
A little construction is still underway. But as of Thursday, six years of hope and hype officially are over. Base realignment has ended. Fort Benning is a busier place. And Muscogee County schools will have to look beyond Kentucky for help in improving test scores.
Thursday was the federal deadline for concluding BRAC, or "base realignment and Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-35435401636612172852011-09-15T00:49:00.002-04:002011-09-16T07:50:05.678-04:0015 SEP 11: Gator of Green Island?
Newcomers to our area might find it puzzling. Glenwood School's sports teams are nicknamed the Gators. In east Alabama -- more than 100 miles from the Florida line?! But then again, Harris County isn't exactly known for its loose and roaming tigers....
But real live alligators may be closer to home than you think. Consider this e-mail we received Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-60944181075160539682011-09-14T03:00:00.000-04:002011-09-15T00:50:04.592-04:0014 SEP 11: Donut Hole City?
The scoffers in Phenix City say it's wrong for city officials to spend a lot of money to recruit a new downtown Marriott hotel. But maybe they're forgetting something. Tourists checking travel websites might conclude it's the only one within several miles of all the Columbus attractions.
Despite the long court fight over lodging taxes, several major Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-74379311987970578852011-09-13T00:59:00.000-04:002011-09-14T08:15:00.045-04:0013 SEP 11: Basket Cases
So really -- what is the deal about hand baskets? They simply don't get any respect. When someone talks about going somewhere "in a hand basket," they almost always are going to a place that's bad. You never hear people at church talk about going to heaven in one....
I have nothing personally against hand baskets. I use them often when I pick up a few itemsRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-2712977949200247972011-09-12T00:59:00.001-04:002011-09-13T01:00:01.974-04:0012 SEP 11: Fighters, Fools and Frauds
A military presence covered part of downtown Columbus on 11 September this year. In fact, you might want to avoid part of Front Avenue for the next couple of days -- because the fighting vehicles on display for the Maneuver Conference trade show probably will be slower than your car.
A current Colonel and a retired Fort Benning Commanding GeneralRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-13406137573460082822011-09-11T02:37:00.000-04:002011-09-12T01:02:54.757-04:0011 SEP 11: Can I Laugh Now?
The weekly Saturday siren test in Columbus did not happen this weekend. That probably disappointed some cynics -- the ones who wanted a siren to interrupt the mayor's proclaimed moment of silence at 12:00 noon.
I was napping at noon - awakening at 12:03 p.m. to get out of bed and offer a prayer, noting today's anniversary of the 11 September attacks. It Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-11483278633760225122011-09-09T01:01:00.001-04:002011-09-11T02:39:50.786-04:009 SEP 11: Facts or Friction
It's one thing to spread a rumor to your friends at work or your neighbor over the back fence. It's another thing to spread it in print before thousands of newspaper readers. For one thing, one of those readers actually might do some double-checking to see if it's accurate....
The President of the Chattahoochee County School Board was surprised Thursday Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-36313390440986505112011-09-08T03:00:00.000-04:002011-09-09T01:02:41.011-04:008 SEP 11: All A-GOP-e
Several Republican Presidential candidates debated in southern California Wednesday night. And several Republican leaders in Columbus tried to show they're ordinary people like you and me. They watched the debate at Momma Goldberg's Deli downtown - where years ago they automatically would have chosen Ben's Chop House.
The last decade will be remembered in Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-16872110424828344062011-09-07T03:00:00.000-04:002011-09-08T07:52:01.124-04:007 SEP 11: Judge Teresa?
Maybe the Columbus Charter Review Commission is missing the target. We don't need a mayor with the power to fire the city manager. We need one who will take over as presiding judge when the situation demands it - and we currently stand at one judicial opening, heading for two.
Mayor Teresa Pike Tomlinson sounded like a prosecuting attorney Tuesday, if not a Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-80982546171962066932011-09-06T03:00:00.000-04:002011-09-07T08:11:53.247-04:006 SEP 11: You Make Me Want to Shout
"Is this the way to Harris County?" the driver in the other lane asked me in a loud voice Monday morning. This was a nice change from some of the last people to attract my attention while I was driving - those two alleged prostitutes in May.
The man in the other lane was driving a pickup truck. And he was heading northbound on Veterans Parkway Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-4180543861581519312011-09-05T01:30:00.000-04:002011-09-06T08:07:32.963-04:005 SEP 11: Ciudad de Plastico
Happy Labor Day to you -- but I have to ask a question. If you have the day off, do you have a "project" planned around the house? Don't you realize you're sort of defeating the purpose of the holiday?
Sunday was a big errand day for me, including a trip to the recycling center near Victory Drive. And there was a nice surprise there - as without any Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-70114090704416862382011-09-04T02:12:00.001-04:002011-09-05T01:38:25.617-04:004 SEP 11: Flowers and Love
Columbus can be a "make or break" city for many people dreaming of big media careers. For people such as Rece Davis of ESPN, it can be a stepping stone to the big time. For others.... well, at least I'm still here writing a blog....
SUNDAY SOAPBOX: It didn't receive the attention of Kurt Schmitz, but one of the best TV reporters in Columbus disappeared about Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-10742236963906782372011-09-02T00:00:00.000-04:002011-09-04T02:12:56.544-04:002 SEP 11: Pump Up the Ball
A few weeks ago on my poker night, a man walked to the table with one enthusiastic question for all the other players. "Are you ready for some football?"
When he turned to me, the answer was ready. "I really came here to play poker."
So imagine my surprise Thursday night at the poker table. I looked up at a big-screen TV about to show the first Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-72107012920748414742011-09-01T03:00:00.001-04:002011-09-02T01:13:17.279-04:001 SEP 11: You're a High-Priced Flag
Welcome to September. We've reached the month for Patriot Day remembering the terror attacks, along with Constitution Day. Yet it appeared for awhile Wednesday Alabama was so broke that it couldn't afford a state flag -- and might have to appeal to Senator Richard Shelby for every spare "Capitol-flown" flag he could get.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley Richardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-42151732900277380002011-08-31T03:00:00.001-04:002011-09-01T08:01:58.683-04:0031 AUG 11: Mark 'em All Down
Before there were Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Katia, another local website was talking in terms of a "hurricane Shelnutt." There are plenty of attorneys who could fit that description, I suppose - since lawyers have a reputation for presenting a lot of hot air in court.
But now a Muscogee County Judge openly is accusing attorney Mark Shelnutt of stirring upRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-3242931748004960662011-08-30T03:00:00.002-04:002011-08-31T08:05:23.369-04:0030 AUG 11: Rice and Cohn
Didya hear about the big star-studded dinner Monday night at the Trade Center? From what I saw on TV, the main dish was fluffy Rice....
When I took a Monday morning "follow-up" jog downtown, the main vehicle entrances to the Trade Center on Front Avenue already were blocked by yellow tape. I presumed it was a security precaution for Condoleezza Rice's appearanceRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4088255.post-30005113134961021242011-08-29T03:00:00.004-04:002011-08-30T08:04:48.086-04:0029 AUG 11: Sweating By Candlelight
"Did you go running this morning?" my next-door neighbor asked from his chair in the shade as I approached the door.
"No. Just walking," I said - which is what I do in the neighborhood many Saturday mornings. "I'll run later." He didn't know how much later -- the latest I'd ever run. And it wasn't because a criminal was pursuing me, either.
I hadn't plannedRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11058030312904622191noreply@blogger.com