Possumhaw: Finding daffodils in hard ground

On days when fishing is out of the question and the 24/7 news has taken its circuitous route about dozen times and the SEC channel is showing decades-old football games, Sam opens a book.

Birney Imes: Downtown Brooksville: Where you can't get lost to save your soul

Maybe it strains the limits of plausibility to claim to have found a penny in front of a place called "Down to the Penny Accounting Tax Service," but there on the sidewalk was Honest Abe in profile. Not one to shun the prospect of good luck, I bent over and picked it up.

Lynn Spruill: Social responsibility

At the most recent MLK equality march I had an acquaintance pause long enough to ask me to talk with him about a homeless shelter for Starkville.

Slimantics: Proposed tax cut a cynical ploy

My grandfather was a share-cropper in Tippah County, a widower trying to raise six daughters in the height of The Great Depression.

Birney Imes: White-tailed deer 101

About two winters ago while riding alone in the rain in an ATV, I surprised two deer bedded down in a thicket of scrubby trees. Once rousted, the deer sprinted alongside me for four or five seconds before veering off and vanishing into nearby woods. It happened so suddenly and was over so quickly, I was left wondering if it had happened at all.

Lynn Spruill: A humdinger of a meeting

There are board meetings and then there are board meetings.

Slimantics: A tale of two immigrant groups

I saw a documentary on immigration two nights ago and I was fascinated by what I learned, although it painted a disturbing picture.

Slimantics: Saturday Night Live: The best cast ever

Saturday Night Live celebrated its 40th year with a 3 1/2-hour prime time special Sunday evening.

Possumhaw: Just about time for serious fishing

As the days grow longer and the sun shines warmer and the occasional temperatures tip 70 degrees, a retired man's fancy turns to fishing.

Ask Rufus: When the bridge opened

Whenever I write a column about the Tombigbee and mention bridges, I am almost always asked whether the 1928 bridge at Columbus was really a draw bridge.

Birney Imes: David Carr's grand caper

Media personas were prominent in the news this past week. NBC News anchor Brian Williams' career went up in flames; former 60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon was killed in a car crash in New York City; Jon Stewart announced plans to leave The Daily Show and Thursday night New York Times media critic David Carr collapsed in his paper's newsroom and shortly after was pronounced dead.

Wyatt Emmerich: Finding homes for children

Newscaster Maggie Wade is passionate about what she calls her true calling: Finding permanent, loving families for Mississippi's foster children. Her program, Wednesday's Child, has found homes for 7,000 children. She has received hundreds of humanitarian awards for her efforts.

Lynn Spruill: Candidates for public office should make their case publicly

We will soon be voting once again for county and state offices.

Slimantics: All quiet on the Western (Ala.) front

Monday was an historic day in many parts of Alabama, but a day of disappointment in others.

Possumhaw: The eye of the red-tailed hawk

It was an early, frosty morning and a lone deer fed in the field. You have to wonder why it nibbled at the cold, dead grass. Soon, another joined it and then another. In the distance they looked like shadows on the pale, icy ground.

Birney Imes: Quest for part leads to uncommon kindness

Some months ago the hot water control in our shower cracked and started spraying hot water into the tub and onto the legs of unsuspecting bathers. Really hot water. We've adapted by draping a washcloth over it to deflect the hot water, but every now and then it slips down and you get a sudden jolt.

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