Possumhaw: Hanging by a thread

Saturday a ghastly thing happened at the Prairie house. While Sam was gone fishing I discovered a mouse clinging to the Big Tom sticky trap. I have vowed time and time again not to use those cruel traps, however successful they are.

Ask Rufus: They called Columbus home

The past two weeks I have been helping with the Columbus Pilgrimage. I had not intended on doing so, but Nancy Carpenter of the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau called and said they were short-handed and could I help with tour groups. Before I realized it, I was telling stories about Columbus to multiple tour groups on the double-decker bus.

Lynn Spruill: Bricklee and the Horse Park

Sounds like a cool little novel title like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone or maybe Nancy Drew and the Crooked Banister. Though Bricklee Miller may not have the financial impact that J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter does, or the international name recognition of Nancy Drew, she definitely has the magic touch for the Golden Triangle.

Slimantics: Bomb threats are not harmless pranks

What is it about Columbus kids and bomb threats? This morning, for the ninth time since the school year started, school was disrupted while school and law enforcement investigated yet another bomb threat, this one at Stokes-Beard Elementary School.

Possumhaw: Eat two onions and call me in the morning

The Wall Street Journal headlined "A Delicious Prescription: Chefs and doctors are teaming up to create health food you might actually crave." Inheriting the "clipper" gene from our mother, my brother and I trade clipped newspaper articles, his from national newspapers on food, birds, nature and mine from the local sports pages on the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Ask Rufus: Was it America's first pro ball team?

This is a ballgame weekend. Professional baseball has just cranked up, basketball's Final Four started Saturday and college baseball is in full swing. But long forgotten is the story of how what may have been America's first professional ball team assemble at Columbus in 1829.

Slim Smith: Missing Mike

Monday morning, the news came of the sudden, stunning death of Mike Ritter. He had entered the hospital for surgery to repair a heart problem and died before the procedure could be performed. Mike, a brilliant editorial cartoonist, was 48 years old. These kinds of deaths, including the sudden passing of Columbus Police Department investigator Don English at age 58, are a not-so-subtle reminder of my own mortality. I am 54.

Lynn Spruill: Litter begets litter

I confess that I do not understand littering. It is inconceivable to me that anyone thinks that it is quite acceptable to leave their garbage behind in locations that are clearly not garbage sites, such as parking lots, streets, sidewalks, and any other areas not intended to be a resting place for garbage.

Possumhaw: Made in the U.S.A., or not

The jean jacket label said Bangladesh. Prairie skirt made in the U.S.A. Old Navy jacket made in China, as was the Longleaf camo jacket, as was the Ralph Lauren skirt. Really? Ralph Lauren made in China? Ann Taylor -- Hong Kong; MSU baseball hat -- Taiwan R.O. C. Shoes were a mix of Brazil, Mexico and China.

Charlie Mitchell: Mississippi marijuana laws already pretty loose

After two states -- Washington and Colorado -- legalized recreational use of marijuana, people were heard saying, "That will never happen in Mississippi" or "Mississippi will be the last state to do that." Well, maybe. Maybe not.

Ask Rufus: Roots of the Columbus Pilgrimage

The roots of the Columbus Pilgrimage run deep within our community. In 1939, T.C. Billups decided to act on the success of Natchez and other Southern towns in using a spring pilgrimage to attract tourists and promote community development.

Birney Imes: Sweetness and light on a Friday afternoon

Friday afternoon at 6:30 I was standing in front of Shattuck Hall on The W campus watching honeybees fly in and out of a Corinthian column.

Lynn Spruill: Lessons from law school

Unlike a good number of my friends and acquaintances, I truly enjoyed my law school classes. My plan when I graduated from Mississippi State University was to go to law school at Ole Miss. I had been accepted and scheduled to start classes there when the Navy made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

Frances Hairston: Life lessons learned in a greenhouse

Parents should take a page from Mary Tuggle's book on how to instill in children a work ethic. Two weeks ago, I, along with other members of the Noxubee Garden Club, sat mesmerized listening to Mary and Katherine Hewlett tell the story of Palmer Home.

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