Goofy Steve seemed so sure of himself. He stood alone in the middle of the street, nose to nose with Down the Street Bully Brad. Though he faced insurmountable odds of surviving the next few minutes, he didn’t waver from his conviction. Bully Brad had gone too far: he had teased his little sister, and it was time to put a stop to it.

I'm sort of cheating this week. The deal here has always been, "… if you don't write me about your families, then you have to hear about mine." Well, nobody sent anything on his or her families so here we go on mine.

I have just finished a book on the topic of suffering. The book, “Suffering: the Catholic Answer,” was written in 1961 by Dom Hubert van Zeller (1905-1984), a Benedictine monk and featured 14 chapters based upon the 14 Stations of the Cross.

Only in America could critics of a group called “The Race” be labeled racists. Such is the triumph of left-wing identity chauvinists, whose aggressive activists and supine abettors have succeeded in redefining all opposition as “hate.”

“New and Not Improved,” avers everyone’s favorite left-wing establishment newspaper, the New York Times, in an editorial page headline. The reference isn’t to John McCain. It’s to Barack Obama, whom the Times’ editorial writers and columnists have been suiting up for sainthood.

Let me express my appreciation to the late and legendary sportswriter Jimmy Cannon, who occasionally wrote a column filled with witty one-liners and random insights, which he called “Nobody Asked Me, But ...”

A number of friends of mine have commented on an odd phenomenon that they have observed — conservative Republicans they know who are saying that they are going to vote for Barack Obama.

It is understandable that those who think President Bush has done a poor job want to replace him with a Democrat they think might do a better one. What is not understandable is why voters, who think Congress has performed poorly, would vote to keep the Democratic majority in place and, according to many polls, expand it.

Despite Congress’ periodic hauling of weak-kneed oil executives before their committees to charge them with collusion and price-gouging, subsequent federal investigations turn up no evidence to support the charges. Right now oil company executives are getting a bit of a respite as Congress has turned its attention to crude oil speculators, blaming them for high oil prices and calling for tighter control over commodity futures trading.

Dave’s story about the lightning strike at the family beach house sounds the same every time he tells it – and that’s been for more than 70 years. He was about 5 when he witnessed something few people ever see and live to talk about.

Sheriff — Wayne Hannah

District attorney — Scott Ballard

County Commission — Peter Pfeifer, Greg Dunn and Bob Fuhrman

By ELLIE WHITE-STEVENS

This Republican primary I’m working with 10 of our candidates on their advertising. Some of them chose to answer The Citizen’s questions for the online forum, some did not. While I’ve had my say in a lot of their advertising strategy, I’d like to approach them, and the other candidates, with some media advice from a professional.

By Dr. Tracy C. Miller

An Indian government official recently criticized the Bush administration for blaming the growing middle classes of developing countries, such as India and China, for rising food prices. Although he may have misinterpreted the president’s remarks, his and other Indian critics’ responses are worth thinking about.

To be quite frank, I don’t remember from where the idea arose. It could have been at the suggestion of one of two friends or – and this is quite possible – it was my own bright idea.

When I have the chance to break away from the office, I enjoy visiting in neighborhoods, meeting people and inviting them to church. I usually say something like:

I can testify that we in the South consume lots of strange things. Dad used to say that we eat every part of the pig except the squeak. Ears, tails, feet and snouts — it seems we have strong stomachs. Did I mention we eat those, too?

This week's story was written by Sandra Moody of Sharpsburg. Because of space limitations, I had to edit some of her details. If you will write to Sandra, she can send you the full, unedited version. Sandra writes:

A prominent 20th-century Democrat made the following statement about the purpose of the Second Amendment: “Certainly one of the chief guarantees of freedom under any government, no matter how popular and respected, is the right of citizens to keep and bear arms. ... The right of citizens to bear arms is just one guarantee against arbitrary government, one more safeguard, against the tyranny which now appears remote in America but which historically has proven to be always possible.”

Just this past week, my wife informed me that newspapers all over the country are shutting their doors. “People are getting their news off the Internet and from cable news shows,” she opined. I argued that, especially in small towns, local newspapers were vital for the distribution of local and regional news. There will, I proclaimed, always be a need for the local newspaper.

Just in time for Independence Day, the bible of the American left, The New York Times, continues to opine that the United States is a “nation in decline.” Hoping to see a Democrat in the White House, the newspaper has been hammering home that theme on its editorial pages.

Recent landmark court decisions are reminders that elections are not just about putting candidates in office for a few years.

It’s looking as though Vacation 2008 will meet the same fate as Vacation 2007. Despite research that has our mouths watering, it never seems quite the right time to start packing bags. I went ahead and scheduled knee surgery in the middle of last summer, figuring I wasn’t going anywhere anyhow because of pain, whether arthritis or rehab.

Here are two real-life encounters of people who attended a church for the first time:

1) From a Catholic Church in Scotland: “After I had stood (hanging around) for a few moments, someone came over to say hello. We talked for several minutes about what I was doing there, her impressions of the community, etc. She introduced me to a few other people, and I was invited to a ... barn dance taking place that evening. But the thing that really touched me was that, on finding that I was very new to the area and alone here, she gave me her phone number and offered to meet me for coffee mid-week if I felt in need. ... (What I’ll still remember in one week) is the kindness of (that) stranger.”

Oil over $140 a barrel, with OPEC announcing that it could go to $200 within a couple of years (did they mean months?).

Sophie Rose was not, in the assessment of other women, what you would call “pretty.”

She was not even, as Southern women are fond of saying when the words “pretty” or “beautiful” simply cannot be used, attractive.

Washington, D.C., will become a safer place to live and work thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday against the city’s absolute ban on handguns.

After talking with my dad last weekend, it seems I had several misconceptions about him while I was growing up.

We had a large family: four boys, one girl, two dogs, and a green parakeet that ate hushpuppies off Dad’s head. The first misconception was the reason we had a garden every year. I thought it was for additional food to feed the family. Come to find out, this was not the reason Dad spent so much time in the backyard.

I do apologize for the interruption in the genealogy columns but it was unavoidable. Most of you are aware that last March I was diagnosed with breast cancer and, after talking with several experts, decided on surgery to get rid of it once and for all. The surgery was done on June 3 and I am happy to report that all is well. Recuperation will take a while but all the cancer is gone (along with a goodly portion of me). My granddaughter, Jadie, came down from Covington to stay with me as she did after the open heart surgery a couple of years ago, and I couldn't have come back so fast without her. She is an amazing young lady.

Mr. Elder,

I am shocked that you oppose Barack Obama and belong to the Republican Party. We must get over ourselves and realize there is room at the top for everyone and we must get there by helping each other — instead of agreeing with policies and old politics that are proven not to work.

The American public is now, according to recent polls, thoroughly disgusted with all national politicians in general. While President George W. Bush has an abysmal disapproval rating of 67 percent, he is surpassed by Congress who had now received the disapproval of a whopping 76 percent of the citizenry.