Anybody want a set of encyclopedias? They’re yours for the asking, in near-perfect condition. They’ve taken up space in a small side table for, gee, I don’t know how many years, and if you think they’re useless in the 21st century, you just might be right.

Along the winding garden path of my life, I have discovered that F. Scott Fitzgerald was basically correct when he remarked, “The very rich ... are different from you and me.”

Does it take American Idol to make us realize have blessed we are as a nation? We found out last week that AIDS is not the big killer in Africa but malaria. And malaria is so very conquerable! Just a mosquito net, some clean water, and a few inexpensive pills and malaria would be history. Right now one child dies every 30 seconds from malaria in Africa. The best preventive is long-lasting insecticide-treated bed net that cost less than $10. It could work for the whole family.

There is a move afoot to have the state of Georgia, following the lead of some other Southern states, through its representatives, apologize for its role in slavery.

“Son, live in the here and now where the ghosts of yesterday don’t apply.” That was some good advice for a father to give to his son. I just couldn’t believe it was coming from me.

We will continue this week with the children of Edward and Nancy Brown Herndon of Elbert and Meriwether counties, and focus once more on the family of Preston and Ann Amis Herndon. We started this story two weeks ago with the three young children of this couple who died tragically when they were barely able to toddle. This week we continue with more of Preston and Ann's children who lived to adulthood, married and had children of their own.

What’s the difference between cartoons and comics? No, this is not a trick question.

Comics, according to one source, “are a series of drawings that tell the sequences of a story or an incident in picture form.” These are what we used to call “funnies,” because they were originally meant to be funny.

Is there anything more essential to true Southern womanhood than a cast iron skillet? One that has been perfectly seasoned and whose weight feels just right in a woman’s hand?

I now have been immersed in the church culture of Fayette County since 1989, that’s 18 years, preaching upwards to 1,000 messages, conducting weddings, funerals, counseling hundreds of families and married couples. It’s been a ride. At times I wanted to get off, badly. But God called me to this enterprise of telling out the Gospel and he won’t let me do anything else.

I'm going to move off the topic of the Herndons this week to bring you some very sad news and spread a few flowers where they so deservedly belong.

The genealogy and history community lost two of its brightest stars this week with the passing of Norma Gunby on Saturday, April 14, and Willis (Bill) Nolen on Monday, April 16. Norma was a shining star in the genealogy community and Bill's bright rays shone down on the tight-knit community of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. A Luthersville resident formerly from East Point, Bill had been a Confederate history buff since his childhood.

Frankly, Sonny, we expected better.

You’re allowing an accused child abuser to CONTINUE working for the very agency sworn to protect Georgia’s children. No wonder folks everyone else thinks we’re “backwards.”

It’s true that you can tell a lot about a person from their friends. Especially when the person has friends who tell a lot.

I wish I could take back a couple thousand times when I used the word “spiritual” in a positive setting. To me now it is probably one of the most abused words in the language of faith. “Oh, he’s a very spiritual man.” Or, “Our pastor is real spiritual,” or “Our church is spiritual.”

Here we were, on a beautiful Saturday morning, doing what we do best: sipping coffee, reading the paper, putting off reality as long as possible. Haven’t cleaned the porches and decks, and we’re staying indoors out of the pine pollen.

Nearly all of us have experienced those dark moments when we seem abandoned to cruel and undeserved fates. It is then we cry, “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?”

Looking down from the top of my ladder, I saw a black cat with big yellow eyes lying underneath, staring back up at me. Right then, I should have known things were going to go awry. Moments later, the lights shorted out and The Wife heard a loud thud reverberating from upstairs. The thud was me falling off the ladder after shocking myself and shorting out the lights.

I spent a delightful day with Nell O'Shields last Wednesday, going over her collection of Herndon information and photos - what treasures she has! However, when we put our information together, we came across several questions which are going to take some time to figure out.

It just goes to show how big Easter is to the women of the South.

Our group of Dixie Divas, which has about 25 members, voted a couple of years ago to choose a meeting date and stick with it. No changes allowed. That was the firm mandate. So we selected the first Saturday of every other month. Since that time, nothing has been big enough or important enough to change the date.

Many years ago founding pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, Calif. accepted my invitation to speak at our Christian school. Before chapel time, he and I had opportunity to exchange war stories. But in those few moments he shared with me a truck-load full of church wisdom in response to my question as to their phenomenal success.

A remarkable story emerged from the mists of history recently, all the more timely to be told at Yom Hashoah, the annual remembrance of the Holocaust.

Last week I participated in two meaningful events. The first was a “Renewal of Vows of Holy Matrimony” for seven couples at our church who completed a course designed to strengthen marriages.

Birthdays only come around once a year. Thank goodness. Each year I lose a little bit more hair and gain a bunch more weight. If things keep going the way they are, by the time I die, I’ll be completely bald and weigh well over a 1,000 pounds.

This will probably be a series in several parts since I have so much information on Preston and Nell O'Shields has shared so much of his story not found in the record books. There are still a few questions which I need to pursue through those records, but there is still plenty to tell before we get there.

Watch the Red Hat Society honored at the Fayette County Commission Wednesday afternoon and listen to the musical stylings of Commission Chairman Jack Smith.

Stony, I remember writing a piece about you when you became chief. I asked you if you had a brief bio because I knew there would be a lot of military references in it, and I don’t speak militarese. I can’t find it now, nor the story I wrote, but I well remember, it was several tightly typed pages long.

By CAL THOMAS

Belfast, Northern Ireland — Twenty-five years ago, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher forcefully and decisively ordered British troops to the Falkland Islands to liberate them from an invading Argentine force. It was a military and political triumph widely supported by the public, leading to conservative victories at the polls for another 15 years.

Mama said the most wonderful thing recently. What she said is something I wish I could hear from the mouths of everyone I care about.

Two days away will be Good Friday. Never have understood why we will ever remember the day as good. Friday of Holy Week was not TGIF but OHIF (Oh Hell, it’s Friday). It was not pretty at all that final Friday of our Lord’s earthly life. It started ugly and ended ugly.

Once again, I regret that I have to start off with corrections but the sharp eyes of Valerie Freeman in California caught at least two from last week's column. And I have two questions, myself, which I hope someone can answer. There also is a little more on Joel's estate I'd like to share, so we'll use this week to tie up some loose ends.

“Have you ever done something that you regretted?” a lady said to me some time ago. Of course, I responded that I had done, or in some cases, not done, things that had caused me a great deal of regret. I don’t talk about those instances very much because there is little value in asking “what if” all the days of one’s life. For one thing, there are no “do-overs” and for another we can only compound our regrets by dwelling endlessly on lost opportunities or poor decisions.