Loving Your Brothers | I’ll Stand With You
There was violence everywhere. Explosions. Gun fire, bombs, missiles. Carnage. It was more than a rebellion, it was a revolution. And as the hero focused on his task at hand, we the audience saw what he did not: TIE fighters, closing in. But just before his seemingly inevitable doom, there he was. He came out of nowhere. Few people knew his name. With a few quick laser blasts, he dispatched the threat, and Luke Skywalker was able to fulfill his destiny and blow up the first Death Star. And then, in The Return of the Jedi, as Billy Dee Williams fought his way to the center of the second Death […]
Flame Retardants— Helpful or Harmful?
Flame retardant and fire-resistant fabric are common features in clothing designed for the industrial sector. Firefighters may be the most frequent wearers of flame-retardant clothing; however, other professions including electricians and oil/gas drillers make use of it too. Although the idea of protecting textiles against fire has been around since roughly 400 BC, the notion of creating fireproof textiles did not gain prominence until the 17th century. Flame Retardants Produce More Toxic Smoke If an object doused in flame retardants catches fire — yes, they can still catch fire — it gives off higher levels of carbon monoxide, soot, and smoke than untreated objects. Ironically, these three things are more […]
The Color of Cowboys | What History Didn’t Tell You
Don’t squat with your spurs on. Will Rogers U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves was good with his guns but he knew the danger of his job; death came to 130 of his 200 fellow marshals in Oklahoma. Once he took the job in 1875, he and his American Indian sidekick tracked down thousands of outlaws, including his own son, who was wanted for murder. Reeves used disguises to get close to his targets. After serving in the Indian Territory 32 years, he had killed 14 criminals and delivered more than 3000 warrants. Because he kept his identity secret and traveled with his American Indian companion, Reeves is thought to be the […]
Pure Love | Valentine’s Day 365
My aha moment came on Valentine’s Day 2017. I was on the heels of my divorce being finalized, and in an OK relationship, but nothing to write a romance novel about. It was a relationship that epitomized me moving forward with my life and freedom. I picked up my daughter from school that day, and she asked me, “Mom, what are we going to do for Valentine’s Day?” As she and I discussed, we decided to have a nice little dinner up on the second floor balcony of my then house. We went to buy valentine decorations for our table, then on to the supermarket to pick out a few […]
Pearl Friends | Scene Around Town
Pearl Friends – January 23, 2020 – Aiken Center for the Arts – Photography by Rebecca Judy
For the Love of Art | ‘SHE’ Comes To Aiken
And just who is ‘SHE’? Stacy O’Sullivan, co-owner of the gallery in the alley known as Art & Soul of Aiken, explains, “The whole idea came out of one of our artists, Amy Ness.” Each month the co-op gallery designates a full wall for a spotlight of one of the artist’s work. In anticipation of her month as featured artist, Amy created an exhibit in a series of paintings called ‘SHE’. “They were amazing!” Stacy conveys.“The paintings spoke to me personally about the ancestral bonds that women have — their strengths, creativity and versatility. As a series, they touched on all these powerful tendrils that say ‘strong women.’” Stacy was […]
Celebrating 70 years | Beyond the Barricade | SRS Ties That Shaped Our Community
How do you get from Algona, Iowa to Aiken, South Carolina? If you are John Oakland, you travel via Nigeria, Abu Dhabi, England, and several other stops along the way. After graduating from Iowa State University in 1963, John set out to see the world. He joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to teach chemistry, physics, and math at a Nigerian Boarding School. Oakland said, “Nigerian families saved money to send their brightest son to school.” According to Oakland, the academic standards were high, and he taught calculus to high school students. He further explained, “Once a young man completed his education, it is expected that he would find […]
How to Live to 100
As I entered my 60s, I became more interested in how to live a long and healthy life. Most people would like to increase their lifespans, but even more important is increasing your health span. Health span is the number of years in which you live without chronic diseases and are able to carry on your normal life tasks independently. What can we learn about increasing both lifespan and health span from centenarians? Boston University is conducting one major study, the New England Centenarian Study. Areas of the world that have the largest numbers of centenarians are called Blue Zones. Researchers are also doing experiments with animals on diet and […]
Are Nutritional Deficiencies to Blame for Your Symptoms?
Are you feeling run down with no get up and go? Are you having trouble sleeping? Do you feel like you can’t focus? Is your acne, psoriasis, eczema getting worse and you’ve tried every topical remedy out there? Is your brain in a fog; do your anxiety and depression seem to be taking over? Is your weight creeping up and you can’t seem to lose those stubborn pounds no matter what you do? There might be hidden nutrient deficiencies underlying your symptoms. We think we’re eating right and taking the right supplements for our health, but do we really know what we need, and how much, and the quality of […]
Crowd Thrilling Grand Prix Eventing Returns to the Aiken Horse Park
Olympic-bound riders and horses expected to compete “The whole purpose behind a showcase eventing competition is the spectators,” enthuses Kate Boggan, Aiken Horse Park’s director of marketing and communications. “We want to get non- horse people to come out and see what it’s all about,” she says of the event slated for February 28 and 29. Grand Prix Eventing is a condensed version of eventing, a demanding competition that is often described as a triathlon on horseback. In the two-day showcase format, each horse and rider combination performs a dressage test of graceful movements to demonstrate training and precision. Later that day, the same horse and rider pairs compete in […]
