by design | Nov 9, 2026 | Columnist, Rector
By Joe Rector My brother Jim is a good man. He teases with folks, and sometimes he almost sounds hateful when he talks, just like our daddy did. Underneath that facade is a kind, loving and giving person. He had this experience recently, and I thought nothing I could...
by design | Nov 2, 2026 | Columnist, Rector
By Joe Rector Ball Camp sure doesn’t look like the community in which I grew up. I thought about that as I remembered that Halloween is this weekend. I’ve talked about how the fields where we played and cut cedar Christmas trees are now packed with houses that...
by design | Oct 26, 2026 | Columnist, Rector
By Joe Rector It’s no secret that I work at a golf course part-time. My job is mowing tee boxes, and I begin each working day about 5:30 a.m. It’s turned a little too cold for my liking by now, but I’m trying to keep warm on the days I work. Big things took...
by design | Oct 19, 2026 | Columnist, Rector
By Joe Rector Well, this past Wednesday marked the beginning of the midterm elections. Early voting will go on through October 29, and Election Day will be upon us. For me, it’s always an exciting time when elections are held because discovering who will be our...
by design | Oct 12, 2026 | Columnist, Rector
By Joe Rector “Would of, could of, should of” is a common thing we say around here. It’s a way of verbalizing our regrets over not having done things in our earlier years. We question why so much of our time has been spent on “piddling” instead of becoming...
by design | Oct 5, 2026 | Columnist, Rector
By Joe Rector Summer has always been my favorite season of the year. It has signaled the end of another school year, the beginning of vacations, and plenty of visits to pools or the rivers in the Smoky Mountains. I’ve welcomed the hot weather because I could work in...
