By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing editor   5/15/2012 9:56 PM   

I am hoping the medicine clears it up. Otherwise, it appears surgery will be the only option. And that's pretty much all I know about the case, as this lovely nugget of information was shared with me - and a dozen or so other fast food diners - in ...

By ANNE FULCHER   Contributor   5/15/2012 9:48 PM   

We had our final two concerts Tuesday at the International School in Aberdeen, Scotland. We sang for the elementary and middle school students. It was wonderful to see how receptive those youngsters were to our performance. At the end of both concert ...

By Gary Willoughby   Columnist   5/15/2012 12:25 AM   

Many pet owners agree that our dogs and cats are wonderful creatures, with one main problem - they don't live long enough. Their life span is so much shorter than their owners, which increases the need for us to do all we can to keep them healthy and ...

By SCOTT COLLINS   McClatchy-Tribune   5/14/2012 10:46 PM   

LOS ANGELES -- NBC evidently believes laughter is the best medicine: The struggling network will have a strong dose of comedy on four nights in its fall lineup plus the Season 3 return of "The Voice." Keeping its Thursday sitcom block essentially i ...

By ANNE FULCHER   Contributor   5/14/2012 8:57 PM   

We completed our first performance in Aberdeen, Scotland, at Peterculter Parish Church on Sunday. It was a small parish with some of the kindest folks we have ever met. When church was over, we were offered tea and coffee and got to know the people o ...

By Gary Willoughby   Columnist   5/14/2012 4:23 PM   

Many pet owners agree that our dogs and cats are wonderful creatures, with one main problem - they don't live long enough. Their life span is so much shorter than their owners, which increases the need for us to do all we can to keep them healthy and ...

By Gene Owens   Columnist   5/14/2012 12:17 AM   

One of the favorite pastimes of inveterate Southrons is to imagine what things would be like had the Confederacy won its independence back in 1865. I can think of a few differences off the top of my head. The president of the Confederate States o ...

By BRIAN PARR   Feature columnist   5/14/2012 12:16 AM   

I had the opportunity to speak to the students at Mead Hall school about exercise, nutrition and health recently. I enjoyed the challenge of providing information that would be relevant for everyone in the room, including students in preschool throug ...

by WHIT GIBBONS   Columnist   5/13/2012 12:43 AM   

Cowbirds, starfish, and turtles do not give or receive Mother's Day gifts. One reason is that offspring don't know their mothers. Cowbirds deposit their eggs in the nests of other birds, and unknowing foster parents raise baby cowbirds along with the ...

by WHIT GIBBONS   Columnist   5/13/2012 12:30 AM   

Cowbirds, starfish, and turtles do not give or receive Mother's Day gifts. One reason is that offspring don't know their mothers. Cowbirds deposit their eggs in the nests of other birds, and unknowing foster parents raise baby cowbirds along with the ...

By SCOTT TERWILLIGER   Beauty columnist   5/13/2012 12:07 AM   

Dear Scott: My dad is almost bald. Who do you get male pattern baldness from, your mother or father? Answer: Genetics sometimes seem to skip a generation. I have a first cousin who I've only seen a few times, at weddings and funerals. Every time ...

By GREG ROBERTS   Columnist   5/13/2012 12:06 AM   

The word "probate" is derived from the Latin word probatum, which means "having been proved." As a result, the probate process is one in which the final wishes (will) of a deceased person (a decedent) are carried out by the courts of the state in whi ...

Submitted Article   Columnist   5/13/2012 12:06 AM   

If you can get seven teenagers to a track at 8 a.m. on a Saturday, it must be a good thing, an important thing, a really fun thing, or all of the above. It was. Paws for Cancer held its 13th annual walk to help raise funds for the American Cancer S ...

By ROGER ROLLINS   Columnist   5/13/2012 12:06 AM   

"Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her." - Bible "The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." - Theodore Hesburgh A recent news article on an infidelity-based ma ...

By Rev. Dr. FRED ANDREA   Columnist   5/13/2012 12:06 AM   

During World War II, a kindly older gentleman who lived in a hotel here in the United States became acquainted with a young preschool girl, the daughter of a serviceman. The man noticed the little girl playing daily in the hotel lobby. It was the onl ...

By BILL and RICH SONES   Columnist   5/13/2012 12:03 AM   

Q. Abiding by the cosmic "speed limit," how long does it take light to travel A) from the moon to the Earth B) from the sun to the Earth C) from Alpha Centauri (next closest star)? A. Light travels at the same speed as other electromagnetic waves, ...

By JOHN NELSON   Columnist   5/13/2012 12:00 AM   

Ah, the Blue Ridge Parkway: truly one of our national treasures. An incredible amount of scenery and natural history abounds all along its length, and all year long. Although there is no "wrong" time to be on the Parkway - unless it's snowing heavily ...

By MARY ANN GWINN   McClatchy-Tribune   5/11/2012 9:40 PM   

"Bring Up the Bodies" (Henry Holt), by Hilary Mantel: Readers new to British author Hilary Mantel's work through her 2009 novel "Wolf Hall" were introduced to a writer who can turn the oldest of stories into a spellbinding tale. What schoolchild does ...

By JEFFREY WALLACE   Columnist   5/11/2012 9:40 PM   

Our church service last week honored local law enforcement. It was a tribute to the men and women who don their uniforms each day to protect the community. While the main focus was on Aiken Public Safety, by extension we celebrated all those who se ...

By YVONNE VILLARREAL   McClatchy-Tribune   5/11/2012 9:40 PM   

LOS ANGELES -- Fox has picked up three comedies and two dramas for the 2012-13 season, stealing a familiar face from NBC and nabbing Kevin Bacon in the process. In addition, the network renewed its Kiefer Sutherland-led drama "Touch" and canned "Alca ...