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 MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing editor   5/9/2012 12:30 AM   

Be careful if you come to my house any time soon. My wife will give you a very quick glance and decide immediately if you get to stay or if you get put in the garbage pile or giveaway pile. Don't take it personally. She's in hyper purge mode, and she ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing editor   5/1/2012 9:18 PM   

Put in the proper perspective, 14 years can seem like a very long time. If you're a dog, it's often a lifetime. If you're Rod Blagojevich, it's your prison sentence. If you're my wife, it's the amount of time you've had to put up with me as a h ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing editor   4/28/2012 11:41 PM   

When Lloyd Heath Sr. eyed the shiny, black '57 Chevy at the corner of the car show, the first thing he commented on were the wheels. If it were his car, he told the small group around him, he'd get rid of those wheels and put some hubcaps on it. He'd ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing editor   4/24/2012 9:06 PM   

It's important to make sure you get the full backstory before you pass judgment. Because if you don't, you may think that one of my kids gets transported places in the trunk of his grandmother's car. Granted, I could see how someone would come up ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing editor   4/17/2012 8:48 PM   

The directions on the back of the bag had a simple, four-step process for having a beautiful, lush lawn: 1. Prepare. 2. Seed. 3. Water. 4. Enjoy! The last one, with fun-identifying exclamation point, even included a picture of two arms exte ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Aiken Standard managing editor   4/14/2012 11:44 PM   

It was one of the most remarkable days of my life. When I was asked several weeks ago to accompany the Honor Flight of South Carolina, I readily accepted. The opportunity to travel with 100 World War II veterans to D.C. for the day seemed like an ama ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Aiken Standard managing editor   4/14/2012 11:13 PM   

The Beginning The youngest was 83. The oldest was 98. The average age was 88. One hundred of the Palmetto State's members of the Greatest Generation began to fill the Columbia Metropolitan airport before daybreak on Wednesday. They wore matching red ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   mgibbons@aikenstandard.com   4/14/2012 10:08 PM   

The Honor Flight concept was born in Springfield, Ohio, in 2005. Retired Air Force Capt. Earl Morse led the inaugural troop of veterans in May of that year - six small planes and 12 veterans - on a journey to see the World War II Memorial. Since the ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   mgibbons@aikenstandard.com   4/14/2012 10:08 PM   

Gayle Paulling of Batesburg brought a book on the Honor Flight of South Carolina. But it wasn't just to read. Paulling carried a hardbound copy of Tom Brokaw's "The Greatest Generation," the 1998 best-seller that tells stories of those who fought in ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   mgibbons@aikenstandrd.com   4/14/2012 10:08 PM   

At the far end of the Air Force memorial stands a statue of four airmen - the two in the middle carrying flags, the two on the end shouldering rifles. After departing the bus, World War II paratrooper Brooke Godwin of Lake City made his way toward t ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing editor   4/11/2012 12:31 AM   

Drug store or restaurant. Preferably both. Those are the two options my kids have when they get their first jobs. Those of you who have worked in those jobs I am sure are nodding knowingly. To those of you currently working in those professions, ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing editor   4/3/2012 7:42 PM   

I would like to back off a little from a previous column. Apparently my call for the immediate detention of grocery cart abandoners left a few people feeling a little irked at me. For example: One person commented on Facebook: "Enough about the c ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing editor   3/28/2012 12:31 AM   

For a few hours, I had an excuse: If I only had a brain... Yes, there is something empowering about being the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. Whatever you say, whatever you do, simply point at your temple, roll your eyes innocently and give the ve ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing editor   3/20/2012 8:36 PM   

So as I write this, I am sitting at a Braves game. My wife isn't here with me, as she is at a Braves game. And, yes, that makes perfect sense, as ball season is here, and my daughter and son both are playing on the Braves. So tonight, like many night ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing editor   3/13/2012 7:42 PM   

As I have reported to you roughly 12,000 times, I believe it to be a crime against all things decent, good and American to leave a shopping cart astray in a parking lot. I think we should go ahead and enact a federal - you know what, let's go with ga ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing editor   3/6/2012 6:41 PM   

It appears the Great Beard Experiment is coming to a close. I have the last remnants of scruffy facial hair still clinging to my face, and it's just a matter of time until it's all gone. It started three weeks ago when I decided to embark upon the ma ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing editor   3/3/2012 10:53 PM   

S.C. Rep. Tom Young said Saturday he will seek election to the S.C. Senate District 24 seat of Greg Ryberg, who announced earlier this week he will not seek re-election. Young, a Republican who has represented the 81st House District since 2008, lo ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing editor   2/28/2012 8:19 PM   

I was geared up for a fight. I wasn't going to pick one, mind you. But I was ready to do battle if need be. After all, this is a free windbreaker we're talking about, so the stakes are high. It all started back around Christmas when I renewed ...

By MICHAEL W. GIBBONS   Managing Editor   2/21/2012 11:48 PM   

Ahh, the itching. It itches so bad. Yes, I know I could end the pain and suffering in a matter of seconds. But I refuse this time. I will grow a beard. I don't want a beard. I have no desire to keep a beard. But I have to, just once in my life, get t ...