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A great big thanks (5/30/07)Sometimes you just get lucky. In December 2005 I was an aspiring journalist returning from 18 months living and working in Africa. I wanted to jump start my career and for the sake of my worrying mother's sanity, I wanted to stay close to home. An ad on journalismjobs.com for a position at the Southeast Missourian helped me solve both these problems...
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Local girl says she's out of options (5/16/07)It started with a phone call. "I've taken in a lot of girls over the years, but this is the toughest case I've ever seen," said the woman, who asked not to be identified. "I just don't know where to take her. I can't go to the Humane Society, she's not a pet."...
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Safety up, privacy down (5/9/07)Am I the only one who hates being in photos but is still somehow disappointed when I get reprints and find myself missing? I feel left out. Then again, when a stray snapshot of me with closed eyes and mouth agape turns up, I'm thankful there aren't more...
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Eating China's dust in the trade wars (5/2/07)A lot of us remember the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle in 1999. Often violent demonstrators numbering 40,000 or more shutdown streets and caused overwhelmed police to resort to tear gas in retaliation. Hundreds were arrested in a scene that was not very mellow at all...
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Speak no evil (4/25/07)It's part of the code of the streets. "Don't Snitch." A mantra that prevents witnesses and victims of crimes from coming forward and threatens vengeance on those who cooperate with police in any way. Glorified by gangsters, rappers and even athletes, it boils down to an "us vs. them," mentality. Better to rely on vigilante justice than the men in blue, say many in America's innercities...
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Ask us to sacrifice (4/18/07)I remember the answer almost word for word. On January 16, not long after he announced the troop surge, President Bush sat down for an interview with PBS News' Jim Lehrer. Lehrer asked Bush the one question I've been asking myself for four years running...
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Displaced Cajun finds his stride (4/11/07)Some people just won't stay down. Joseph Mathis, 46, is one of hundreds of thousands of New Orleans natives scattered around the United States since Hurricane Katrina. After losing everything in the storm, he spent 19 months fighting through FEMA's bureaucracy, moving from job to job in Illinois and trying to put his life together...
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Thanks for the First Amendment (4/4/07)The First Amendment. It's a beauty. You might want to take a minute to just read it for yourself. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."...
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Where is the outrage? (3/28/07)More than a year ago I wrote about a cross-religious event at the Cape Girardeau Public Library designed to help local people of different faiths encounter Islam. The event was meant to dispel some of the myths and negative stereotypes surrounding the faith...
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My first lesson in public relations (3/21/07)Public opinion matters. Perception matters. This is a hard lesson for most politicians. The ones who think about it too much turn into finger-in-the-air, poll-watching ninnies. But the ones who ignore it -- see Howard Dean, Trent Lott, Jesse Jackson and recently Attorney General Alberto Gonzales -- pay a heavy price...
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Relearning about flight (3/14/07)Flight service is one of those things it's hard to think about rationally. Most of us have a love-hate relationship with airplanes and airports. We love the convenience and we hate, hate, hate the delays. You think "hate" is too strong? Whisper "Jet Blue" to anyone who flew that airline out of JFK several weeks ago...
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Ode to the fall guy (3/7/07)Congratulations, Scooter. You can take your place in the "fall guy" hall of fame now. That's all right, don't be shy. We know it was an honor just to be nominated. But today, as you stand convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice and face up to 25 years in jail, you've made it...
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Muralist visits long-forgotten piece (2/28/07)Bill Davis is one of the last of a dying breed. He's a muralist with the skill to paint in big strokes and an artist with the patience to transform the dull walls of a restaurant into magical still-lifes. He's also a draw-by-sight painter who takes mental snapshots of river or forest scenes during his time hunting. He then re-creates them in burnt orange, blue and brown...
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The presidential money pyre (2/21/07)Failed presidential bids are an incredible waste of money. Scratch that. Let me amend that statement: All presidential bids are an incredible, monumental, even titanic waste of money. Thanks, I feel better now. It's February. Almost a full year before New Hampshirites (New Hampshirians? New Hampsters?) brave the cold to go to the polls in the nation's first 2008 presidential primary...
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Looking for answers (2/14/07)A recent article I wrote about the AhNiYvWiYa Tribe of American Indians based in Grassy, Mo., got me thinking about heritage. The article focused on the group's ancestral language, but it also cited people who question whether the tribe is a legitimate one...
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They'll build it, but will you be there? (2/7/07)"If you build it, they will come." That, of course, was the catch phrase from 1989's "Field of Dreams," starring Kevin Costner. It was spoken by a disembodied voice encouraging an Iowa corn farmer to plow over his crops and build a baseball diamond...
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Sudan novel defies being categorized (1/31/07)Every once in a while I'm lucky enough to read a novel that affects me. Something that hits home. Dave Eggers' newest work, "What is the What," is one of those rare finds. Some of you in the 30-years-and-under crowd may know Eggers. He wrote the best-selling "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" in 2000...
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Taking a swing with Atticus (1/24/07)Anticipating the sixth annual United We Read event, I recently decided to reread Harper Lee's seminal (and only) novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." OK, I'll be honest, I didn't exactly read the book. I checked it out on tape from the library and listened to actress Sissy Spacek read it to me over two drives to St. Louis and one to Carbondale, Ill...
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Winter's abuse has been missed (1/17/07)Yesterday, I got popped in the nose as I was leaving work. Bam. The impact was fierce, it was strong and I spent the rest of the day dabbing at my bright red schnoz with a Kleenex. And believe it or not, it felt kind of good. That's because the one guilty of inflicting this particular nose drubbing was none other than Jack Frost...
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No Cooperstown disappointment (1/10/07)Don't worry, Big Mac, we won't bother you. After receiving less than one-quarter of the votes from sports writers Tuesday, the muscle-bound hermit will not be asked to take off his Kleenex box shoes or trim his overgrown nails. Mark McGwire won't have to come out of hiding to take the stage at National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N,Y...
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New Year's resolutions for Congress (1/3/07)For us average Joes, it's the perfect time to kick bad habits, do a few push-ups and shoot for the stars. For elected officials, there is a much greater opportunity. The 110th Congress, which convenes Thursday, was elected to bring change. During the November election there was a powerful national sentiment that the 109th batch was a rival for ineptitude with Harry Truman's famous "do-nothing Congress" of 1948...
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Chew on that! (12/27/06)"Thanks for the pens. It's too bad they'll all be useless in about a week." That, embarrassingly, is a sentence I uttered to a co-worker who was nice enough to give me a holiday gift basket brimming with ink-pens and Hershey's chocolates. A normal person would have salivated just looking at the candy. I, however, was eyeing the pens. You see -- and there's no easy way to say this -- I'm a compulsive chewer...
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You love me, you really love me (12/20/06)Well, I really wasn't expecting this. In fact, as cliche as it sounds, it was an honor just to be nominated. But to win ... Wow. I'm speechless. So many people to thank, so little time. If you'll bear with me while I take one quick look at my speech .....
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Dissecting road rage (12/13/06)What is it about driving a car that makes us act so darned irrationally? I thought about this question the other day when driving on Broadway toward Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. A young woman (she knows who she is) zoomed around me just as the road changed over to two lanes...
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Where'd the soul food go? (12/6/06)Those who know soul food in Cape Girardeau know Rick and the Big Cat. They sound like a pair from a Hollywood buddy comedy and might even look the part, too. Rick Bond is the tall, silver-tongued smooth talker and Big Cat -- J.T. Green -- is, well, big, the soft-spoken, kind-hearted muscle of the duo...
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Lions develop taste for human flesh (11/29/06)"Now when it's too quiet people become frightened. They have begun praying to God during these times." The above quote is from Belete Muturo, director of the McNair Scholars program at Southeast Missouri State University. Belete is a native of the extreme south of Ethiopia called the Hadiya zone. He grew up in a village of 15 mud huts and has herded livestock ever since he could walk...
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Presidential speculation (11/22/06)McCain. Obama. Giuliani. Clinton. I think I've read those four names more times over the past two weeks than any others this side of Michael Richards. Why? They're the most notable 2008 presidential hopefuls, of course. And everybody wants to know who this week's favorite is...
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Seeing clearly (11/15/06)Some fears make sense. One of my worst fears is something I actually think is quite normal and healthy: losing my eyesight. I'm terrified that someday, something will happen to those two squishy little orbs inside my head and I won't be able to tell what's happening out in the world...
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Let the experts do the talking (11/8/06)"I feel so betrayed." The statement was startling because of its anger and because the source -- my normally forgiving mom -- who almost never gets worked up. The target of her anger was equally surprising: David Eckstein, the Cardinals' diminutive shortstop and World Series hero...
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The other side of the effort (11/1/06)The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars to pay for snappy, well-produced commercials and to dispatch goodwill envoys like Karen Hughes to far-flung parts of the globe. All with the same messages: "Our government is not on a crusade against Islam."...
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Smudge becomes THE story (10/25/06)Did anyone hear the sigh of relief echoing across the country Sunday? That was the national media when Fox cameras caught sight of a shiny brown smudge on pitcher Kenny Rogers' palm. Since they had all been dreaming of a big city World Series, they came into the game ill-tempered and searching for anything, anything at all to talk about other than baseball...
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What the ends mean (10/18/06)"Politics can be relatively fair in the breathing spaces of history; but at its critical turning points there is no other rule possible than the old one, that the end justifies the means." This is a quote from Rubashov, the hero of Arthur Koestler's chilling novel "Darkness at Noon." The novel tells the story of a founder of the Bolshevik Revolution who has been imprisoned and tortured in a Soviet gulag...
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Barney speaks out (10/11/06)I know this space is usually occupied by some guy with a goofy grin, but I asked him if I could have my say on something and he agreed. So I'm your guest columnist for the day. I'm writing to tell my side of a story. There's a lot of misinformation floating around about who I am and what I believe; it's time for me to clear the air...
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A new breed of bad guys (10/4/06)Don't we all kind of like the bad guy? Some of the most appealing characters ever to grace the silver screen were villains. From the Joker in "Batman" to Kaiser Soze in "The Usual Suspects," entertainment has always thrived on the allure of evil...
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Is the lawn chair mightier than the legal adviser? (9/27/06)That's the question being tested right now by Sheila Kittrell and Becky Collins of Delta. You may have seen the pair who have set up shop outside Pro Lube in Jackson. They wave signs at oncoming traffic and tell those who'll listen the story of a car that went in for an oil change and came out with a fried engine...
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Spicing up the trip home (9/20/06)For the last two weeks I've been on vacation in the Horn of Africa. I saved up the money and took the time to go back and visit some people I'd sorely missed since I left there 11 months ago. And it was a great trip. I'd love to share all the details, but since this space is as small as most of our attention spans, I'll limit myself to a funny anecdote...
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African friend ready to take on U.S. legal system (8/30/06)A little more than a month ago I wrote in this space about my friend Mohammed from East Africa, who was accepted to attend Law School at Saint Louis University. Well, since then, fate and the Department of Homeland Security have smiled on him. He finally arrived in St. Louis last week...
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Life, liberty and the burning of yard debris (8/23/06)Everybody should have an issue. Something they're willing to go to the mat for. For Jane O'Connell of Cape Girardeau, the issue that gets her juices flowing is one she has long considered an inalienable right. The right to burn leaves and yard debris outside her home...
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When it rains, it pours (8/16/06)When it rains in this town, there's no mistaking it. Last Friday, from out of the blue, a thunderstorm transformed a parched Cape Girardeau into the set of "Waterworld." I half expected to see Kevin Costner running around breathing through his gills...
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How the mighty have fallen (8/9/06)The list of athletes busted for doping seems to grow by the day. It's now reached the point where watching Sports Center reminds me of the high school biology lectures I used to sleep through. Maybe I'm alone, but I never dreamed I'd learn as much as I have about the inner workings and secretions of my favorite ballplayers. ...
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Praise for the humble porch (8/2/06)There aren't many places on this planet better than the porch of a house. I don't think I've ever come across one I didn't like, and every type has its advantages. Open air porch -- "Love it, just feel that summer breeze!" Screened in porch -- "Saves a bundle on mosquito repellent."...
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What price to pay for convenience? (7/26/06)I guess I've got some learning to do before I become a real Southeast Missourian. Driving around with some other reporters has shown me that locals have a different way of looking at commerce. The difference rears its head most noticeably when we're on our way back from lunch. They're hankering for cigarettes, and I'm in the mood for an afternoon coffee...
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Time for a change on the 'Wall of Fame' (7/19/06)I think it's time for a change. Go down to the 500-foot section of the floodwall next to Independence Street and you'll see workers sandblasting away the paint. You'll see the 45 faces on the "Missouri Wall of Fame" mural melting away one at a time...
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Do economic signs read 'end is near'? (7/12/06)When lean times hit, they hit hard. In the past few weeks I've been writing and reading about some economic indicators. Almost all of them seem to be flashing red warning signs. Most noticeable, of course, is the cost of gasoline, which is headed toward $3 per gallon in Southeast Missouri. A weekend drive to St. Louis and back now costs a cool $20 for a small car or, I'm guessing, $50 in your standard H-2 Hummer...
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Truly the land of opportunity (7/5/06)Sometimes the best way to appreciate our nation's birthday is through the eyes of someone who is new to the party. Right now Mohammed, a friend of mine from a small East African nation, is packing his bags to come to the United States for the first time. He's preparing to see for himself what all the fuss is about...
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Mixing up spending with deserving (6/28/06)In college I had a roommate named David. A totally affable guy, but when it came to money, less so. For him, every pizza delivery, every shopping trip, every beer run was a serious business transaction. He made sure to pay his share and never a penny more...
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Urban renewal a hot topic in Cape (6/21/06)There has been a lot of talk lately in Cape Girardeau about downtown revitalization. A lot of talk about trying to recapture some of the energy that once built this river town. Gov. Blunt flew into town to speak about the topic, and Old Town Cape never stops. Urban renewal is hot, and I can see why...
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Character fails to produce runs (6/14/06)Here at the Missourian, we're fielding a softball team. We thought we'd fit neatly into the lowest skill level of the Shawnee Sports Complex co-ed league, but now we're having our doubts. If this were a movie, we might be described as a rag tag bunch of lovable misfits. Kind of like the Bad News Bears only not so cute...
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A brother's graduation advice (6/7/06)In less than one week my sister, Kati, will be graduating from the University of California Santa Cruz. I know, it's late, but they do things on their own calendar out there. Since I won't be able to make it to the ceremony, I figured I should take the chance to write down several pieces of advice for graduation and beyond. It'll probably come out muddled and incoherent, but she's used to that...
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Online library effort may create tangled web (5/31/06)As some of you may know the Internet search company Google is attempting to create an online library of approximately 10 million full-text, searchable books. These books will someday be made free and available to anyone with Internet access. The project was first announced in 2004 and promises to revolutionize the way the world reads. Google's dream is to build a modern day version of the ancient library in Alexandria which in 300 B.C. housed all the learning of the Western world...
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Contest prompts spring cleaning in the newsroom (5/24/06)Spring cleaning is in the air, and here at the Southeast Missourian we're getting into the spirit. We're about to begin an office contest called "Lost in Space," where all employees will pit the cleanliness of their desks against that of newspaper publisher Jon Rust...
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Getting the facts straight (5/17/06)The philosopher Nietzsche once wrote "only in forgetfulness can a man ever achieve the illusion of possessing a truth." A recent study by Nature magazine may have reaffirmed this belief and ruffled some feathers along the way. The study seemed simple enough and probably pretty dull to most. It compared encyclopedia entries from two sources checking each one for accuracy...
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Life in the shadows and a familiar dream (5/10/06)Last Friday was Cinco de Mayo and I found myself in a migrant worker camp in Cobden, Ill. After knocking on the door of a concrete bungalow, a squat, sharp-featured woman answered with two children peering from behind. "Hi, we're from the newspaper. Can we speak with you?" I asked...
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Dealing with my complex apartment (5/3/06)Someone once told me how the owner of the San Francisco Giants was duped into building a stadium on Candlestick Point. Developers waited for an unusually sunny day to give the guy a tour of the site. Being from New York, he couldn't believe the bargain he was getting for such beautiful real estate...
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Actions by team owners make park stranger (4/26/06)Time to get it out. After attending my first game of the season, I have to share my thoughts on the new Busch Stadium. First off, it's unquestionably a nice place to watch a ballgame. The design holds up well against the other old-is-new-style parks around the league...
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Finding hope in Caruthersville (4/19/06)It had only been 10 minutes since I'd come to Caruthersville, but I was already lost. Not wanting to get any more lost, I decided it was time to pull over to a gas station and ask where to find 18th Street. Time to ask where the town's gaping wound was...
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Savoring memories of summer jobs (4/12/06)For high-schoolers, summer jobs are right around the corner. If you're that age and anything like I was, you're probably already picking out the perfect job. It's fun to imagine. There you are bronzed and lifeguarding at the local pool. Adoring girls track your every move. Or maybe you're waiting tables at that restaurant where the jet set dines and leaves nothing but fat tips...
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A low-cost alternative to the sign ordinance (4/5/06)Anthropologists will tell you the ability to use a sign as a stand-in for the real thing is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. This dates back to the time when primitive man first painted pictures of buffalo on cave walls to describe his hunt. We now know this was just man's way of explaining to his wife why he came back without dinner, but the sign breakthrough stands...
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A tribute to Orwell (3/29/06)If readers will indulge me, I'd like to recount the story of a well-known man. Someone whose image has been remembered even as his example is almost always forgotten. If you can, picture a man in his early thirties. A man who, though fairly young in years, is maybe even younger in experience. ...
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March Madness: Go with your gut (3/22/06)Ah, March. Time to drink beer until you turn the color of a shamrock. Time to fear the weather forecast and wonder what kind of lion is hiding under the springtime-sheep's clothing. And most of all it's time for many of us to take our yearly taste of humble pie...
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Breathing new life into an old profession (3/15/06)A lot of people believe Monday was a bellwether day for print journalism. Why? Because on Monday the second largest newspaper chain in the United States, Knight Ridder Inc., was sold. Its price tag shows what the financial world's best and brightest think the future holds for the inky bundle that plops daily on America's doorsteps...
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New town, new tongue (3/8/06)We St. Louisans are famous for one phrase that out-of-towners claim speaks volumes about our city and its culture. That phrase, of course, "where did you go to high school?" It's a polite way of asking about somone's neighborhood, class and often religion without coming right out and putting those indelicate questions on the table...
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End of winter heralds beginning of baseball (3/1/06)Quick, what are the five greatest words in the English language? If you're a baseball fan and February rolls around, there's one easy answer -- "pitchers and catchers are reporting." Nothing gets the juices flowing after a long winter in quite the same way as the first footage from Florida on the nightly newscast of pitchers and catchers arriving at spring training...
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Feeling the heat over winter's chill (2/22/06)Years from now when people look back on this winter it'll be known as the winter of spent energy. Some of it, future generations will say, was wasted and some of it well-spent. It seems everywhere you turn there's talk of energy and the best ways to use it...
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'Man's best friend' a dubious honor (2/15/06)I've been writing a lot about dogs lately. Last week I wrote about a show dog from Gordonville on its way to Westminster. I also wrote about some kennel dogs from Scott City bred to be shipped all over the country. The articles elicited more reader response than all the other ones I've written combined. Some people wrote because they were angry at the breeders; others wrote asking where they could buy puppies...
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Doomed to stay wired and weird (2/8/06)I've been experiencing some modern angst lately. Some digital discomfit. A case of high-tech hypertension. A fit of E-Unease. OK, I'll stop and try to explain myself. First, let me explain the problem. I graduated from college in 2004 and took a job that required me to spend more than a year in Africa. I came home in October and was lucky enough to land this job reporting for the Southeast Missourian not long after...
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Rolling Stones won't fade away (2/1/06)My father says that when you're 60 years old you get the face you deserved when you were 20. Some may call that fate -- or maybe it's genetics -- either way it's a kind of cosmic irony. I got to thinking about fate and faces when my parents and I went to see the Rolling Stones play in St. ...
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Firm boosts team's defense (1/25/06)Editor's note: This is the first in a weekly series of columns by TJ Greaney. A native of St. Louis and graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut, he covers city government for the Southeast Missourian...