The great singer and actor Dolly Parton died at age 80 after being hospitalized at Vanderbilt University Hospital Cancer Center. It was reported that she had kidney problems too. Miss Dolly brought a bright light into all the places she graced. She was petite in stature but had a giant personality and heart. She was the ultimate philanthropist with her millions.

When I asked about the recent service at Emmanuel Hill Church where Rev. Veronica Jackson is pastor, it was described as having been phenomenal.   

A Kinston friend mentioned in a sermon that the old fellow gout messes with him sometime.  Years ago a retired nurse, Prudie Joseph,  suggested that I get some cherry juice to give my father for his bout with gout. It proved to be a magic elixir.  Of course, he didn't want to drink the unsweetened kind as recommended.  So he drank the better tasting one. Still it helped.

When someone shows you who they are, believe them. Normally, what is on the inside of a person will somehow reveal itself.  We just have to pay attention. We cannot rule out little hints of a person's true character. My mother used to say, "If you squeeze a lemon, lemon will come out."  In other words, don't squeeze a pineapple or a pear and expect to get a cup full of grape juice. Popeye said I yam what I yam.

I want to share with you a column written some time back because the person I wrote about was just funeralized on August 8th at Sharon Church in Kinston.

I had planned to write about something else today, but there was such an outpouring of support about my last column that I had to pivot. More people could identify with misplacing things than I expected. Like me, some folk were feeling like their possessions had simply gone puff into thin air without rhyme or reason. Their things, too, were successfully hiding wherever they were.

Many years ago, when my adult cousin was a teenager, she told me that I had influenced her to put things in their place. She said I had encouraged her to let all of her things have a designated place and to always put them there. That way, our rooms will be organized and neat. And, moreover, we won't have to waste time looking for misplaced items.

It's a challenge in this busy world to pause from daily routines and just be still. Even when we schedule a vacation, we scurry to pack everything we may need, and then we scurry to get to our destination. Then we scurry to see all the sights. And finally, we scurry back home to begin our old daily routines again.

I read an interesting article recently which helps to explain the differences between three types of business executives. Some are managers. Some are leaders. Others become mentors.

It seems as though every family has or has had a person who became a caregiver at some point. Some took care of a disabled or a sick sibling, parent, or child for some period of time. To me, care-giving requires a special type of person. If you know someone who has been one, raise your hand.

Summer is here. For some, it is their favorite season. Vacations are planned. The best fruit is available for fiber-rich light meals. Swimming pools and beaches are open for refreshing fun in the sun. Schools are closed to give teachers and students time to rest up for the upcoming school year's work.

In an episode of the original Matlock tv show, Ben has lost an old case. But he has a chance to help his former client Les Matthews again, if he will let him. The client is angry because in the case Ben lost, Matthews had maintained his innocence of killing his partner.  He served a 7-year sentence. Finally, this client came up for parole, and he was granted it due to his exemplary behavior while in prison. He didn't belong there.

I sat stunned after receiving a phone call letting me know that our cousin Jacques O'Keith Cobb had passed away the day before.  I think I was in shock. Keith and I had just exchanged text messages about a week or so before. He had just read the Mother Jones Magazine article I was in on April 30th, and he said "Who is that pretty lady?" I texted back "You're so sweet."  Had absolutely no clue of what was coming.

In a story by Alfred Hitchcock, there came up a bitter thunderstorm. A driver's car stalled so he knocked on the door of a Monastery to seek shelter. He was allowed in out of the harsh rain but he was warned to leave as soon as the storm abated.

One day I sat in my recliner and hit replay on a video over and over.  I'd had a difficult day at dialysis and didn't feel too good as usual.  But when I read Mike Parker's column in the Neuse News newspaper, he had included a link that had music I used to sing in Sunday School as a child. Leaning on the everlasting arms. Are you washed in the soul-cleansing blood? There's wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb. 

Observing the Memorial Day Weekend has a somber purpose. It is set aside to honor the memory of those in military branches who died while in service to our country. It is a weekend to remember the cost of freedom for the United States of America.

You may hear the words "Happy Mother's Day" a lot of times from a lot of directions on May 10th this year. Flowers will be gifted. Restaurants will be filled to the gills.  And, despite the prices on gas, many will travel to visit the ones who raised them.

You may hear the words "Happy Mother's Day" a lot of times from a lot of directions on May 10th this year. Flowers will be gifted. Restaurants will be filled to the gills.  And, despite the prices on gas, many will travel to visit the ones who raised them.

I have a colleague who does not watch the news.  He says it makes him feel down to listen to them talk about all the bad things happening around the world. And he does not appreciate how some media flit from one story to another without sticking to important things in depth.

There are a number of websites on the internet which outline the various stages of grief people normally go through when someone passes away.  They vary from denial to acceptance.  The Cleveland Clinic says "Grief is never easy.