Opinion

GARDENER’S MAILBAG Dear Neil: Do you have a couple of favorite, gray-leafed perennial plants? I have the perfect spot. They would need to stay 12 to 24 inches tall.

GUEST COLUMNIST My brother, the former Babe Ruth Leaguer, remains deeply skeptical of Major League Baseball’s newly instituted pitch clock. He is not alone in regarding the sport’s leisurely pace as an integral part of its charm.

GUEST COLUMNIST Tax returns were due this week and many Americans were surely stressed out as they scrambled to get their financial records in order. I can’t think of a better time to revisit the wit and wisdom of Will Rogers.

FAITH COLUMN Forgiveness may mean a lot of different things but to me it means peace. Of course, it took me 30 plus years to understand what forgiveness meant.

KARAN’S KORNER Far too often we read in the newspaper that a car crossed the center line and ran into a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. Most times this is caused by driver distraction, often when the driver is texting.

GARDENER’S MAILBAG Dear Neil: My bald cypress tree is sending up huge roots above the ground. Can I cut these off? I’m afraid they’ll eventually reach my foundation and damage it.

GUEST COLUMNIST Having two of my semi-grown daughters in college simultaneously has truly been an adventurous journey for our family – the kind where you enjoy amazing new experiences, but your expensive designer luggage gets stolen and you have to request an extra airsickness bag. For the first few months of their college lives, our daughters called us regularly to discuss their activities and to tell us how much they missed us (or at least our pets).

To the Editor, Adding insult to injury, The USVP went to Nashville Tennessee, yet it wasn’t to console a community still grieving from the deaths of six murdered by a female “Transgender” sociopath in a Christian School. The VP visited Nashville to rally against the expulsion of State Reps who led activist in an illegal disruption of the Tennessee State Legislature.

GUEST COLUMNIST I once had a client from a country where the instability of the government led to widespread chaos. He had supported a candidate who was running against the president in a hotly contested election, and was severely beaten because of his affiliation with the perceived “enemy of the state.” He lost his job, his money, everything.

GUEST COLUMNIST Lent is the solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year commemorating the 40 days Jesus Christ spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, before beginning his public ministry. (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13; Mark 1:913) It is said it takes 21 days to form a habit, so lent season should be a deeper life changing event.