I remain a strong son of the South, the product of a Mason/Dixon marriage (Mom from Hoover, a suburb of Birmingham, Dad and the Crane family hailing from upstate New York).

So how about this job description? Long hours, low pay, dozens if not hundreds/thousands of supervisors. Area of responsibility, as yet undetermined...and you may not know your territory until AFTER you are hired. Sound tempting?

I can't even remember the first time I heard the phrase, but I think it was related to one of Olivia's school meetings, and we were being referred to as a 'non-traditional' family.

At nearing 300 pounds in this corner, resembling an Oompa Loompa in lifts, with a cotton candy-esque coiffure, and leaning slightly forward, surrounded by lawyers instead of trainers... The Teflon Don...and in this corner, mumbling almost to himself, troubled to state complete sentences, appearing clearly incapable of sensing the difference between stage direction and script on his teleprompter...Aging Joe...

Among the many lessons I learned from my maternal grandmother, Mary L. Crane, was that it can be tough to hate up close.

Though a long way from the Dust Bowl Droughts of 1924-1927, and again from 1930-1935, which contributed to national food scarcity and further complicated the Great Depression, Georgia is in a state of continuing drought, which looks increasingly like the drought of 2007.

The new U.S. House Speaker, Congressman Mike Johnson of Louisiana, is about to experience the first major test of his mettle and abilities.

My paternal great-grandfather, Charles C. Crane, nearly lost his life during World War I. I can still recall as a child him telling me his haunting stories of war.