By MONTE DUTTON Lake Toxaway (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. On Saturday I spent much of the day sightseeing. I took the camera along. My driving skills came in more handy. Trees mostly blocked the vistas I sought, but I accidentally discovered an almost direct way from here to Cullowhee, where I haven’t seen a …
What the World Cup teaches me about the world
By MONTE DUTTON Click here. The World Cup has us running around, trying to think of a reason to say “Turkiye.” The smallest country, by both population and area, ever to play in the World Cup is Curacao. It should be noted that world football has joined virtually every American sporting league in expanding the …
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Getting the hang of a new place
By MONTE DUTTON Friendly animal characters share a meal together Click here. I’m slowly getting used to my mountain home. Brevard is about the same population as Clinton and Laurens but seems a tad larger. Already I’ve seen one of those goofy Tesla “trucks” on a street for the first time. It should be called …
Soccer on the radio
By MONTE DUTTON Click here. I had a new experience on Friday. I listened to soccer on the radio. Serious radio. I mean Sirius. XM may have been involved, too. It was rather stirring, the USA’s 2-0 victory over Australia. I listened to it breathlessly, or maybe I was breathless because I was pulling a …
It’s enough to make a man grimace
By MONTE DUTTON A bewildered England fan navigates vibrant, diverse World Cup fan celebrations. Click here. My first task in watching the World Cup on TV is to determine which team is which. The uniforms often have little to do with the colors on a country’s flag. It helps to read the names on the …
A lot to unpack
By MONTE DUTTON USA leads Mexico 2-1 in a tense World Cup match in Doha. Click here, The USA played Paraguay in the World Cup on Friday night. Paraguay is where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid met their fate. Or was that Uruguay? If I wrote a song about Paraguay, I’d have no choice …
This is the end of the innocence
By MONTE DUTTON People endlessly walk in a voting loop symbolizing repetitive election promises. Click here. As is my habit, I voted. I like to do it the old-fashioned way, perhaps because I can’t remember ever standing in line. I like the poll workers. There’s time to chat. I heard a guy say this on …
In case you believe in magic
By MONTE DUTTON "A man! A plan! A canal! Panama!" (Monte Dutton photos) Click here. Friday was such a great day. I didn’t want to drive to Lugoff, or Elgin, or wherever Lugoff-Elgin is. I wanted Clinton High School to win the Class 2A state championship at home, where their hearts are, with a crowd …
The stars line up
By MONTE DUTTON Luke Young launches the game-winner (Monte Dutton photos). Some things are just meant to be. Clinton’s fourth baseball state championship – and second in the past four seasons – occurred at the right time, in the right place, by the right young man. I was in the dugout, camera hanging from my …
The pop heard ’round the state
By MONTE DUTTON Owen Glenn (Monte Dutton photo) Click here. Perhaps the most famous baserunning play in baseball history occurred in the seventh game of the 1946 World Series. In the eighth inning, with two out, the Saint Louis Cardinals’ Enos Slaughter scored the winning run by dashing all the way from first base on …
Nightrider's Lament 