Valentineβs Day is Feb. 14, and the amount of heart-shaped boxes of chocolate and genetically modified pink roses that line drugstore shelves prior to the day of adoration can be slightly overwhelming. In elementary school, Valentineβs Day was filled with those tiny candy hearts, whose chalky consistency was eerily similar to antacid tablets. Still, weβd let the sugary messages … [Read more...]
All You Need is Love: Mount Pleasant Has Many Manifestations
Everyone has blind spots,β said Mount Pleasant relationship counselor Todd Steiner. Steiner was not talking about Cupid, the mischievous and notoriously blind god of desire from ancient mythology, but he might as well have been. Love, after all, always looks easier in someone elseβs life, much like that verdant grass in the old adage. βThe grass is not greener on the … [Read more...]
Mount Pleasant Successes Share Their Stories: Show Me The Money!
You always remember your first dollar. You were a kid, and, for the first time, you were earning your keep. Not allowance. Real money. For a real job. A paper route. A bake sale in your front yard. Dog walking for neighbors. Whatever it was that we all did for our first buck, there was always a sense of pride that first time you got paid real, actual cash for your efforts. … [Read more...]
Tips for Planning Your Wedding Date: βIf We Took a Holidayβ
Last year on Valentineβs Day, while waiting for my clients at the romantic gazebo downtown, there was a near endless parade of proposals. A couple would climb the steps, pause for a moment and seconds later the fellow would drop down to one knee and present a diamond ring while popping the question. After the big hug and kiss, theyβd amble off, and the next couple would … [Read more...]
Seacoast Church: A Big Reach and a Big Heart
As the story goes, when the seeds to start Seacoast Church were first planted nearly 30 years ago, church founders consulted the book β the phone book, that is. They called every name listed in Mount Pleasant β about 17,000 β and asked people who didnβt already have a place of worship why they didnβt go to church. According to Lead Pastor Josh Surratt, the answers had … [Read more...]
An Amusing Story: The Coney Island of the South
Once upon a time it was Hunter Island. Then its name changed to Long Island. In the early 1900s, it earned the nickname βthe Coney Island of the South.β Today, you know this 5.4-square-mile barrier island as Isle of Palms. Home to just over 4,000 souls, according to the most recent census, Isle of Palms boasts a popular beach, numerous restaurants and shops, an elegant … [Read more...]
Wando Warriors Basketball: Come See the High-Five Season
The night before my interview with Wando basketball head coach Chris Warzynski, I had my basketball shoes, Elite Nike socks, gym shorts, compression shorts and a sleek, long-sleeved fitness shirt all lined up on my bed. For the past couple of weeks, I had been bragging to my friends and family about how I was going to insert myself into the threads of a Wando basketball … [Read more...]
Inshore Fishing in the Lowcountry: A Year-round Venture
Facing backward, I sat huddled in the stern of our small, tri-hull runabout boat. Since it was cold β about 40 degrees β I was layered in a hodgepodge of warm clothing, clutching a thermos cup of hot tea. I peered through the hood of my sweatshirt, which was pulled tightly around my head to hold in what little warmth my body was generating. My stare fixed on the line of my … [Read more...]
Wake Up Carolina Brings Attention to the Opioid Crisis
On the surface, losing a child to a drug overdose is no different than losing a child to a sudden accident or sickness. A parentβs grief is undoubtedly just as deep and devastating. But beneath the surface, loss from addiction unfortunately comes with a horrible stigma. It often becomes a family secret that no one talks about and is quietly swept under the rug. One Mount … [Read more...]
How the Race Was Won: The Mount Pleasant Campaign Experience
βThere are only two ways to run for office: unopposed or scared.β -Senator Ernest F. βFritzβ Hollings I ran scared. Adhering to the wisdom of my fellow Citadel graduate who was one of South Carolinaβs most successful politicians, it was the only way to run. I was a sitting Mount Pleasant town councilman and decided to challenge the incumbent mayor, so running unopposed … [Read more...]