Sandi and Mike have never been a conventional couple. Nevertheless, Nancy and I have admired and cared for them as they have been following their dreams and honoring their commitments for the past 30-years. They met as servers at the long defunct restaurant chain Steak and Ale in Stone Mount…

The recent 35-day government shutdown that we witnessed is a continuation of what began on Jan. 20, 2016, a government of the privileged, by the privileged and for the privileged.  The absence of awareness and compassion by President Trump of the hardship created for some 880,000 American wo…

How often are we plagued by mistaken beliefs about professions? You know the kind, “Doctors never get sick,” “Dentists never get cavities or have gum problems,” or “Mechanics never have car problems?” If I had a dollar for every time someone said I must not have any relationship or personal …

I do not respect the man currently occupying the oval office, nor do I agree with most of his policies. However, I very much want him to be successful when he meets Kim Jong Un in Singapore this Tuesday, June 12. While I was a supporter of former President Obama I scratched my head for quite…

“We never outgrow our need for parenting,” was stated emphatically by one of my mentors.  I did not understand the implication of that truism back then. I do now. The mentor speaking clarified “parenting” in essentially two categories: 1) loving, nurturing and accepting vs. harsh or critical…

Like most of you I remember where I was when I learned Martin Luther King, Jr. had been shot and then, shortly afterwards, declared dead. I had just begun my fourth month of deciding to live in the South after having served in the Peace Corps.

I am deeply moved by the courageous teenage survivors of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.  Never have I witnessed such strength, passion, conviction and purpose from young survivors including youth who never want to be a victim in a school sho…

I have been a staunch opponent of the death penalty most of my life. There was one exception on June 11, 2001 when the American domestic terrorist, Timothy McVeigh was executed for the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. His evil act took the lives of 168 people and wounded mor…

When you hear the name, Maria Sharapova, what image comes to mind? If you do not follow tennis you may have difficulty placing her. For anyone who is a tennis fan you know she is tall, blond, beautiful and quite a remarkable tennis player. Maria came to the United States from Russia at the a…

I have never seen our country in such turmoil and on many levels, simply going haywire. I am of the strong belief that there are three entities or vices that will bring this country to its knees. The first is ravenous greed. The second is racism. The third is the drive for absolute control a…

From the world of the psychological theory of transactional analysis the word “victim” has two meanings. The first is Webster’s: “a person who is harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action;” an injured party, if you will. The second is the psycholog…

I decided to personally experience the four-day trial of Michael J. Cash Sr. from August 14-18 right up until Judge Samuel Ozburn gave the case to the jury. While I had made purchases from Mike Cash Office Products in downtown Monroe, I was not a family friend. In some ways I was drawn to th…

I lived and worked in a residential treatment facility years ago charged with the care and treatment of severely underachieving youths.

Regardless of where we choose to make our home, there are inherent benefits and challenges.

Intrusive marketing strategies encroach everyday, almost demanding we distract ourselves from our own thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Watching the Rio Olympics on television is bittersweet for me.

I am slowly emerging from the most painful, terrifying, challenging and helpless two months of my life.

As you read these words I am on a Delta flight at 33,000 feet somewhere over the Amazon River, heading south en route to Sao Paulo, Brazil, some 300 miles beyond Rio de Janeiro.

They were high school sweethearts and married not long after they graduated from high school. A child soon followed.

Editor’s Note: Tim Schnabel submitted this column, which originally appeared in The Informer, the newsletter of the Georgia Jail Association.

The first time I saw a small yellow single-engine airplane become airborne at our local airport when I was 7 or 8, I knew I wanted to be inside looking out. My reactions of delight, excitement and desire were met with the realities of my parents — financial scarcity on the part of both and t…

Dear Donald Trump,

She was the love of my life, hands down … when it comes to four-legged creatures. The relationship started slowly as she looked and acted differently than her predecessor.  She was sure pretty enough, but real shy with me at first and perhaps a male in her past had caused her harm.  But I wa…

My name is Tim Schnabel and I am announcing my candidacy for president of the U.S.!  And why not?  There are so many entering the field that just maybe I can squeak by in one of those debates.  Or perhaps, my middle of the road views might make me a little more attractive than the extremes o…

The former Olympian Bruce Jenner coming out as female or a woman helps us focus on a group of remarkable individuals called transgender. It is a classification of people who do not just believe but know with their entire being they were born the wrong sex, the wrong gender. They have often b…

What is it like for a man to be incarcerated for almost two years and then return to the outside? I am going to tell you the story of a former patient. Let’s call him Arthur. And let’s call his wife Jeanne. I met Arthur and Jeanne some four years ago for challenges in their marriage and in c…

From time to time I meet an individual and am truly amazed at how they have transformed their lives. A fellow member of the Walton Athletic 24 is such an individual. As an early riser who gets to the club long before sunrise, I know the few regulars. Matt Watson walked in about a year ago, t…

I can’t believe Christmas 2014 is recent history and we are just getting our feet wet into the wind chill single digits of the new year! So, let me add my wishes for a blessed and abundant 2015 to you and yours.

There is nothing easy about personal change. While I am in the “people changing” business and have acquired both a fund of knowledge and experience in this area, my own personal changes have seldom come easy. So let’s get an early start on considering personal changes or resolutions for the …

Being accepted part of winning formula