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Essays
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Holiday Pageantry
It is the size of a brick and just as solid, weighing three pounds, filled with nuts and candied fruit galore including pineapple, cherries, walnuts, almonds, lemon and orange peel. Certainly this Thanksgiving will be unlike anything that any of…
Razzle Dazzle and Hope
Our gleeful squeals echoed all the way to Highland. We quickly assembled in front of the Cadillac convertible. “I wouldn’t walk across the street to see a parade,” Daddy declared at breakfast the day before Thanksgiving. “I don’t hold with…
Tia Bergeron: A Confident Combat Veteran
Tia grew up in a small town in New Hampshire with a single mom who worked most nights as a country singer. Tia became very independent at a young age and helped take care of her sister who is 4…
Blooming Roses
I started my own wish book of a bedroom filled with pillows, bookshelves and poster-covered walls. When I was a child, our family moved from one military base to another every year or two. On my first day at a…
What’s Cooking
As for spices, I may own three. (Do salt and pepper count as spices?) “Hey, what’re you making?” My older son had wandered into the kitchen as I was browning some breaded chicken for dinner. “Chicken with bread crumbs and…
Tom Herron: Everything Old is New Again
Tell me about your life and what brought you to the Grand Strand. I was born in Ohio but spent most of my childhood in the DC area. I worked for a trade association outside of Washington, but quickly shifted…
Cover Artist: Josef Kote
Josef Kote widely regarded as one of the most influential American artists working today. An abundantly prolific artist, Kote has spent his three-decade-long career chasing a vision that he can set down on canvas. Constantly challenging himself, his talents rest…
Home Repair
My AC debacle started around the 11th. It was a Saturday, when Will, who took over the business from Curt when Curt died, answered our call. Every Friday, my old college roommate sends me a letter. Now it’s an email.…
Moving Day
As I made her bed, I felt the lump again. My baby wouldn’t be sleeping under my roof that night. “You’ve already spent so much on my move to school,” my 18-year-old daughter, Julia, said. “You bought my bedding, my…
House of Dreams
As my parents approached their sixties, my Dad wallpapered the living room one more time. Still red, but this time it was fuzzy flock paper. My folks first and only house was not their dream house – that perfect castle…
Life in Grande Dunes
From the private Members Club on the Atlantic Ocean to beautiful, planned developments on the Intracoastal Waterway, Grande Dunes is the complete package. Sasee asked Genie and Steve Leonard and Doug and Maureen Ralph to share a little about what…
Read It!: October 2020
These three novels stress the importance of friendship. Each book showcases strong, brave women, facing unthinkable life-changing events. These stories will transport you to a different place and/or time. These are books that you will want to read and discuss with your friends.
Safer at Home
And as a teacher, I assigned, corrected, and scored work for my students while monitoring my children’s virtual learning. It was challenging, but we got it done safely, at home. It is true that home is a refuge, a safe…
Cover Artist: Noemi Safir
Noemi Safir was born in Uruguay. At the age of 2 she immigrated with her parents to Israel. Around the age of 40, she chose to part from the life she knew and fulfill her dream to be a painter.…
Puzzled
But every night now, the time arrived to end my day and sit at the dining table, quietly fitting pieces together and talking with my loved ones. I found the jigsaw puzzle about a year into the renovating-and-moving-in process. It…
Make ‘em Laugh, First
I can speak French. I can read French. But when it comes to translating a French cartoon or joke, I’m at a loss. I don’t find them funny. “Never cook bacon naked,” my husband announced as he turned over the bacon,…
Randy Hudson: Putting Down Roots
Meet Randy Hudson, who recently took over as Executive Director of Portside at Grande Dunes and relocated to Myrtle Beach. If you see Randy out and about, please take the time to welcome him to the Grand Strand. When did…
The Eyes Have It!
Now, either no one recognizes me all masked up or nobody cares as they just want to get home in the safety of their own little bubble. So how are you feeling? Are you missing personal contact with your friends…
Dr. Mark Conard D.D.S., M.S.: You Can Save Your Smile
Endodontist Dr. Mark Conard is passionate about smiles. A Clemson University alumnus, Dr. Conard continued his education at MUSC, graduating from dental school in 2009. After working in General Dentistry for a year, he decided to pursue a degree in…
The Loose Tooth Lesson
The day was just beginning, and I already felt defeated. I was overwhelmed as I looked at my To Do List for that day. So many things needed to be done that I knew I’d be up all night to…