By Kerry Knight, Minister for the Emerald Beach Church of Christ George Washington Carver once said, “I will never let another man ruin my life by making me hate them.” Carver was an African American and an innovator during a very difficult time in our country’s history after the Civil...
By Sean Dietrich The old dog was found walking on the highway. She had no name. No home. Nobody. The guy who found her was a guy we’ll call Peter. I call him this because this is his name. Peter was 67 years old at the time. He was riding in a...
Book Review by Jack Smith In the summer of 1968, I was a beach lifeguard at Myrtle Beach and the only thing I worried about was girls. As Apollo 8 soared towards the moon and the Democratic Convention exploded in Chicago, nine men tried to accomplish the age-old sailor’s dream:...
By Sean Dietrich She was trash. At least that’s how she was treated. She was found wandering a rural Mississippi highway. Beneath the stars. It was a wonder the girl hadn’t been hit. This was a busy highway. The kind with transfer trucks. The dog was walking in the center of the...
Is It Really Important? By Kerry Knight, Minister for the Emerald Beach Church of Christ I’ll never forget a conversation I had with someone while inviting them to our church services. Their response stopped me cold. “I don’t do church.” Like many others, he thought attending church was unnecessary. “I can...
By Kerry Knight, Minister for the Emerald Beach Church of Christ A farm boy accidentally overturned his wagon load of corn in the road. The farmer who lived nearby came to investigate. “Hey, Willis,” he called out, “forget your troubles for a spell and come on in and have dinner...
Former local Sean Dietrich (he recently moved to Alabama) is a columnist and novelist known for his commentary on life in the American South. In addition to Bay Life, his work has appeared in Southern Living, The Tallahassee Democrat, Good Grit, South Magazine, Alabama Living, the Birmingham News, Thom...
By Sean Dietrich The first concert I ever saw was the Oak Ridge Boys. I was 2 years old. Mama took me. I pooped my diaper while they were singing “Elvira.” My mother changed me at the foot of the stage as I was singing at the top of my...
By Kerry Knight, Minister for the Emerald Beach Church of Christ I know. Making New Year’s resolutions is corny and often doesn’t yield lasting success. We become short-sighted and fail to follow through, especially if the resolution is challenging. But let me offer a rather startling revelation: God wants to bless...
By Sean Dietrich The New Year is only minutes away. The TV is on. My wife is snoring softly as I watch a perky, hip television host deliver a broadcast live from Times Square, speaking in a tone of voice not unlike a squirrel on amphetamines. So I change the channel...