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Pass on what you have learned. Strength. Mastery. But weakness, folly, failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. Luke, we are what they grow beyond. 

– Yoda, Star Wars VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)

There is a television show on The Discovery Channel with an intriguing name: Naked and Afraid. I am not making that up.

I confess at this moment that I’ve never watched it, so I’m offering you my opinions about something I know very little about. (I’ll pause now while all my faithful readers turned to the person with whom they plan to spend the rest of their lives and say, “So what’s new?”

I was privileged to see last Wednesday Elton John’s farewell tour performance in Columbia. Despite the mid-week show and getting home in the wee hours of Thursday (people our age are just too old for that) the Colonial was packed.

For a guy over 70 (!).

Corner

Faithful readers will remember when I wrote, week after week, about My First Wife, My Current Wife, my kids and, most importantly, my grandkids.

Ralph Hendricks died last week. He was a month shy of his 102^nd birthday. He still drove himself to work every morning. He still went to sporting events at Furman University, where he was a trustee emeritus. He still was treasurer of First Baptist Church, Simpsonville, a job he held for more than 40 years.

Laurens County is trashy.

Yes, I said it. Don’t act offended. You know it’s true.

I hate that it is trashy. I take pride in where I live.

Unfortunately, others don’t.

I find myself – in the autumn of my years – becoming far more introspective than I ever was in the springtime of my youth.

I think that’s probably good if I’m wise enough to recognize the truth and to try to make some changes.

Alas, it’s 43 years too late for me.

Me, a high school graduate from Mt. Pleasant, SC, who went to college without a clue as to a work future. I remember like it was yesterday, walking from Brokaw to Carol Courts, to see if there was any room for me on The Indian staff.