OPINION | DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Georgia plays a starring role
Georgia, you've been on my mind.
Stories by Debra Hale-Shelton
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OPINION | DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Praise for what went well in 2020
If you believe 2020 has been tough, allow me to point out a few overlooked blessings the year has given us.
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OPINION | DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: An end in sight for hypocrisy and cruelty
I'm old enough to remember when it mattered if presidents lied, when they didn't cozy up to dictators, and when they tried to hide their illicit affairs and ce…
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OPINION | DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: A household member moves on
I recently said goodbye to a longtime part of my family and hello to a new member.
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OPINION | DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: A democracy on the edge
I’m afraid, and I don’t scare easily. When I worked for The Associated Press in Chicago, I walked home from work many nights hours before sunrise. While report…
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OPINION | DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Novelists aren't writing news stories
I never wanted to be a reporter. I wanted to be a writer.
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OPINION | DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Recalling the past in print
The older I get, the more I have to remember and, all too often, forget.
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OPINION | DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Silence the hate all around us
It’s not even 9:30 p.m., and I want to sleep, for a long time and without interruption.
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OPINION | DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Worries in the middle of the night
I’m losing my hair and my hope. And one has nothing to do with the other.
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OPINION | DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: A long, loving journey to parenthood
Not long ago, on July 23 to be exact, we took our daughter Annie out to eat to celebrate Forever Day, the anniversary of the day we adopted her in China in 200…
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OPINION | DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Wisdom and grace from Mr. Rogers
When she was little, my daughter enjoyed watching television programs like "Caillou," "Dragon Tales" and "Sesame Street." She liked "Mister Rogers' Neighborhoo…
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OPINION | DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Our innocence, interrupted by fear
When I was a little girl, I lived in a green house on Union Street. It had two bedrooms and one bathroom. Life was good, even fun.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: The price we're about to pay
I think of the "good old days" a lot these days.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Consider the source of prophecies
Am I the only person who questions the authenticity of a man named Peter Popoff, or, for that matter, other famous people who prophesy magical events in the 21…
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: The sneaky complexity of simple things
When I was a child, little girls made mud pies and ate candy cigarettes. We also played jacks, hula hooped and worried that Russia was going to bomb us.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: A time for unified resistance
I was visiting my mother when I heard a familiar voice coming from the television. I looked up, and that's when I saw the familiar expressive hands and the fam…
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Considering possibilities of what's to come
A reader suggested I focus on what's ahead in my life rather than the past to boost my spirits.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Weighing in on self-judgment
I was Facebook surfing when I noticed this post.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Taking steps to rebuild a garden
He's going to cut down my crape myrtle.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Challenges loom beyond expectations
The first time I read J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, I was a college freshman.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: What it takes to make a mother
June 6 was my first time to dine inside a restaurant since the coronavirus hit this country so hard.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: From disasters come scenes of hope
I am a believer--in God, the Bible, prayer, and the basic humanity of most people. I am a believer--in sin, hypocrisy, hate, and the worst of humanity.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Shameless leader deserves no respect
Why would anyone ridicule others for wearing protective masks that could help prevent people from spreading the deadly coronavirus to others? The answer is sim…
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Getting to know Slick
His name was Robert Sylvane Smith. His family called him Slick; his girlfriend called him Bob; the Marines called him PFC, then Corporal, and finally Sergeant.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Embracing the sweetness of seasonings
Mama always said I was "made of sugar and spice and everything nice." I have no reason to doubt her words.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: What matters most, and what doesn't
The older I get, the easier it is for me to say thank you ... and no, thank you.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Why some of us don't smile much
My maternal grandmother, Annie Lee Smith, was a tiny woman who began each morning kneading biscuit dough, frying bacon or sausage, and seemingly enjoying break…
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: What we think we know
In an age when we have access to the truth at our fingertips, it seems that an increasingly vocal number of Americans buy into misconceptions about important i…
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Old enough to remember
I'm old enough to remember a time when life was simpler, if not better.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: A lineup of escape mechanisms
Here are a few ways to stay busy, or at least pleasantly distracted, during the covid-19 pandemic and the resulting need for social distancing.
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Solitude, in its present form, is overrated
I've not heard anyone preaching the joys of solitude lately.
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Dreams of a guilty child
When I was a child--maybe 8 or 9 years old--I had a nightmare, one I've never forgotten.
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The best writing about cooking
I'm a bookaholic. I collect books, especially cookbooks, old and new, small and large, some personally autographed, others bought at yard sales or bookstores. …
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Blurring the edges between life and death
Sometimes the hardest memories are the most important ones, for time has an uncanny way of putting life and death in perspective.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Seemingly self-made widow
Anne Throneberry was like no other widow I had ever met. Her long blonde hair was braided, and she was dressed like a cowgirl in blue denim and brown boots whe…
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Hospital stay allows time to reflect
A few of you have asked about my heart surgery; actually surgeries--plural--since I had two in about a week's time.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Family functions and dysfunctions
I have a problem. Well, a few problems. One is that I don't wear my hearing aids as often as I should. Another is that my sister-in-law, Andrea, and I are dest…
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Questions that needed answers
I leaned back in the comfortable chair, looked out the window, and silently admired the leafless sweetgum tree. The scene reminded me of the opening in Christm…
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Making resolutions for others
I considered writing about my new year's resolutions, but one of them was to quit running late. Then I realized this column wouldn't appear until almost three …
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: A long journey to parenthood
"Zhou Jing Ping," the woman announced as another woman walked into the large room and placed a little girl in my open arms.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Remembering time at the head of the class
Once upon a time I was a teacher. The experience was no fairy tale.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Reporting on politicians' sex escapades
I was thinking about the most fun stories I've ever covered or read from afar--not necessarily the biggest, but the ones that still make me smile or laugh even…
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Taking control where there is none
Anyone who knows me well knows that I tend to be on the hyper side.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Losing a battle of wills with GPS
To My Not-So-Dear GPS:
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Fond memories of family feasts
We had a tasty but quiet Thanksgiving this year. Five of us from three generations, from my 89-year-old mother to my 18-year-old daughter, sat around a table a…
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: The inevitability of mistakes
Anyone working in journalism for as long as I have is bound to have a few mistakes that made their editors' eyes roll. The good news is that such journalists c…
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: When death dominates the news
I began reporting the news and, hence, death before I could vote or had my first taste of alcohol.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: Getting a late start
I'm always running late whether for marriage, motherhood or appointments. So it shouldn't surprise anyone that I was late to dating.
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DEBRA HALE-SHELTON: A road trip in the right direction
I was at work when the phone rang. The caller was my daughter Annie, then nearing her 14th birthday. She sobbed loudly.