Smith Says

I hate to brag, but me and my purse have got it going on. Or is it a pocketbook, bag, handbag, shoulder bag or tote? My Midwestern aunt always said “pocketbook,” which is charming in the quaint way that homemade pickles and afghans are ch ...  full story

I’m a walking disaster. Within 24 hours last week, I had blood bubbling from under a fingernail, lost a crown and wound up at Doctor’s Care with a damaged eyeball. I’ve always been accident-prone. As a kid I toppled out of trees, fe ...  full story

There’s nothing more refreshing than a good night’s sleep, which explains why I feel half-dead all the time. Well, not ALL the time—only when I don’t sleep, which is roughly three nights out of seven. And boy, is it rough. Ins ...  full story

Saying I’m slightly hard of hearing is like saying Rachael Ray cooks a little. I’m definitely deaf-ish. Thirteen years ago my right ear shut down without warning--in the middle of a death-penalty trial. With one of the suspects on the sta ...  full story

So, friends…. This is the time of year when we talk about New Year’s resolutions. Some people don’t make any; others resolve to do one (or all) of the Big 3: Lose weight, stop smoking, make more money. Me, I’m on the fence. T ...  full story

There are many things to love about living in a tiny country town. There’s a sense of belonging; everyone knows your crazy Cuzzin Mo and every funeral is well-attended. It’s quaint and quiet, except when the goats go on the warpath or the ...  full story

On her birthday last week, a former SJS co-worker posted this status update: “At the tender young age of 45, I find myself entirely held together by (in no particular order) faith, hope, love, ibuprofen, bad habits, and freckles.” I love ...  full story

Some days I believe in reincarnation; some days I don’t. But if I do get another chance on earth, I want to come back as a dog. Specifically, our dog. It’s good to be Nicky. Very, very good. For those who may not know, Nicky (aka She Who ...  full story

Unless you’ve been living under a bra, I mean rock, you know that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You’ve read the stats, probably donated money for research, maybe walked or ran in support of the Susan G. Komen Foundati ...  full story

Did you hear about the Massachusetts family who got lost in a Halloween corn maze and called 9-1-1? Police in Danvers, MA received the panicked call about 6:32 p.m. on Oct. 9. The mom said the family was all turned around at Connors Farm, near Salem. ...  full story

It started with the wallpaper. Doesn’t it always? For decades all I asked of my surroundings was that they didn’t leak, stink or explode. Some women wake up at 30 with baby fever. I woke up at 40 with brocade fever. Overnight, I became o ...  full story

Recently someone I’d just met sized me up through narrowed eyes and said, “I heard you were kind of quirky.” I’m not sure it was a compliment, but it was the truth. I’ve been quirky from birth. You would be too, if your ...  full story

God bless America, land of the “say WHAT?” news story. Every day I scan CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Post and several local papers. I like to know what’s going on out there… and there’s always plenty going on. ? &nbs ...  full story

I have to thank my friend Andrew for this column. A few of us (by which I mean a mob) were watching the USC-UGA game, when the talk turned to what it means to be Southern. He grabbed paper and pen and started writing, but then USC scored, wine was sp ...  full story

By the time I toddle to bed at night, I’m too tired to sleep—and not because it was a hectic day. It’s because that hour before bed is a killer. In fact, I wish it took only an hour. It’s like I’m a snow-blind Sherpa and ...  full story

I can’t be the only person out there with 1,278 keys. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but at least a dozen keys jangling on my ring are a mystery to me. Surely they unlock something, but what? And where? My keys drive Widdle crazy. “Who has ...  full story

My mind is all over the place these days. I could plead hormones, but I think it’s just how my head is wired, bouncing from one topic to anoth—I love cashews, especially the ones at Costco. Do you like cash—At Costco someone asked w ...  full story

I honestly don’t know which I’m more afraid of, death or the junk drawer. If death is the great unknown (none of my loved ones has ever come back with any pointers) then the junk drawer is purgatory. Yesterday I decided I needed to hang p ...  full story

It’s funny how life works out. I grew up on a dirt road, in a rural community outside Jacksonville, N.C. called Southwest, not far from a settlement called Nine-Mile, where you could A) Buy moonshine straight from the source and/or B) Get shot ...  full story

Friends, there’s nothing like waking up to a bloody pillowcase. You lie there groggily wondering what you missed in the last seven hours. Did you have a nosebleed?* Did you sleep through a beating? OMG, WHERE IS THE DOG?? Last week Widdle and I ...  full story

My beloved brother, T-Bob, turns 52 this weekend. Will wonders never cease. Of my mother’s four children, T-Bob was the one voted least likely to reach 30, let alone 50. He’s been going full-tilt since he could toddle. He’s plunged ...  full story

If you’re anything like me, you have a lot of “somedays” scribbled in your life-plan ledger. You know… someday you’re going to clean out the garage out so you can actually, possibly, maybe get a car in there. Someday yo ...  full story

“What a hole, what a hole!” I remember my dad hollering that when he dug a new well in the backyard of our home 45 years ago.  (Actually, he didn’t dig anything, but a guy he paid $50 sank a very impressive hole in the ground.) ...  full story

Once again, I must announce an astounding oversight: I wasn’t asked to address a single 2011 graduating class. Now I know how Susan Lucci felt after 20 years of Emmy snubs. Don’t get me wrong—I hate speaking in public, and I’m ...  full story

Mother’s Day is Sunday; thankfully, mine is still among the living. Mama has good days and bad days, which means sometimes she throws ice cubes at Newt Gingrich on the TV, and other times she’s not sure what that talking picture box is, e ...  full story

• Santee Cooper announces 2012 refunding bond sale
• Santee Cooper announces organizational changes in operation and finance departments
• Santee Cooper employees pitch in on Day of Caring
• Aerial herbicide treatment on lakes under way
• Santee Cooper Board Authorizes Rate Study
• Santee Cooper announces refunding bond sale
• Santee Cooper, Florida Municipal Power Agency enter into letter of intent for share of planned V.C. Summer Station units
• Santee Cooper, Duke Energy Carolinas enter into letter of intent for share of planned V.C. Summer Station units 2 and 3

For entertainment, I mainly go out in...