It was a glorious morning. The sun was shining and the wind was from the Southeast. Up especially early, a tall bony, redheaded young Virginian found time to buy a new thermometer, for which he paid three pounds, fifteen shillings. He also bought gloves for Martha, his wife, who was ill at home.
It’s not often a team at the high school level replaces one national player of the year with another.
But that’s what Pace’s softball team did this past season on its way to a runner-up finish in the Florida state tournament.
Years ago, I was displaying a friend’s rare Bible collection at a pastor’s conference. He put me up in a nice hotel. The next morning upon exiting my room, I walked to the bank of elevators and pushed the down button. The doors opened, I stepped inside, pushed the “L” button, then stood facing the doors, staring ahead as the elevator made its descent. The elevator slowed, stopped, a chime sounded, but the doors did not open. I had the sense that I was being watched. Turning around, I discovered it was the rear doors that had opened, and other guests, smirks on their faces, were waiting for me to exit.
We were privileged to contribute to the Navarre Centennial celebration Saturday night. Our very own Jonathan Crider, Ph.D., served as guest speaker and offered a wonderful perspective on the past century of the place we proudly call home. Jon knows this history better than anyone on our team, having researched and written the historical stories for Navarre Press years ago, back when he was part of our staff. We used to tease him that writing for the paper was his first glimpse into life as Sandi Kemp’s future son-in-law. He passed every test with flying colors and was warmly welcomed into both our family and the Kemp family.
We have had some beautiful sunsets of late on the Florida panhandle courtesy of drifting smoke from some Canadian wildfires. On behalf of my fellow Canadians, “You are welcome!”
That’s the question I’ve had to ask myself. My answer is a resounding “no,” but ultimately, what matters most is how others perceive me. If the general perception is that I sometimes come across that way, then I must acknowledge that. Public perception carries weight, more than I’d like to admit, even to myself.
I see a lot of excitement from coaches and fans in Florida in the wake of Georgia changing the rules for transferring at the high school level.
The state athletic association there is inserting a bylaw stating any athlete who transfers multiple times within the state after his or her ninth grade year is ineligible to compete for one year.
The wider culture has designated this Sunday “Father’s Day,” but if you attend the worship service at COMPASS Church, you will hear me refer to it only as the Lord’s Day, just as I do on the Sunday designated “Mother’s Day.” Our culture is eagerly jettisoning any reference to God, so I have taken this small stand to preserve Sundays as the Lord’s Day, at least among believers. Nonetheless, we do honor our fathers and mothers on those Lord’s Days because it is biblical to do so, not just one day a year, but every day.
I’m not sure what you think of the best-of-three series for high school baseball in Florida, but I liked it.
Apparently the FHSAA wasn’t as big of a fan as it as the series set-up will a look a little different in 2026.
