• Chris Johnson

    The return of Bo Hunter — like it or not

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    The return of Bo Hunter — like it or not

    Long ago and far away — well, right down the street actually — after years of sports writing and spinning my wheels as the news editor of the Times-Recorder newspaper in Americus, Georgia, I decided to try my hand at writing a weekly humor column back in the mid-1990s. However, I did not want people to read and judge it based upon their opinion of my sports writing and commentaries. At a small-town paper, you get a lot of folks mad at you when you’re not able to cover every JV baseball game or charity golf scramble. And if you […]

    If you are triggered by these cute kids, you need help

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    If you are triggered by these cute kids, you need help

    As some of you know, I work full-time as a communications professional in the nonprofit world — primarily as vice president of The Fuller Center for Housing (based in Georgia) and part-time with The People Helping People Network (based in Indiana). Each was formed by people who wanted to put their faith into action in tangible, practical ways. You can learn more about each at fullercenter.org and phpnetwork.org, websites that I manage and have filled with content. It’s work, but it’s joyous work … most of the time. When I was in the newspaper business, I saw the dark sides […]

    2026: The year in PREVIEW

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    2026: The year in PREVIEW

    I don’t know exactly how long I’ve been doing my annual Year in Preview, but it’s been at least a quarter century. I’m talking way back when there was no Facebook, Donald Trump was still good buddies with Jeffrey Epstein, and Mike Lindell was more into drugs than making pillows and being America’s No. 1 source of news from The Pentagon. It’s become an annual tradition, like Christmas, the War on Christmas, and GOP lawmakers lining up under the White House mistletoe to kiss President Trump’s behind. Therefore, I must reveal my 100 percent guaranteed-to-be-true prognostications for the year ahead […]

    Biltmore, ballrooms, and avarice just ain’t my thing

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    Biltmore, ballrooms, and avarice just ain’t my thing

    The Biltmore is America’s largest privately owned home. I think we should turn it into a cozy cabin. Biltmore, ballrooms, and avarice just ain’t my thing What’s your idea of a “dream home?” Mine would be a rustic cabin with cozy-but-open living spaces hidden from any public road and tucked away on about 20 wooded acres with a pond or stream. Our kids are grown, and we just need enough room for us to relax and for family not to feel cramped to be relaxed and for family to not feel cramped when visiting. We prefer to spend time on […]

    If you think radicalization is a one-sided issue, you’re part of the problem

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    If you think radicalization is a one-sided issue, you’re part of the problem

    I didn’t know a lot about Charlie Kirk before last week. I knew he was a young (to me) MAGA-verse star and that we likely disagreed on a whole lot of things. So what? I disagree with so many folks on both ends of the political spectrum that the only person I usually do agree with is the man in the mirror — and even he and I agree only about 63 percent of the time.  Because Charlie Kirk never came to my front door to debate — unlike some folks who immediately regretted that decision — he didn’t occupy […]

    Don’t let all the Trump enablers off the hook in the future; they are complicit

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    Don’t let all the Trump enablers off the hook in the future; they are complicit

    I know plenty of Trump supporters. I live in a deep red county and a mostly red neighborhood. I have family members, co-workers, neighbors, old friends, new friends and others who are Trumpers. They may get pretty darn sick of me not being one and not picking one of the two parties — the Democrats or what used to be Republicans — but I don’t hold their views against them. They have a right to their wrong opinions. They believe his diatribes. When he says inflation is down, they believe it. When he says gas is less than $2, they […]

    If Cracker Barrel hurts your feelings, you might be an EG-NO-RA-MOOSE

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    If Cracker Barrel hurts your feelings, you might be an EG-NO-RA-MOOSE

    I rarely go to a restaurant for lunch. I like having somebody cook and bring me food, but restaurants often have other people in them, and they often ask for my money when I’m done eating — some before I even start eating. The whole experience is rather off-putting. Yet, my wife suggested today that I try something called “leaving the house” and taking her to lunch. I told her there was some of that lunch stuff right here — vienna sausages, a third of a loaf of bread and some kinds of weeds in a fridge drawer. “You mean […]

    Let this white boy preach about Theo for a moment

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    Let this white boy preach about Theo for a moment

    I’ve seen a lot of my black friends, especially those around my age, sharing in recent days about how the shocking drowning death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner — best known to most of us as “Theo” from “The Cosby Show” — impacted them.  They talked about how they could relate to Theo and how great it was to see the way the Huxtable family was portrayed on TV — as an ordinary family with ordinary issues, good and bad. Some felt seen for the first time by white America. Some felt represented for the first time. Now, it’s time to give […]