Clark: Book held Mother’s Day voices

May 13, 2012 - 3:51am

Kate Allen Clark, my grandmother, died when I was young. She was the only grandparent I ever knew and I was named for her and her mother.

Clark: Next page might just be the one

April 29, 2012 - 3:50am

I wrote a few months ago about my concern on the uncertainty now facing young people looking for careers, and I described how nearly 40 years ago I was worried, too, but optimistic.

Clark: Titanic still resonates

April 15, 2012 - 3:50am

Some of us might have grown tired of that song from the movie but not of the story of the oceanliner Titanic, which 100 years ago on this date struck an iceberg and sank in the cold North Atlantic off Newfoundland.

Clark: Memorable encounter with Scruggs

April 1, 2012 - 3:50am

Since I heard of the death of Earl Scruggs last Wednesday I’ve tried to remember details from the night I strummed his banjo.

Clark: House sparrow’s decline

March 25, 2012 - 3:50am

In addition to the pollen, some of us might have noticed during these early spring days small brown birds flittering into scraggly nests stuffed behind the letters of the grocery store sign, or swirling near the ceiling at the large garden center store or grabbing a French fry in the McDonald’s parking lot.

Clark: Chair seats many comforts

March 11, 2012 - 4:11am

Last Saturday night things got raucous as the family gathered in our small room off the kitchen for the Duke-Carolina basketball game.

Clark: Tragic twist to 'Prodigal Son’

February 26, 2012 - 4:51am

In the New Testament parable of the prodigal son, the father welcomes with joy the return of his youngest son, who had left home after asking for and receiving his inheritance, certainly undeserved — which he then squandered.

Clark: Carney lived spirit of thanksgiving

February 12, 2012 - 4:52am

With the death of friends come the hardest reminders of our mortality, sad moments that tell us like nothing else can how our time is fleeting — and that we should use it well, with good purpose and all in a spirit of thanksgiving.

Clark: Youth face uncertainity

January 29, 2012 - 4:50am

Watching the State of the Union address last week caused me to consider my own “state” and that of those closest to me — especially my sons and daughter.

Clark: Photos reveal need for wiser heads

January 15, 2012 - 4:50am

East Carolina University’s decision to fire Paul Isom, student media adviser, certainly appears to be the by-product of a bad editorial decision by the student editors of the campus newspaper.

Clark: Inmate reflects, looks ahead

December 25, 2011 - 4:50am

I received a letter recently from an inmate in a nearby correctional institution saying how he and other inmates read The Daily Reflector most days and wondered if maybe we could “find some space to publish his words.

Clark: Fight against youth violence

December 11, 2011 - 4:50am

My children are mostly grown now, in various stages of college and work.

Clark: Reflecting on the here and now

November 27, 2011 - 4:50am

I again this week saw a lone bald eagle surveying its world from a power pole near the river.

Clark: ‘Lawson Days’ a worthy celebration

November 13, 2011 - 4:50am

Out on the wind this weekend were remnants of long-ago roots, nearly lost but now being sought with fervor by a hard-working group with a passion for their community and their past.

Clark: Police, paper struggle for precision

October 30, 2011 - 3:54am

“If there are drug problems in my country; if there are murderers killing people in my city; if people are breaking into houses in my neighborhood; I want to know about it.

Clark: Newspaper’s archive a treasure

October 16, 2011 - 3:50am

Fifty years ago this month one of baseball’s legendary seasons ended on a bittersweet note — depending on your point of view.

Clark: Celebrate ‘old October’

October 2, 2011 - 3:50am

“All things on earth point home in old October; sailors to sea, travellers to walls and fences, hunters to field and hollow and the long voice of the hounds, the lover to the love he has forsaken.”This weekend Asheville celebrates the 111th birthday of Thomas Wolfe, from whose Of Time and the River I quote above and below.

Clark: They eased neighbors’ pain

September 18, 2011 - 3:50am

My personal storm blew in a little ahead of Irene, but the kind of maelstrom doesn’t matter to these volunteers.

Al Clark: New life to region’s history

September 4, 2011 - 3:50am

Three hundred years ago this month, parts of what is now Pitt and Lenoir counties witnessed the beginning of the end of a civilization that might have stretched back more than 30,000 years.

Clark: Hospital intimidates, reassures

August 7, 2011 - 3:50am

For my 21-plus years here, Pitt County Memorial Hospital often has been a subject of news stories or a landmark on my way into or out of Greenville, or a place I hoped I would not need to visit — for whatever reason.

Clark: Governor’s School’s fate

July 10, 2011 - 3:50am

Since I was a high schooler in the mid-1960s, North Carolina's Governor's School has been a fixture in my perception of my home state.

Clark: Grimm had youth interests at heart

June 26, 2011 - 3:50am

It is never a satisfying moment in newspapering when our successful reporting of important facts about tragic events also hurts those closest to the moment.

Al Clark: Parents can't keep lightning in a jar

June 5, 2011 - 3:44am

As dusk settled over us, the lightning bugs' yellow lights would float up where the kids would catch them in a jar.

Al Clark: Education cuts endanger future

May 15, 2011 - 3:50am

I'll admit up front I am biased on this issue. And angry. My mother was a teacher as was my grandmother, great-great grandfather and aunt.

Clark: A listener can change lives

May 1, 2011 - 3:50am

This short note was emailed for inclusion in the Reflector's “Bless Your Heart” column.