Barbs & Bouquets

Grads, remember your teachers

BOUQUET: Congratulations to all the high school and college graduates in our area. Congratulations, too, to those who helped you reach your goals: your teachers. Over the last few weeks, Beaufort and Battery Creek high schools, Beaufort Academy and Technical College of the Lowcountry and the University of South Carolina Beaufort sent hundreds of eager men and women prepared for their next life challenges, whether they be starting a career or pursing a higher degree. The road ahead in a tough economic climate may seem rocky, but those grads need to remember what it is that makes them unique achievers. Earning a diploma is not an easy task, and applying that education to the workforce can be a rewarding experience. But don't forget those teachers, instructors and professors who mentored, nurtured and taught you along the way. They believed in you and helped you believe in yourself. That's something that you will have forever. Remember them and thank them as you continue on your life's journey. And, when you've made your mark on this world, remind them all that they helped you accomplish.

Fight a clean fight, candidates BARB: The political season often brings out the best -- and unfortunately the worst -- in people. Folks who you might sit next to in church or wave to in your neighborhood can become venomous. The tricks, too, that candidates play on each other to coax voters to choose them over the next guy often includes mud-slinging, name-calling and dramatic 11th-hour accusations. Political signs are defaced or torn down, endorsements are fabricated and ethical rumors can abound. We're too deep into the primary season for candidates to completely right their wrongs and keep the blows above the belt; after all, the primary to select several partisan seats from County Council to the Senate is Tuesday, and voters are left wondering which candidate is the lesser of the evils. Not all races, of course, have stooped to new depths, but let's take a minute to remind all candidates that actions speak louder than words, and the candidate who can keep his or her integrity, pointing out what their strengths are rather than their opponents' weaknesses, are the candidates we should endorse.

Thunder Rally BOUQUET: For the past four years, a group of motorcyclists have donned their leather and revved their bikes as they prepared for a battle not made for the weak-hearted. Today, Beaufort Cycles will host the Thunder Rally for Cancer. The ride, which begins at 11 from the Beaufort Cycles' shop on Robert Smalls Parkway and travels to Point South for a silent auction and bike show, raises money for the Keyserling Cancer Center in Port Royal. This year, the money will help pay for costs associates with clinical trials, a cancer registry and possible for beginning and exercise program for cancer patients. Last year, the event raised $14,000 for the cancer center. Let's help them raise some more. Details: 843-263-1430.