Greg Markley
Columnist
Greg is a writer for The Observer
Greg Markley's Latest
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION —Rosalynn Carter had a harsh reckoning after she wore the same gown at the 1977 presidential inauguration of her husband Jimmy as she did at several balls. She wore a caftan-like, high-neck, gold-embroidered blue chiffon...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION — In 1955, Fob James was a Lanett native playing college football under Auburn’s legendary coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan. He would sometimes fumble the ball, so he was nicknamed “Fumbling Fob.” Yet that year, James was named...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION — Imagine a new U.S. Border Patrol agent getting his duty assignment and telling a friend: “Well, I guess I will have to go to supply and pick up snowshoes.” His friend says, “What?” Reply: “Yes, I am going to one of the...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION —I received confirmation that the 50th anniversary of my high school graduation will be celebrated in two years. I graduated in June 1975 when Gerald Ford was president and “Jaws” was filling movie theatres. It seems so long...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION — In the 2009 film “500 Days of Summer,” a young couple is the focus. Summer tries to avoid commitment with Tom, who seeks fidelity. The narrator declares: "Most days of the year are entirely unremarkable. They begin and...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION —The horrible terrorist attack in Israel reminded me of an old friend who died more than two years ago. Whenever I saw him, there was a possibility to attend services with him at a synagogue. Also, football season surfaced...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION —Some jaded and cynical voters may call presidential candidates “clowns.” Many modern-day men and women vying for the highest office do have blemishes or weaknesses. Most of us voters do, too. But “clownish?” No, but I did...
OPINION —In 1992, I wrote a historical series at Fort McClellan, Alabama, on the Women’s Army Corps. These were amazing women, but one I met at a band concert in 2021 was 100 years old and in fine shape. She was one of the first women who trained...
OPINION —Calvin Coolidge served from 1923 to 1929 as the 30th U.S. president. He was a man of high principles, fiscal conservatism and few words. Two men bet they could get at least three words from the quiet Vermonter. They failed. Dorothy Parker,...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION —“It doesn’t matter what I think, it doesn’t matter what I feel, the dead are still dead,” so said a guard who allowed hundreds of women and children to die in The Reader (2008). I have lived in five U.S. states (Rhode...
OPINION —My father Joseph Markley of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, easily fits into the category above. Born into a blue-collar home in 1919, he endured the Great Depression and served four years in the Army Air Corps during World War II. A staff...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION —Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota, share a visitors’ center near the state line. It is not a rare sight to see visitors declare that their “Bucket List” of visiting all 50 states is ending there. Many people on...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION —In spring 1963, I was told I would have to take first grade a second time. A seven-year-old, I did not have a good overall grade to advance to second grade. This was in a strict Catholic grammar school. I enrolled two...
OPINION — As a 23-year-old with enthusiasm for politics and history, I was at Ronald Reagan’s presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, 1981, just as I had been at Jimmy Carter’s in _____. People used transistor radios (declining by 1980) to find out...
OPINION — As a 20-year-old copyboy at a large newspaper in 1977-1980, one of my unofficial jobs was ensuring the 70-something photo editor would not forget to put obituary photos back in the file to be given to the sender. A non-glamorous job for...
OPINION — Last week, I focused on the infamous “Killer Rabbit” incident President Jimmy Carter endured in April 1979. He was criticized for lack of courage and became the butt of killer rabbit jokes. But in part two of the series, we see Carter has...
OPINION — As a sophomore at a New England college, I went to a history class in a new semester with two friends. We sat up front because I prefer it. Suddenly, we looked at the blackboard and it read: “Welcome to Psychology 101.” Very embarrassed,...
OPINION — When Vladimir Putin became Russia’s president in 1999, its constitution allowed presidents for two consecutive terms. But wait? After his second term ended in 2008, Putin sat in as prime minister before becoming president again in 2012....
OPINION — On July 18 at the Alabama State House, Republicans proposed adding African American voters to one of Alabama’s seven congressional districts. That didn’t dissuade critics who argued that falls short of the wish of the U.S. Supreme Court...
OPINION — Maybe 10 years ago, I bought an old copy of “Not So Wild a Dream.” I knew about Eric Sevaraid’s 1946 book on his life growing up in North Dakota and Minnesota and his travels as a young journalist. Knowing of his eloquent commentaries on...