Greg Markley
Columnist
Greg is a writer for The Observer
Greg Markley's Latest
Publisher's Note: Observer columnist Greg Markley was tragically killed in a car accident while vacationing in Nevada this past weekend. He loved to travel and never met a stranger. It seems somewhat fitting that this particular column was the last...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION — I taught a soldier in 2015 at Fort Benning (now Fort Moore) who was a combat survivor of the Iraq war with an interesting name: It was something like “Ahmad Bashar.” Ahmad, or sometimes Ahmed, means “the praised one.” His...
OPINION — Several years ago, my wife and I interviewed several house painters for a major project. Most had the required experience, but we received high praise for one particular painter. Unlike some applicants, this 40-ish man did not have a...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION — Until age 11, I had never been on a college campus. On TV, actors spoke of college on “Leave It To Beaver” and “My Three Sons.” That deficiency changed in 1967 when on a trip to New Hampshire. My father drove to Dartmouth...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION — Memories came flooding back to me on Feb. 1 after I attended the opening of a United Service Organizations (USO) facility for active-duty service members and their families stationed at Fort Moore. In 1984, I spent a lot...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION — Teaching college at Fort Benning in 2013, I gave 30 soldiers an assignment: “Name your favorite of the Ten Amendments and explain why.” When essays came in a week later, I found one Sixth Amendment (criminal defendants’...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION — When Lee County election results were announced for the 1996 general election, it was apparent that Republicans made great gains. This was my first election as a political writer in Alabama. At the then 100-year-old...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION — In December 1989, the first story I wrote at Fort McClellan was covering at Zero-Dark-30 the transport of basic trainees by buses to airports, train stations and bus terminals. They were heading home or on vacations, with...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION — It has been 51 years since the Supreme Court ruled in Roe V. Wade that the Constitution allows women to have abortions. It was a dreadful decision for my friend Stephen’s mother. Yet with four young children at home, she...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION —For 2023, “authentic” is the Word of the Year for Merriam-Webster. Don’t let this distract you: No, it is not a new word as many top words in competitions are. It was judged as the most popular word for the year, based not...
BY GREG MARKLEY OPINION — This is my fifth annual column surveying Oxford Words of the Year. This year, I salute the memory of William “Bill” Safire, legendary word maven for The New York Times. On weekdays, many Times readers might shrug at his...
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,...
