The Face of Hunger

My participation in the United Way campaign over the past several years has given me the opportunity to hear stories from families who received services from various agencies and organizations within the South Carolina area. The one thing very apparent is hunger does not discriminate. Hunger can happen to anyone of any race, creed, religion, age, social-economic status, etc.

According to an article I read in Feeding America, the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, people who once contributed to food banks are now finding themselves in need of the very same services...

“More and more families are waiting in lines overnight, coming out in high heat, or traveling long distances in rural America just to get a meal or a box of food. The humbling reality for many of these Americans is that they have never had to rely on emergency food assistance before, and they never dreamed they would find themselves in this situation…”

Personally, hearing the stories of children who live in neighboring communities who can’t concentrate at school because they are hungry makes me want to count my blessings and give back. If you or someone you know is in a crisis, Feeding America and Live United are excellent sites that offer information on agencies within your local area.

Feel free to share your story or thoughts on this topic.

What exactly does the Lowcountry Food Bank do?

Yesterday Kimberly published a blog post, Why a food drive,” where she talked about the need for charitable giving in South Carolina and especially here in the Lowcountry. In preparing for South Carolina Federal Credit Union’s upcoming food drive, I did a bit of research on one of our food drive partners, the Lowcountry Food Bank. (Harvest Hope is its sister food bank in the Midlands, which also falls under Feeding America food banks. Our Midlands area members will give to support Harvest Hope.) I was fascinated by what I learned and am convinced this is an organization we should all work to support because of the good things they are doing in our community:

The Lowcountry Food Bank is a collaboration of local, non-profit human and social service providers, religious organizations, donors from the food industry, corporate, government, civic and private sectors, and individual volunteers whose support and partnership focuses on feeding the poor and hungry of the ten coastal counties in South Carolina.

They collect, inspect, maintain, and distribute otherwise wasted food products from many sources. The Food Bank also offers resources such as nutrition education, safe food handling practices and more.

So who are the beneficiaries from their collection and education efforts?

• 22% of their clients are children under age 18. Without the help of the Food Bank and their partner agencies, these children would go to bed hungry, impacting their ability to learn.
• The Lowcountry Food Bank provides boxes of nutritionally balanced food products to over 1300 seniors per month. 
• In all, 250,000 people in the 10-county area serviced by the Lowcountry Food Bank go hungry every day. The food bank works with nearly 350 partner agencies to help them.

For more information, check out their site, lowcountryfoodbank.org. After you do your research I’m sure you’ll end up asking yourself the same question Kimberly asked yesterday: How can you not give?

Why a food drive?

As South Carolina Federal Credit Union prepares to kick off International Credit Union Month later this week, you might like to know why we chose to celebrate by hosting a food drive. Did you know that South Carolina is among the top ten states with the greatest food need – and that many of those suffering most are children under the age of 5? Among school age children, studies show that severe hunger is a significant predictor of chronic illness, higher levels of internalizing behavior problems and higher reported anxiety/depression. 

Now, consider that many of our own family members, friends and neighbors continue to struggle with the effects of a down economy. The Institute for Southern Studies reported that “the deepening recession could see an even greater jump in the rates of poverty amongst children.”  Poverty and hunger, as we know, as closely linked.

Please take a few minutes this week and search through your cupboards for a few things you could donate to the food drive. Pick up a few extra canned or boxed goods next time you get groceries. Better yet, challenge yourself or your family to fill an entire grocery bag with donations.

I’ve read that the hardest part of affecting change is deciding to get involved. The credit union will make it simple for all of us to take that first step. Collection bins will be at every branch throughout the month of October!  How can you not give?

Bilingual Babies...

Having a Chilean mother and an American father, I grew up hearing Spanish and English every day of my life. My mom would only speak to me in Spanish and my dad would speak to me in English of course. My mom says that as I grew from baby to toddler, I liked speaking English more and would respond to her in English when she would speak to me in Spanish. She was determined to make me learn Spanish fluently, so she told me that she could not understand me when I spoke to her in English. Being that I was so young and believing everything “mommy” said, I thought for a long time, that I could only talk to her in Spanish because that was the only way I could communicate with her.

My mom also says that in elementary school, I would tell her not to speak Spanish to me when she picked me up from school because my classmates were making fun of my funny sounding language. My mom didn’t pay attention to that and continued speaking Spanish to me when she picked me up from school. My mom stayed committed to teaching me Spanish regardless of any obstacles. I am very grateful to her for that because I now know how to read, write, and speak Spanish and I am now teaching my son those same Spanish skills. He is only 14 months old and he already says 4-5 Spanish words and 3-4 English words.

According to some researchers, teaching children a foreign language helps with brain development and lays the foundation for lifelong academic achievement. Researchers have also found that children who study languages are more imaginative, better with abstract ideas, and more flexible in their thinking.

The key to teaching your child or children to be bi-lingual, is to start from birth. The first year of life is the best window of opportunity. Have one parent or caregiver speak the second language to the baby all the time so he/she becomes fully "immersed" in it and is able to identify which parent speaks the foreign language and which one speaks English. I notice the language identification process in my son because he speaks Spanish words to me and my mom and speaks English words to my husband. This also helps the child not to get confused and speak half and half sentences-half foreign language, half English. In my case, avoiding Spanglish, haha!

What are your thoughts on teaching children foreign languages?

Chao for now,

Leslie

Are you a 'whip' at wellness?

Wellness is a comprehensive concept of taking care of your body, mind, and soul through the food you intake, the rest you get, and how you limber the body through exercise. These lessons can be learned at an early age. And from my experience, I find that children are ready and willing. They want to be involved and will take ownership of the process if they understand why and how. 

The process begins with routines that incorporate activities for all three. Here is an example of a few hallway steps that starts immediately after the kids get off the bus.

1. Assess the homework and get it out of the way before 'play time.' (You can divide it up into smaller portions throughout the evening to manage around other activities if needed.)
2. Offer a 'healthy' snack. (Kids need lots of fuel ... good fuel that is!)
3. Encourage outside play and do not settle for the easy choice of TV or Wii.
4. Give them chores at dinner such as asking them to get the vegetables out of the refrigerator. (You can make a counting or color game out of it ... such as "I spy ... "
5. Let them help with dinner preparation whenever possible. (They can't mess up the kitchen any worse than when I make my fabulous belgium waffles and omelet breakfasts.)
6. Consider their taste buds when you plan the meal. Just because it is good for them does not always mean they're going to like the taste of it. And, if you plan an alternative selection be sure that it is just as healthy. (Note: try to stay away from the easy to fix items like breaded chicken and fries cooked in the microwave.)
7. Eat together as a family and give them a chance to ask for the blessing. Continue the meal with questions about their day. Give them plenty of time to share.
8. Allow for free time before winding down for the evening. (This is their opportunity to pick an activity.)
9. Finish up with the evening bath and quiet time (or what we call inside hallway voice).
10. Read silently, read aloud, or read together a story before that gentle nite-nite kiss and last drink of juice is given.

Before signing off, take a look at this simple dish that you and the kids can 'whip' up. Try this recipe for "Whipped Cauliflower" given to us by a friend, then be sure to share the scoop and talk back with Troy.

WHIPPED CAULIFLOWER: PREP TIME: 10 Min and COOK TIME: 10 Min

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1/4 cup fat-free milk
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper

DIRECTIONS

• Place cauliflower in a steamer basket; place in a saucepan over 1 in. of water.
• Bring to a boil; cover and steam for 8-10 minutes or until tender.
• Cool slightly.
• Place the milk and oil in a blender or food processor.
• Add the cauliflower, salt and pepper; cover and process until blended.
• Transfer to a bowl.
• Serve immediately.

FOOTNOTE Nutritional Analysis: 1/2 cup equals 105 calories, 7 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 199 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 fat, 1 vegetable.

The Swine Flu, Are You Concerned?

Are you a parent? As a parent you try not to panic but instead just stay aware of what the latest health news is so you can keep your family as safe as possible. Here are some practices you can teach your children to reduce the spread of infection. Be sure to set a good example by doing these things yourself. 

• Teach your children to wash their hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds.
• Teach your children to cough and sneeze into a tissue or into the inside of their elbow.
• Children who are sick should stay home from school and daycare and stay away from other people until they are better.

The Center for Disease Control provides a wealth of information on what you can do to stay healthy.

Are you an employer? Here are some things you can do to keep your workplace safe:

• If an employee is sick, encourage him/her to stay home.
• Offer work from home options to care for sick relatives.
• Encourage your employees to wash their hands frequently with soap and water or with hand sanitizer if there is no soap or water available.

The United States Department of Labor is an excellent site for employer information. 

How do you feel? Some people I talked with recently are not fazed by the infection at all. Others are checking the Center for Disease Control site several times throughout the week to review the latest updates. Where do you fall? Do you have any additional prevention techniques you would like to share?

Healthy eating doesn’t have to break the budget

The other day I was talking with a neighbor, Lee, who is a stay-at-home mom with three young children. We were talking about the challenges of eating healthy on a budget and the particular challenges faced by families with children.

Lee is a self-professed foodie. Just a few years back, she and her husband had dual incomes and cooked nice, homemade meals full of all-natural, whole foods. How much she paid for these healthy groceries took a backseat. Fast forward to today and her desire to feed her family natural, whole foods on a strict budget.

Lee believes you don’t have to stretch your pocketbook to feed your family natural, whole foods. What you do need, she says, is a little bit of time. The main time investment is in reading labels and doing price comparisons. Take Goldfish crackers. They are probably the number one-selling snack food of the toddler set. Lee said she buys the ones labeled “whole grain” instead of the rainbow colored ones full of artificial colors. How about bread? The amount of bread in the aisle at your local supermarket can be overwhelming, but start by reading the first line of the label. Breads with whole wheat flour listed as their first ingredient are the best choice. She also makes sure to avoid high fructose corn syrups or partially-hydrogenated oils. The healthiest breads are priced the same or slightly higher than other brands. Taking the time to read the ingredients ensures she is feeding her family the highest quality food for her dollar.

One other tip, according to Lee, is to shop around. Did you know that discount stores such as Wal-Mart and Target are now offering all natural, organic foods with minimal ingredients at fractions of the cost at grocery stores? Some of the cereals she buys for her family, such as Kashi and Cascadian Farm brands, are sometimes $2 or $3 cheaper at these discount chains than grocery stores or markets in the area.

Lee is working to feed her family natural, whole foods on a budget. Any healthy eating tips you’d like to share?

The Beauty of the Word “No”

We don’t have a child in our home just yet, but I spend quite a lot of time thinking about how we’ll foster a little person’s growth and wellness when we do. While there is some debate over whether today’s children truly are overscheduled, I think there is merit in teaching them from a very early age to embrace the beauty of the word “no.”

Now, you parents of toddlers probably think I am crazy. Maybe. But I think owning the word “no” actually sets a child up for healthy financial habits. Learning to say “no” compels us to evaluate what we need (versus want) and what we reasonably can handle. The child who hears “no” at the right times and who is encouraged to say it when it’s time to draw the line may grow into an adult who’s not an impulse buyer, who’s less likely to abuse credit, who doesn’t get suckered into purchases he cannot afford simply to keep up with the Joneses. I’d argue that a child armed with “no” is in charge of her resources of time, energy and money.

A wise friend of mine once said, “An invitation is not an obligation.” Let’s teach our kids to safeguard their emotional, social, and later, occupational wellness by being empowered to say “no” when something doesn’t work for them. Actually, I know some adults who might benefit from this advice, as well.

So, those of you with kids, please let me in on your secrets now: is “no” a value statement you teach in your household?

Systems restored to normal functionality

South Carolina Federal Credit Union’s planned system maintenance for Saturday, Sept. 19, is now complete. iTeller, Teller Talk, Online Account Opening and the online loan application are now available. Access to your funds via ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases is restored to normal. Thank you for your patience as we adjusted our systems to provide greater convenience to you in the future.

Sleeping through the storm...

I was 7 years old when Hugo hit Charleston. To be honest with you, I slept through the whole thing. I guess at that age you have so much trust and confidence in mom and dad, that you don't really worry about things like hurricanes. So since I was too young to remember all the details, let me share my friend's Hugo story with you.

The week of September 21, 1989 was one she will never forget. Her parents were planners, and her Dad had his car gassed and packed by Monday afternoon. He called her, urging her to pack up her family and go with them to their house in the North Carolina mountains. At first, she thought they were being overly dramatic. She’d watched the news and heard reports of devastation as Hurricane Hugo moved through the Virgin Islands and St. Croix. But that seemed a long way from South Carolina.

Then she heard the call for barrier island evacuation. What? She turned around as though in slow motion and watched the reporter point to Kiawah Island, Seabrook Island – and realized that her home on James Island could very easily be in Hugo’s path. In less than 30 seconds she called her Dad, and told him she’d follow him to North Carolina! She hurriedly packed a few suitcases, made a couple of phone calls, loaded the kids in the car, and took off.

Safely in North Carolina, she watched tv, prayed, and tried to think about other things….but she couldn’t sleep for watching the news reports. The morning of September 22, she awoke to pictures of the broken bridge across Sullivan’s Island, boats in the middle of the road, houses turned into toothpicks, downed trees and power lines. She’d seen footage like this before – but not of HER city. She wondered what her own house looked like, and how her friends and neighbors were.

Days later, she drove back to Charleston – completely unprepared for the emotion that would well up as she passed damaged homes, neighborhoods, and businesses – all bearing the imprint of Hugo. Charleston looked like a war zone. Then followed weeks without power. No ice. No hot showers. Few businesses open. Almost as if time stood still for a bit.

Then, slowly, life began to find a “new normal.” Neighbors got to know each other as never before. Yards got cleaned up, and tree stumps ground. A power crew from Georgia helped get her neighborhood’s power back on after about 2 weeks. Everyone cheered! Several months later she cried as she shopped in her local Piggly Wiggly that had been closed for months. A year or two later, most of the blue roof tarps were gone. 

Charleston is once again beautiful, and the beaches abound with newer, bigger, fancier homes. But those who lived here when Hugo came through will never forget where they were the night of September 21, 1989. What’s your Hugo story?

Chao for now,

Leslita

Will Your Family Be Ready?

Although I did not personally experience the turmoil Hurricane Hugo caused, I have family members and friends who recall the experience quite vividly 20 years later. My family and friends who had the unfortunate opportunity to experience this deadly storm described it as, “horrific,” “something I never want to experience again,” “…like a train running through the house.”

Being a native of New York I never experienced a natural disaster such as this and my hopes are that I never will. However, hoping is one thing and being realistic is another!

Developing a family disaster plan is one of the most important things you can do for hurricane preparedness.

Is your family prepared?

The organization that’s there when tragedy strikes

A couple months ago, I had an opportunity to do a “ride-along” with Chaplain Rob Dewey of the Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy. During this time, we discussed how the Chaplaincy provides pastoral care and counseling for employees and families of law enforcement and emergency service agencies, as well as the general public.

Rob talked about how the Chaplaincy has responded to disasters nation-wide. He personally was deployed to New York City as part of the post 9/11 team, as well as to New Orleans in the critical days following Hurricane Katrina.

Most people don’t think about what they’ll do if tragedy strikes. Fortunately for the Charleston community, the Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy exists to help people who are in the midst of realizing their worst fears and to aid the emergency responders whose work deals with life’s most painful events.

At the Sofa Super Store Fire on June 18th, 2007, the Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy was present to provide whatever comfort they could to the firefighters and emergency personnel. Chaplain Dewey prayed over the Charleston 9 as they were brought from the building, and the chaplains set up a vigil at the site of the tragedy where they remained to assist throughout the week.

Countless people were affected by this devastating fire, and the Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy continues to provide comfort and support to the firefighters and family members who lost their friends, coworkers, and loved ones.

I walked away from my ride-along that day with incredible appreciation for the work done by our first responders and supporting organizations, such as the Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy. Which community service organizations would you to like recognize here for the important work they do? Now’s the time to acknowledge those whose caring and support sustains us in times of need.

Saturday, Sept. 19 - some limitations on credit union systems

The credit union on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m., will perform upgrades that affect several processing systems. As a result during that time, iTeller, as well as Teller Talk, Online Account Opening and the online loan application may be unavailable. In addition, access to your funds via ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases may be limited. Please note that credit cards are not affected and will function as usual.

Our best advice is to plan ahead for your systems access so you avoid the downtime on Saturday, the 19th. Visit the ATM Friday for your weekend cash needs and plan larger purchases for Friday or Sunday. While this temporary suspension of service may cause consumer and business members to plan some workaround, it’s necessary to make things run smoothly and efficiently later.

We apologize for the inconvenience and are providing this advance notice so that you can plan accordingly. Thank you in advance for your patience as we adjust our systems to serve you best in the future.

Get those hurricane kits together now

If you’re not one of our super-prepared readers who said their hurricane prep kits are ready to go, here’s hoping this post inspires you get crackin’. For the last couple of seasons, we’ve been quite lucky in the state of South Carolina but the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Hugo this month should remind us all that Mother Nature sometimes can be ill-tempered and always does what she will.

So, no more excuses. This easy-to-follow checklist is a template to get you started. Why put off tomorrow what you can do today? If the official end of hurricane season on November 30 rolls around and your supplies remain untouched in a corner somewhere, then consider yourself about 80 percent prepared for next year (because you and your pets probably would prefer fresh water in 2010’s kit, of course). What a grand feeling to be so on top of things!

Now tell me, does having a checklist right here and the height of the season at hand make you any more motivated finally to get things together?

Reaching out and giving back!

It was a hot summer day in June of 2003. My dad was cutting grass and came inside and said he felt weak. He was always full of energy. Hmm? Maybe he was just coming down with a cold or something. As the week went on, he kept feeling funny and very unlike himself. He went to the doctor and much to his surprise, his Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma had returned after being in remission for 4 years. He underwent various treatments in Charleston until his case got too complex and he had to be transferred to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. The return of his cancer was life altering enough, much less the fact that my parents would have to pack up and go live in Texas until who knew when. I had to stay in Charleston to keep watch over their house and finances, finish my last 2 years of college, and keep my job to help pay the medical bills. I would fly to see them on the weekends as much as I could, but it was still very hard being away from them. One organization that really helped us out through that terribly difficult time, was The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. They helped us connect with patient advocates in Houston, helped with small monetary donations to help us with medical and pharmaceutical expenses, and kept our hopes up with new and advanced research news.

When I got married in September of 2007, my husband and I added up the cost of how much our guest party favors were going to cost. Instead of purchasing party favors, we donated the amount we would have spent to LLS. It was our way of giving back and saying thank you for all that they did for me and my family while my dad was so ill.

On this Day of Caring 2009, I am proud to say that donating to LLS annually is my way of giving back to the community. Hopefully my donations along with many others will help find a cure for blood related cancers.

How do you give back to the community? I would love to know, so please send me your comments!

Chao for now,

Leslita

How's your energy?

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides energy incentives for both individuals and businesses. For instance, did you know ...

• The new law increases the energy tax credit for homeowners who make energy efficient improvements to their existing homes?
• Businesses who place in service facilities that produce electricity from wind and some other renewable resources after Dec 31, 2008 can choose either the energy investment tax credit, or the production tax credit?
• The Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit (a nonrefundable energy tax credit) will help individual taxpayers pay for qualified residential alternative energy equipment, such as solar hot water heaters, geothermal heat pumps and wind turbines?

To find out more click this link. Please let me know if this blog is a good place to find out this information, or, do you want it in some other format? Help me put my energy to good use and talk back with Troy.

Helping Others and Giving Back

This year I had the opportunity to serve on United Way's Community Investment Review Team (CIRT). The volunteer CIRT was tasked with a tremendous responsibility of allocating donor funds to non-profit organizations throughout the community. This was an all-encompassing process since applying organizations were required to formally detail how their outputs or services would positively impact the community.

Personally, after serving on this team, I am more confident in supporting United Way because I know the process behind the allocation of funds. As chair of the credit union's 2009 United Way campaign, I look forward to sharing my story with fellow co-workers.

Take a look at our recruiting newsletter to see just a couple more ways South Carolina Federal supports the communities we serve! If you have a story you would like to share about volunteerism, please comment; you may just inspire a fellow blogger! If you are interested in volunteering and just don’t know where to begin, visit www.tuw.org for information to get started!

Education: The key to our success here in South Carolina?

Today the President delivers his much anticipated Back to School Event “pep talk” that has stirred controversy in many circles. To some it’s part of a larger agenda. To many others it emphasizes the fundamental message about the importance of staying in school.

In his talk the President says “You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.” Those in our state impacted by layoffs and the economic downturn can certainly understand the importance of this message.

Here in South Carolina we should try and put politics aside and heed this important message. According to a 2008 study published in the Post and Courier, only 56 percent of South Carolina high school students graduate in four years – the 4th lowest rate in the nation. We can and should do better for our children.

Even the former first lady Laura Bush was quoted on Monday as saying “Parents should…encourage their own children to stay in school and to study hard and to try to achieve the dream that they have."

Isn’t this an issue that transcends partisan politics?

Poll Results: Clemson and South Carolina close to even

Poll: Which team do you pull for?

	Answer Text	Votes	%
	Clemson Tigers	336	45%
	South Carolina Gamecocks	329	44%
	Other answer...	48	6%
	South Carolina State Bulldogs	23	3%
	The Citadel Bulldogs	15	2%
	Charleston Southern Buccaneers	4	1%
		755

“Having ‘his cable’ and my shopping, too!”

This football season, I will be adding the NFL package to our cable bill. Once football season is over, I will take it off. I’m not doing this because I’m a huge NFL fan, but because it’s part of my family's football season compromise.

My husband knows I am very budget conscience, so he crafted a very persuasive offer in order to obtain his much wanted football package. He told me that if I agreed to add the NFL package to our cable bill during football season, he would stay home on Sunday afternoons and watch the game and our son while I went to the mall or did whatever I wanted. “Me time” every Sunday afternoon? You don’t have to ask me twice!

Plus, we save money on our cable bill by only paying for the NFL package during football season, rather than all year long.

How do you meet in the middle with family and friends?

Chao for now, Leslita

How big is your 'fan' ship?

Have you ever wondered why you root for this team or that one? How did it get started? Some people (like me) are so passionate about his team of choice that in many cases other parts of his life stands still until the final inning is played, that touchdown pass is caught, or the pitch from the sand lands in the cup.

Most people will agree that the love of sports starts at an early age. Parents influence children. Playmates influence other teammates. Athletes influence sportsmanship. I think a combination of these contribute to answering the question, "How big is your 'fan' ship?"

Here's a glimpse at how it worked for football in the hallway. Grew up in an area that primarily showed the Steelers on TV, which just happened to coincide with the Steel Curtain, Bradshow, Swann and Stalworth era. Moved to Pittsburgh and was totally indoctrinated with the 'Terrible Towel.' Raised family on a steady diet of black and gold each Sunday (back then most games were played on Saturday or Sunday). Purchased every imaginable trinket, blanket, koozie cup, etc. as gifts that celebrated events from graduation to home ownership. Just posted a personal blog entry expressing commitment to the team that doesn't even know whether me or my family even exist.

With that in mind, it will come as 'no surprise' that the size of the hallway 'fan' ship is measured by the number of items with black and gold that are owned by current family members who span four generations.

So, are you ready to let me know how it all happened for you? Wanna talk some trash? After all, it is Thursday and time to talk back with Troy.

Anyone Remember Hopscotch?

…Hopscotch, double-dutch, tag, red-light green light…nice to reminisce about how simple games were growing up. Although I believe the above activities are nice it seems like these days kids find even more enjoyment with gymnastics, dance, swimming and other youth activities!

My girls have participated in both The Little Gym and Gymboree and most recently dance at our local recreation center; these businesses have good programs for all ages. A couple other educational and fun places my kids love to explore include the Children’s Museum and The South Carolina Aquarium.

 If anyone knows of any other fun kid activities or programs, feel free to share...we are always searching for something new and fun to do!

It’s time to talk Carolina vs. Clemson

September is just around the corner and, for many fans like myself, that means another college football season is upon us. There’s nothing quite like college football in the South, especially here in South Carolina!

A blog post I read recently noted that South Carolina is the 24th biggest state in the U.S., with only 4.4 million residents; however, on any given Saturday in the fall, 160,000 people can be found inside the football stadiums of our two biggest schools: University of South Carolina and Clemson.

After moving here a few years ago, I quickly realized you have to pick a side to root for. For me, this was relatively easy. See, I’m a Virginia Tech Hokie. Since Tech is an ACC leader, I hold a bit of distain for Clemson -- so I’m obligated to root for South Carolina. In the spirit of fairness, I must acknowledge that many of the Clemson fans I’ve talked to are convinced their school has the superior football program this year.

Probably this is opening up Pandora’s Box, but I thought our readers would like to share their perspective with the rest of us.