The Inside Story Behind The Charleston (S.C.) Waterfront Park

On the corner of Vendue Range and Concord Street in Charleston, South Carolina lay the north entrance to the Waterfront Park. Since the park was dedicated on May 11, 1990 and open for the public, the park has received near universal acclaim. Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., who oversaw its whole production from 1977 to 1990, called the Waterfront Park "this generation's gift to the future." In 2007, the park won the Landmark Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Type in "Charleston Waterfront Park" on a search engine, and you'll be hard-pressed to find aggregate reviews under 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. The park is simply that astounding.

But there's more to the park than twelve acres of natural landscape. It took a lot of politicking, and a failed attempt for a major airport hub, before the park was completed.

How do I know? My father was an elected official for the Charleston City Council during that time, and he rubbed shoulders with Mayor Riley to see this park through. What follows is his account on how one of Charleston's biggest tourist attractions came to be.

A Dialogue Between My Head And My Heart: Can South Carolina Still Win The SEC East?

With their 44-28 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks on November 5, 2011, the South Carolina Gamecocks fell to 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) with three games still to play. For the garnet and black faithful, a seven win season in years past would be considered a success. After winning their first SEC East division title in 2010, anything short of a conference title game appearance or double digit wins is now a disappointment.

Heading into the 2011 college football season, South Carolina was the heavy favorite to repeat as SEC East champs again. But after a stunning conference loss to Auburn and a heartbreaker to Arkansas, the Gamecocks now find themselves half a game behind the surging Georgia Bulldogs (5-1 in the SEC), a team that started 0-2 and many left for dead.

But there is a caveat. Georgia's lone conference loss came against South Carolina, and a tie atop the SEC East would give South Carolina the edge by virtue of winning the head-to-head meeting. South Carolina has one more conference game left, a home game against Florida on November 12. Georgia still has to play Auburn at home on November 12 and Kentucky at home on November 19. A Gamecock win and a Bulldog loss in conference play would clinch the SEC East crown for South Carolina two years running.

Can it happen? Better yet, should it happen? It's something I've debated between myself with no closure in sight...

Ten More Nights In Omaha: That Same Fan's Take Toward Back-To-Back Titles

"Line drive, right field, base hit! South Carolina wins the College World Series!"

With that statement by ESPN announcer Mike Patrick on June 29, 2010, the South Carolina Gamecocks closed out the final College World Series game at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska, christening a new era for both the program and the Series.

As I explained earlier in Faulknerian prose, the whole athletic program at the University of South Carolina prior to the 2010 College World Series struggled mightily to win a major national championship, save the women's outdoor track & field team in 2002. And in the three big sports (football, men's basketball, and baseball), the Gamecocks had been close, closer, and closest to winning that elusive title, always falling short.

But on that endless summer night one year ago, the fortune of Gamecock athletics changed forever. In so doing, the pressure to come back to Omaha and win at a new stadium - TD Ameritrade Park - was enormous for head coach Ray Tanner and his team.

In the weeks before the 2010 College World Series ended, seven Gamecocks were taken in the MLB Draft, and three of them would go on to start their professional careers. They were senior starting pitcher Blake Cooper, junior starting pitcher Sam Dyson, and junior right fielder Whit Merrifield. All three played a critical role in putting the Gamecocks in position to win the school's first major men's athletic title. Cooper recorded ten strikeouts and allowed only three hits through eight and one-thirds innings in Game 1 of the final round against UCLA. Dyson pitched two quality starts that saw the Gamecocks win on both occasions to stave off elimination in Omaha. And of course, Merrifield became an instant Gamecock legend by driving home the championship winning run in Game 2 of the College World Series finals.

Even with their departures, the whole team was practically back in their bid to become the first team since the 2007 Oregon State Beavers to repeat as national champions in college baseball. Notable returnees included senior second baseman Scott Wingo, junior center fielder Jackie Bradley, Jr., junior starting pitcher Michael Roth, sophomore first baseman Christian Walker, and sophomore closer Matt Price. This team had no intentions to fall short of a return trip to Omaha, and their play on the field proved it.

Ten Nights In Omaha: A Fan's Take On An Improbable Run To A National Title

On the eve of yet another forthcoming College World Series, I have a sudden impulse to give my own firsthand account about the defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks and the week and a half long journey that culminated in the school's first major athletic title. But first, some context.

As stated on here and my Twitter account, I am a South Carolinian, born and bred. The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand up when my home state is mentioned in a positive light. By extension, my loyalty to the University of South Carolina is as much a part of me as are my green eyes and wavy, sandy brown hair. In fact, for as long as I can remember, I've had memories. I've also donned the garnet and black associated with the school, too. And with the latter, those colors have long held an ignominious distinction with their athletic program.

Leading up to the 2010 College World Series, the South Carolina Gamecocks (as a whole) were always the bridesmaid, but never the bride.

In football, they've only won one conference title: the ACC in 1969. By the way, their football program dates back to 1892. It took them until 1995 to win their first bowl game, and they once lost 23 consecutive games between the 1998 and 1999 seasons. True, they did produce a Heisman trophy winner in running back George Rogers in 1980. And yeah, things are looking better heading into this fall, but Gamecock football has historically trended downward as the year neared its end.

In men's basketball, their shining moments spanned one decade from the late '60s to the mid '70s. In that time, Frank McGuire coached the Gamecocks to a 205-65 regular season record and three consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances in the NCAA Tournament from 1971 to 1973. Since then, they've fallen off the map, but they regained relevancy in recent memory, including back-to-back NIT titles in 2004 and 2005. Then again, who cares about the NIT? Just the bridesmaid.

In baseball, however, they've had their biggest chances to lay claim to a national title but failed to capitalize. The Gamecocks first shot came in 1975, their first appearance in the College World Series, where they lost in the championship game to the Texas Longhorns. South Carolina was coached by native son and former New York Yankee second baseman Bobby Richardson, who turned the program around practically overnight from his first year coaching in 1970. After the 1976 season, Richardson left and June Raines took the reins to steer the Gamecocks into national prominence. They went back to the College World Series in 1977, where again they lost in the championship game, this time to the Arizona State Sun Devils. They made it back to Omaha, Nebraska – the site of the College World Series – thrice in the 1980s and nearly every year in that decade for the NCAA Tournament preceding the College World Series. In 1997, Ray Tanner became the new head coach, and the baseball program really took off from there. With the exception of two, the Gamecocks reached the NCAA Tournament every year Tanner has led the team. In their first trip back to the College World Series with Tanner in 2002, the Gamecocks once again played in the championship game, where again they lost to Texas. The following year, the final round became a best-of-three series that stands today. South Carolina was eliminated after three games in 2003 and fell one victory short of having a championship rematch with the Longhorns in 2004, and that was the last time they made it to the College World Series until last year.

Somehow, someway, in spite of all the bad luck Gamecock baseball suffered when the lights shone brightest, 2010 just felt different.

Biodiversity in South Carolina

As a native South Carolinian, I pride myself in anything and everything related to the Palmetto State. The following are some of my state's official animals. Whether by air or land or sea, they are all marvelous creatures.

Perhaps the most fragile of all the species here is the loggerhead sea turtle. Its scientific name is Cattera cattera, and they are distinguished by their reddish-brown carapace, a.k.a. the upper shell. Loggerheads are most known for their annual migration to coastal beaches to lay their eggs in the summertime, which typically lasts from mid-May to mid-August.

However, they have been a designated endangered species since July 28, 1978, and their nesting populations have decreased by 3% every year since 1980. This is due to poachers and other forms of wildlife killing off newborn loggerheads before and during their migration from the nest to the ocean. It is now both a state and federal offense to tamper with a loggerhead’s nest, 90% of which are in Florida. These are big animals that can live as long as, if not longer than, humans with a volatile future. Next time you get the chance to see them up close, look in awe but don’t touch.

The Eastern tiger swallowtail, which is the official state butterfly of South Carolina, is as colorful as its wings. Its scientific name is Pterourus glaucus, and they can be found all over the southeastern United States in various settings, from meadows to local parks, feeding off a variety of wild nature and garden plants.

Both sexes are differentiated by the color of their wings. Males tend to have a yellow and black design while females have predominantly black wings. These particular butterflies are known for their aesthetic beauty and many people plant flowers nearby just to entice the swallowtails. Their presence is both attractive and constructive for all.

Then there's the Carolina wren, the small bird with a big voice. Its scientific name is Thryothorus ludovicianus, and theirs is a grandiose lifestyle. These wrens are typically seen in pairs, monogamous to each other when breeding and the males "employ one of the loudest songs per volume of birds."

They seldom leave their habitat long term because they are loyal to their home base, no matter where it is. Like the aforementioned swallowtail, Carolina wrens are commonplace throughout the southeast. They stay within those confines because they can’t survive harsh winters up north and won't dare cross their own immutable boundaries. They know what they want and how to get it, which is punctuated by their shrill, harmonious cry.

Lastly, there's the white-tailed deer, a graceful, naturally shy creature. Its scientific name is Odocoileus virginianus, and they have a unique lineage to themselves. For starters, these deer are not indigenous to South Carolina or even the southeastern U.S. In addition, these animals are frequent targets of hunters, a threat none of the above species have to deal with. However, there are approximately 750,000 of these deer in South Carolina alone, and this particular population has been stabilized since the mid-1990s after years of rapid growth.

But whether or not they are hunted, people have taken a liking to these deer from both their natural setting and their placement as an ornament for some. The fact that white-tailed deer can be both appreciated and assassinated shows the two extremes of human emotion when confronted with raw, natural beauty.

S.C. Woman Abandons Delivered Baby in Arena Bathroom

Last Friday night, an enjoyable night at the circus in Greenville, South Carolina has turned into a high-wire act of survival for a newborn. A woman is reported to have given birth in a bathroom stall sometime during (or after) the performance, and she abandoned her new baby boy there. The child was found several hours later by cleanup crew members at the Bi-Lo Center, which is where the event was hosted.

As of Tuesday night, the child is in critical condition, where he is being treated for hypothermia.

Personally, I can only hope and pray the child fully recovers from this montrosity and finds a loving mother who won't dump him, because his biological mother has shown no regard for his life. Children are born social beings who need the tender touch and bonding of their mother (primarily) in order to survive in this world appropriately. And don't get on my case that his mother will change. She won't. If she can't take accountability for bringing a child into this world, then what right has she to raise him up accordingly? It's bad enough some children end up with lousy parents. It's a horse of another color to be deserted by the one person that brought them into this world.

Speaking of this woman, whoever she is, her demeanor is deplorable, and she needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. Laws and agencies designed for child protection services are in place for a reason, and a failure to comply with either of them are grounds to lose one's child(ren). And her thinking? She wasn't thinking. I understand giving birth in an arena bathroom stall for her is an abnormal circumstance, but it's even more abnormal to leave the child like a piece of excrement to be flushed out of her life. At the very least, she should've called her husband or boyfriend or, gee, I don't know, maybe even 911 to help both of them receive initial care. I'm just amazed that people like her are allowed to procreate.

This just goes to show that there are simply too many freaks in the world and not enough spots in the circus for them all to join. Or, in this woman's case, jail.

Haley's Meteoric Rise Continues as S.C.'s First Female Governor

Once every 75 to 76 years, Halley's Comet is visible from Earth in our inner solar system and presents itself as a once-in-a-lifetime event to behold and wonder. Now, another phenomenon is taking place no one in South Carolina would ever believe could happen in their lifetime: the inauguration of a female governor. That precedent is now history as Nikki Haley was sworn in earlier today as the 116th governor of South Carolina and the state's first female governor.

She also becomes just the fifth Republican governor of South Carolina under the state's Constitution of 1895. All five have been elected within the last forty years. Little did anyone know, it was also during this time that Haley would go from unknown businesswoman to the highest political office in the Palmetto State.