The holidays are rapidly descending upon us.

For several months, I have kept my own counsel on the Election of 2020, an event which should rate an entire chapter in history books.

Pictured are two women, replete with hats, preparing to boat on Lake Howard, circa 1910.

Another fellow American is dying from COVID-19 while you read this sentence.

“Hi Grandfather.”

Pictured, horse-drawn carriages take guests of the Florence Villa Hotel to church, circa 1910. The hotel was located on the current site of the Spring Lake Shopping Center.

Every year before Halloween, our special victims unit detectives remind registered sexual predators and sexual offenders who have restrictions related to having contact with children and participating in holidays that involve children.

It feels like we are in a unique moment in history.

Located at 253 Avenue A SW in downtown Winter Haven, Michelle’s Resale Closet is the brainchild of Michelle Reddick.

In most presidential elections, the electoral college is a little like a hot afternoon in August.

The month of November is Aviation History Month, so I figured it would be interesting to not only take a look back at the history of the Aviation Unit at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, but also fill you in on what the unit does for our fine community.

A progressive dinner — or “safari supper” as they call it in the United Kingdom — is a meal in which you go to different locations for each course.

Sometimes I get emails from readers that sound something like this:

Geanie Folder formerly worked in a nursing home but has long had a love of vintage items, so she started a vintage market called The Beatnik Exchange in Lakeland as a side-hustle.

As you may have guessed by now, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office will not be hosting our annual Haunted Jail Tour this year due to the threat of the COVID-19 virus.

For many months — perhaps a year or longer — the President of the United States has been warning me (and 178 million or so of my closest friends) to be alert for election fraud.

Please don’t judge me.

WINTER HAVEN — Whether you are an expecting or new mom — or have one in your life you’d like to get a gift for — there’s a new retail shop in downtown Winter Haven that is worth visiting.

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to attend a unique program to honor 32 citizens of the community of Apopka who lost their lives in combat from the Spanish-American War to the Global War on Terrorism.

Did you know the Polk County Sheriff’s Office has a great program that can actually help recover your stolen car before you even know it’s missing?

One of our thoughtful readers wrote me a note disagreeing with me in such a polite way that I wanted to share much of their note with everyone else.

Last month, I went on a mission to find the best desserts in Polk County.

When the state of Florida legalized medical marijuana, it created a lot of confusion as to what is legal and illegal.

Many years ago, I learned an anecdote about one of my favorite personalities — Winston Churchill, the only foreign-born person ever to be declared an honorary citizen of the United States.

Every week I receive lots of emails from readers.

Occasionally, our family observes half-birthdays.

Pictured is the E. U. Denison home, which faced north on Avenue C, SE.

This week, I was proud to stand with Governor DeSantis when he introduced The Law Enforcement Protection Act.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about how 10 percent of all the drivers on Florida roads are driving on a suspended license. This epidemic of suspended licenses is because Florida imposes heavy court fees we expect everyone to pay, regardless of their income. If you can’t pay your fees and…

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month – reminding us that suicide is an unthinkable reality in our world. And one we must not ignore.

There are certain words and phrases that are used as labels to discredit a person or a viewpoint without regard to the accuracy of the word.

You are standing on Fourth Street, SW (then known as East Park Street), looking north across Central Avenue.

Reader T. wrote me the following note about what it is like to own a small business right now:

Few proposals coming from the nation’s capital have the potential to wreak as much havoc on the American economy as one to allow employers to defer withholding Social Security taxes from salaries of employees making up to $104,000 a year.

From time to time, different scams will pop-up on our radar. It’s really disappointing that some folks are always looking for ways to take advantage of others.

You are looking north on Fifth Street, NW in downtown Winter Haven. Central Park is out of view on your right. The building at the far end of the street is thought to be Mrs. Crook’s Boarding House.

“And that’s when she bit my arm.”

Few things make me as proud as seeing television footage of National Guardsmen responding to a crisis, whether to relieve suffering, rescue those in danger or restore order.

The building pictured was Winter Haven’s original First Presbyterian Church.

In Polk County, we have over 550 lakes, which means we have lots of fishing opportunities. That kind of fishing is fun.

Driving for just 15 minutes on U.S. 27, I passed about 30 cars committing the same crime.

Pictured is Frances Layton, named Miss Florida Citrus in 1957, who is joined for her coronation dance by television host Garry Moore at Nora Mayo Hall.

The three most stressful days in a parent’s life, in my opinion (and this is a subject with which I have a fair amount of experience), are:

Some people may not realize this, but law enforcement officers respond to a fair amount of medical calls — especially here in Polk County where we answer 9-1-1 and dispatch not just for law enforcement, but also for Polk County Fire Rescue.

Most of us are embarrassed by the fiasco that is Florida’s unemployment system. During this crisis, people without an income to feed their family waited weeks and months to get their first unemployment check.

Pictured are candidates for Miss Florida Citrus gracing the diving board at what was then the Haven Hotel, which is now Haven Condominiums.

It seems hard to believe that, only 100 years ago, women in America did not have the right to vote.

Over the past several weeks, we have worked three different drug-related investigations with an alarming trend – each one had something to do with the illegal sale of marijuana via the social media application “Snapchat.”

This newspaper asked our elected representatives in Washington, D.C., where they stood on additional support for our Main Street merchants. Our area’s economy went backward in July. Our locally owned small businesses still need help.

Your elected officials let small business support and unemployment support run out during the worst public health crisis in 100 years and the worst economic downturn in 90 years.