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(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 2-06-26) By Wayne Smith Gulf Coast Media Contributor Author’s note: Part 2 of 2. “Being apart is so very hard It hurts my soul, it hurts my heart You know I miss you, yes I do …”— “Together,” Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, (2020) It had been a long day. Cold. My legs were worn out. But I made it to the show. Waiting in the balcony of Mobile’s historic Saenger Theater for Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo to take the stage, I

Feb. 4, 2026 Today—February 4, 2026—is World Cancer Day. It was established on Feb. 4, 2000. I’m sorry to say I had not paid much attention to it. Until this year. I lost Dorinda to cancer on April 25, 2025. I always thought she would get better. Always. Through 40 radiation treatments, six chemotherapy treatments, two surgeries, and more, I believed it. I know why now—it was because of her outlook. For her—at least the way she presented it to the world—it was always positiv

Alan Hunter, center, with his brothers, Hugh Hunter, left, and Randy Hunter, right during a visit to Gulf Shores last summer. (Photo courtesy of Alan Hunter) (First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 1-30-26) Author’s note: Part 1 of 2. “What ya tryin’ to do to my heart.What ya tryin’ to do to my heart.… you better run, you better hide.”— Pat Benatar, “You Better Run” Dorinda would be thrilled. One of the true pop culture icons of the 1980s — and one of her favo

Feb. 2, 2026 Well, the best laid plans … I had this Groundhog Day mapped out perfectly. Get on the road early, catch the sunrise in Orange Beach en route to Pensacola, and then onward to visit the Naval Aviation Museum – again. That’s because I barely scratched the surface of the museum when visiting last month. I had my laptop, planning to do some writing from inside the museum’s café when my legs gave out. But not today, at least at the museum. The museum was closed – thank

Jan.3 - Gulf State Park - Waiting out the storm (Photo: Wayne Smith) Jan. 5 - Into the Mystic - Gulf State Park. (Photo: Wayne Smith) Jan. 13 - Palm Sunset - Picnic Beach, Gulf Shores, Alabama. (Photo: Wayne Smith) Jan. 14 - Sunny lunch spot - Picnic Beach, Gulf Shores, Alabama. (Photo: Wayne Smith) Jan. 19 sunset - S in the sky - Morgantown Beach. (Photo: Wayne Smith) Jan. 18 - Battleship in the cloud, Gulf State Park. (Photo: Wayne Smith) Jan. 16_Jelly fish at sunrise, Gulf

(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 1-23-26) “Pain nourishes courage. You can’t be brave if you’ve had only wonderful things happen to you.” – Mary Tyler Moore Jim Watson shared that quote with me recently. “This really resonates with me after caring for Brooke as she battled cancer for almost two years,” he said. I have some things in common with this new friend of mine. There is the obvious one — he lost his wife of more than 40 years, Brooke, to cancer i

(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 1-16-26) Editor’s note: This column is part 2 of 2 “Let the wind carry you homeBlackbird, fly awayMay you never be broken again …”— “Blackbird,” Alter Bridge A couple of nights before Dorinda came home for hospice care, a rainbow appeared outside her hospital window — a moment I’ve written about before, and one I have carried with me ever since. I lost my wife two weeks later. So when another rainbow appeared — briefly —

(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 1-09-26) Part 1 of 2. “Goodbye stranger. It’s been nice. Hope you find your paradise.”— “Goodbye Stranger,” Supertramp Sometimes we see what we want in the clouds. Other times, what we see is exceedingly clear. Such was the case, at least for me, on the first day of this new year. Sitting on my balcony after a call with a friend, a patch of wispy clouds against a crystal-blue late-afternoon sky caught my attention. And th

Fort Morgan Fishing Pier 6-14-26 Spent some time Sunday evening chasing the sunset at Fort Morgan. Here are a few images from along the pier.

(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 9-5-25) Sometimes, things happen for a reason. Sometimes, people and things seem to drop into our lives at an appropriate time. Angels among us? I’ve certainly had some encounters over the past year that loudly echoes the Bible verse of Hebrews 13:2 saying “some have entertained angels unaware.” For example, in July 2024 in Brooklyn, New York, Dorinda and I met a stranger inside a restaurant. My wife – my Bear – was in th

(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 8-29-25) This week’s column will take a side road, a divergent of sorts. If you’ve read by first two columns for Gulf Coast Media, you know that the focus is me navigating Gulf Shores alone, moving here after losing my wife, Dorinda, to cancer in April. And while Gulf Shores isn’t the focus of this trip, it’s still geared around a beach town. And my Bear. This column and next week’s will focus on my road trip to my hometo

(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 11-14-25) My 4-year-old grandson loves wearing what he calls “neck shirts.” You and I call them tank tops. Whenever I visit, I have to be sure to pack a neck shirt to sleep in, per his request. He thinks it makes me look cool, like him. So, on the morning of Nov. 6, I smiled and thought of my grandson when I saw a third-grader at Gulf Shores Elementary School – wearing a tank top, mind you – smile and say, “This is so coo

(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 9-19-25) During what would be my wife’s final hospital stay, he was there for us. Everyone should have such a friend. Count yourself fortunate if you do. So, I would like for you to meet Eddie Woods. Dorinda and I were at UAB’s Women and Infants Center in Birmingham. We were there for 10 days in April, a time when we would eventually learn Dorinda’s cancer had spread to her lungs. She underwent so many tests and procedure

(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 10-17-25) “It was a beautiful day, the sun beat down. I had the radio on, I was drivin.’’” _ Runnin’ Down a Dream, Tom Petty By Wayne Smith Gulf Coast Media Contributor It really was a beautiful day, a beautiful weekend for the 52 nd annual National Shrimp Festival. Here’s what prompted it for me. As I watched a spectacular sunrise in the east beyond the Gulf State Park Pier from the beach on the morning of Oct. 9, I tur

(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 10-31-25) "There are places I'll remember, all my life, though some have changed …Though I know I'll never lose affection, for people and things that went before…" — The Beatles, "In My Life" Maybe it's the water. As I try to find my way these days after losing Dorinda in April, there are places I gravitate toward that bring some comfort. Gulf Shores is home now. It's where we planned to retire to, together. I'm here, jus

(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 10-24-25) This is a story about books, the beach, and my Bear. As a preface to this column, what’s better than settling in on the beach with a good book? It was one of our favorite things for my wife and I to do over our 38 years of marriage. With Halloween approaching, this column also will bite into that as I’ll mention one book in particular, Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” And it’s about a beautiful resource for our beach to

(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 8-22-25) This is a story about two blue trucks – one a hand-made, metal decorative truck – tagged “Margaritaville.” The other a much smaller, plastic toy truck. By association that means it’s also a story about wheels, the title of this column. I’ll circle back to that road at the end of this trip, so take a ride with me. And it’s another story about Dorinda, my Bear. The decorative truck sits on a chassis that’s about on

(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 8-14-25) One. Let's start here. One year ago this month, my wife and I had climbed a mountain. She had completed chemotherapy at UAB Women & Infants Center. She rang the bell. We celebrated with a family beach trip to Gulf Shores. But there were more mountains ahead. Too many. Dorinda bravely climbed each one of them with me by her side. I lost my Bear to cancer in April. We would have celebrated our 39th wedding annivers

(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 12-05-25) “… Dreams of loneliness, Like a heartbeat drives you mad, In the stillness of remembering what you had, And what you lost, And what you had …” - Fleetwood Mac, “Dreams” The above song is one of my favorites by Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac. I can close my eyes and hear Stevie singing it. If you’re of a certain age, I’m sure you can, too. This column touches on dreams and one woman I met on the beach who h

(First appeared in The Baldwin Times/Gulf Coast Media, 11-07-25) “Learning to walk again. I believe I’ve waited long enough, where do I begin?” - Foo Fighters, “Walk” I’m gradually losing my ability to walk. Or at least the ability to do so without some assistance. It’s the result of a genetic condition I was diagnosed with in the fall of 2024 – the same time Dorinda was undergoing cancer treatments. I am trying to take it easy. Trying to be careful and trying not to