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October 10, 2008
How to live in the present … and not go nuts
Yesterday my cat leaped on a line of string lying on the floor, treating it as if it were living prey.October 08, 2008
Opportunity squandered
If you’re thinking about going into business for yourself, after Nov. 4th’s national election, I believe you should consider investing in a bathhouse or carwash.October 04, 2008
Americans don’t have the write stuff?
Normally, I pay little attention to who wins the Nobel Prize in Literature.October 03, 2008
To err is human
I may feel a lot worse about the country than I did a short time ago, but my self-esteem has received a real boost.October 01, 2008
The good, the bad and the ugly
As a joke, about 30 years ago, I said to co-workers that Social Security should be paid to everyone when they turn 18 and stop when they reached 30. I added that everyone could then find jobs and work until they died.September 27, 2008
The Great Gas Shortage of 2008
I was waiting in line at the truck stop along with every other knucklehead swept up in the panic of the Great Southeastern Gas Shortage of Early Fall 2008 when my mind wandered, as it often does, and I flashed forward 30 or 40 years.Searching for sanity
I am trying to keep my head screwed on straight, but the news is messing with my mind. It reminds me of what it must feel like to live in the path of a hurricane a day or two before the storm actually hits.September 20, 2008
Naked and unruly can be shocking
A warning to readers who are contemplating getting naked and unruly: You could be Tasered.September 19, 2008
Cheerleaders don’t worry about strategy
Yesterday in class a student asked me what I thought about the upcoming election.September 17, 2008
What kind of ‘change’ is McCain talking about?
Was I watching and hearing the Republican candidate for U.S. president on television during his convention acceptance speech, John S. McCain or Democratic candidate Barack H. Obama?September 14, 2008
Making the case for change
During the 1980 presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan, in a debate with President Jimmy Carter, famously suggested that voters answer a simple, but potent, question.September 13, 2008
Mass marriage is doggone wrong
It’s time some courageous person exposes the global epidemic of mass dog weddings.September 12, 2008
Tough love and taxpayers
It occurred to me this week that being a U.S. taxpayer is a lot like being the parent of difficult teenagers.September 11, 2008
Valley needs more than low wages
The other day I had a discussion about municipal budget shortfalls or really the strains on them.September 07, 2008
Palin remains an interesting choice
Sen. John McCain either made a bold move or a blunder by selecting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate for the Republican vice presidential position.September 05, 2008
Frugality admirable, but could be Catch-22
There is at least one family in the Augusta County area that has figured out how to raise a family on an income of $40,000 or less.August 31, 2008
This day is a gift to the GOP
Happy Labor Day! As many Americans enjoy a last weekend at the beach, the Republican National Convention opens today in St. Paul, and the GOP begins making the case for John McCain for president.August 29, 2008
Conflicted achievements
Apparently laborers who built much of the infrastructure and the buildings for the Olympics were hustled out of town before the grand event took place.August 27, 2008
Change in the Valley
Am I the only one who’s noticed changes taking place in the Valley?August 24, 2008
The task is blending change, comfort
Democrats open their national convention today amid troubling news.August 23, 2008
Hard times = Less monkey news
The worst thing about the downturn in the newspaper industry, aside from massive layoffs, careers in ruins, frozen salaries and the grim realization that my only other marketable skill is frying hushpuppies at the fish camp, is the cutback in good, old-fashioned monkey coverage.County, cities need mass transit
When I first glanced at The News Virginian’s Aug. 20 front page and read the headline, “Citywide transportation plan discussed for W’boro,” I thought the story was going in another direction.August 22, 2008
Who’s afraid of a little life-altering change?
One hundred years ago. Jesse Hayden left rural Davidson County, N.C., went to the nearest town of any size and bought a tiny telephone company.August 17, 2008
The Democratic lobbyist’s dilemma
More than 2 million people have contributed to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.August 16, 2008
And the winner is …
Here’s the winner of the Write Scott Hollifield’s Column While He is On Vacation or Performing His Court-Ordered Community Service Contest as chosen by a panel of semi-experts.A lesson in labor law
A story Aug. 13 in The News Virginian (“Guitar wiz has reason to play the blues”) reminded me of similar situations in New Hope and Staunton.August 15, 2008
The power of lightning bugs
We finally got a break from the unrelenting heat, so I turned off the fans upstairs and the air conditioning downstairs and the world came in through my open windows.August 13, 2008
Booker T. Washington’s great history
I don’t remember if my classmates and I were in the fifth or sixth grade, but I remember going on a field trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown.August 08, 2008
The value of honesty
My cell phone company lied to me.August 06, 2008
