Huge digital signs have recently been erected on I-81 throughout Southwest Virginia.  These signs can be used to alert motorists to accidents and road construction ahead, spread an Amber Alert for a missing child, and re-direct traffic in times of emergency.  When nothing is going on, they spell out catchy slogans like “Be ready.  Be buckled” or “Click it or ticket.”

His jingling spurs broke the morning silence.  The cowboy hat was so wide it blocked the sun coming through the barn door.  Larry McPeak didn’t care.  On his shoulder, he toted a bass fiddle studded with rhinestones bright enough to make Glen Campbell look Amish. 

For the first time since 1988, Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church held a homecoming celebration on Sunday, October 5th in honor of our church’s 180th anniversary.  Special guests included Rev. Wiley Neal, 90, who served as Mount Pleasant pastor from 1973-1977, Jean Booth Painter and Evelyn Booth Ness, daughters of the late Rev. J.T. Booth who ministered at Mount Pleasant from 1938-1941.  This was the first time I had ever attended a church homecoming and it was a truly blessed experience.

Thank you; thank you; thank you.
While this forum has sometimes been used to point out what’s wrong with Bland County, we’re using it today to point out what’s right with our fantastic community and to offer our sincere appreciation to those who make it so.

Every time local television stations air reminder notices of their required switch from analog to digital programming in February 2009, I think back to our first black and white television in the early 1950s. 

My retirement statement arrived in the mail yesterday. I chose not to open it when I saw that it came enclosed in a sympathy card, a very cheap sympathy card.

One of the few good things I can find about this time of year is that with Thanksgiving coming soon we begin to see cranberries everywhere. Now that may not mean much to most folks, but I love cranberries. Yes, I love cranberry sauce with Thanksgiving dinner. The taste is wonderful and provides a perfect complement for turkey and dressing.

For half a year, my Christian broadcasters have asked me to Pray for the Election. We started off last winter, praying each Thursday at noon. Now, this schedule was hard enough to remember, but after the primaries, it ramped up to every day at noon. Now it’s 30 days of ongoing prayer prior to the election.

The common image of a senior retiree features someone rocking gently on a sunny porch while holding a tall glass of lemonade. At arm’s length is a stack of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and several magazines or novels. In the distance, another retiree is climbing into an RV with fishing poles and scooters strapped to the back. Nothing could be farther from the truth for most Southwest Virginia retirees.

A giant wooly worm chased Paul Brewster from his garden. 
“I was gathering green tomatoes,” said Paul.  “Nothing I like better than fried green tomatoes rolled in corn meal.  Suddenly, a big wooly worm came toward me at 90 steps per inch.”
“You scare too easily,” said Beck, my ole Missouri mule.  “That critter probably was training for the wooly worm race at Banner Elk later this month.”