OK, I knew I needed new glasses. I just did not know how badly I needed them. While calling an out-of-state Baptist college to speak with the missionary-in-residence, I misread the incredibly tiny print of the phone number on the school’s Web site. One digit makes a big difference. An automated system answered my call and sent me into a spider web of extension nightmares. “For accounting, push 10; for personnel, push 206; for maintenance, push 305,” the mechanical voice droned. Even after a few minutes, the voice said nothing about a missionary or the missionary residence. When I finally had a chance to speak to a real person, I jumped at it.

Just after I’d finished my pre-Christmas columns on “happiness,” Eknath Easwaran’s newsletter arrived from Blue Mountain.
Now here was a man who understood happiness, in his long and fruitful life. From his early years teaching English in California universities, he was fascinated by the human search for happiness that pervaded all the world’s literature, the great religious texts—and the American culture around him.

A crooning couple will be two of the gaggle of Rural Retreat residents scheduled to perform during the Song of the Mountains Christmas concert at the Lincoln Theatre in Marion.
Tim and Regina Day will take the stage on Dec. 15 to perform “I’m So Glad You Came” and “Birthday of a King.”

34 children from around the area perform in the production. Two are from Floyd County.

The project will have a solar farm, and the owners eventually want to explore wind power.

Sheriff’s Office solidarity

Controlling holiday stress

School Board member Dayton Owens got what he wanted.

During my first visit to the beautiful new Wytheville Community Center, I was privileged to attend a free concert performed by the U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Concert Band.  Also featured was their superb Rhythm in Blue Jazz Ensemble.  Sponsored by the Wytheville Enterprise, this approximately hour-long concert was held on Nov. 16 in the town’s new meeting center, a huge and elegantly designed auditorium.

A tropical storm stranded two travelers on a deserted island. Not only was the small island uninhabited, but it offered little hope for survival. One of the men began to despair, while the other remained optimistic. “There is little water here, and virtually nothing to eat; we are going to die.”