Last week, I decided to remove the deck from my riding mower to sharpen the blades.  To remove the deck, all you have to do is pull five pins.  The deck dropped to the ground with a loud thunk!  I sharpened the blades and pumped grease into the little grease cups.  What I failed to do was memorize where the little arms go when you put the deck back on. This was bad, because I lost the owner’s manual years ago. 

Few things can make us feel so helpless and despondent as drought.

Church Events for the week of Aug. 22

The Presbyterian congregation in Damascus sits only on the right side of the aisle. No one really knows why. It’s just what they do.

Senior Division winners are first place, Dakoda Harris; second place, Beth Bowling; third place, Caleb Pauley; honorable mentions, Jonathan Nelson, Miranda Cox and Jessica Dillow.

Jean-Phillipe Devillers’ visit to Floyd was part of his “Around the U.S. in 80 days’ trip.”

The first day of classes for all students will be Wednesday, Aug. 22. Here’s information about parent-teacher meetings, fees, bus routes and more.

For three days and nights my wife worked. She pricked her fingers with pins and needles. She went without sleep at night and soldiered through the next days with those hollow zombie eyes, cooking food and making sure the boys stayed reasonably clean, as clean as any 4- and 5-year-old needs to stay during summer break. She measured their bodies while they slept. And once, that I know of, she trotted up above the garden with a ruler to get readings on Fools, the goat eating the tree line up there. 

The snack choices at the Virginia Highlands Festival were…well…ho-hum.  I ate my once-annual funnel cake, but I could have gotten it at any other festival.  Vendors offered all the other standard festival food, like bloomin’ onions, and Kettle-Korn, and that curly potato thing. 

It doesn’t matter if Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Lee Harrell wins his defamation suit against Sunny Daze owners Michael and Linda Dix. His boss won’t regardless of the outcome.
Harrell filed a civil suit against the convenience store owners, asking for $600,000 - $500,000 in punitive and $100,000 in compensatory damages – because a Web site maintained by the Dixes claims Harrell lied in court.