I heard about a couple not speaking to each other. The standoff went on for days with neither budging. When the man needed to catch a plane early the next morning, he placed a note beside his sleeping wife, “Please wake me when you leave for work.” He slept smugly, knowing she would be the one to break the silence. The next morning he woke late only to find a note on the nightstand. “Wake up, or you will miss your plane.”

Were my mother still alive today, on Wednesday, Sept. 10, she would turn 81 years old. Sadly, she passed away in April 2004. Although by then she had several health problems, her primary one was Alzheimer’s.

At the time I had finished writing last week’s column, only the first week of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China and transpired.  With that much of the Olympics still remaining, there were too many moments to come worthy of mentioning, that I had to comment this week on the rest of this amazing 29th Summer Olympiad.  Last week, I spent so much time commenting on the cultural and artistic aspects of the Olympics that I only had space enough to mention two athletes in one sport.  While I enjoyed watching the outstanding aquatic efforts made by Michael Phelps and Dara Torres probably more than any other aspect of these games, there are many more great achievements made by our American athletes that are equally noteworthy.  Even though there are still too many to mention, I’ll do my best to touch on some of the highlights.

He was 102-years-old and wanted me to baptize him. Health troubles prohibited immersion, but that did not rule out baptism. I planned to sprinkle a small amount of water on his head, hoping that John the Baptist was not looking. Yet, before baptism, I wanted to talk to him about God. I wanted to know his story.

Hello my fellow Appalachian residents. Guess what? An article carried in the Bristol Herald-Courier, the daily sister paper of the Smyth County News & Messenger, on Aug. 27 contained a report released by the government. It seems there is wonderful news from our distinguished United States Census Bureau. At least, the agency seemed to think so. According to the recent release (reported by the Associated Press), median incomes are up in Appalachian. Of course, with the exception of Virginia, Maryland and New York (yes, a very tiny bit of New York lies in Appalachia), the median income is far below the national average, which is just over $50,000. Appalachia’s median income hovers around $39,000.

The Riner resident is quick to say there are others who do greater things then he. Calling people on the phone and wishing others a “Happy Birthday” is just his thing.

“What kind of people steal from a church?” Last week, after someone took a pallet of shingles from the church parking lot, I heard that question at least a dozen times. “What kind of people steal from a church?” The question assumes there is a particular kind of person who specializes in ecclesiastic crime.

My dear wife and her mother are both big gospel music fans. My mother-in-law even subscribes to a gospel singing magazine. There is a gospel music singer that my wife, Terry, likes very much. His name is Mark Bishop. He was originally a member of a family group known as The Bishops. However, he now is evidently a solo act. I don’t care for his style of gospel. It is more the style of bluegrass. If I want to hear gospel, I much prefer the big choirs that do Southern rhythm and blues gospel. 

Well, thought Piney and She Who Must Be Obeyed, the sub-tropics are at it again!

On Aug. 1, Duck, Granny Rose and I attended the After Hours Summer Concert Series at Withers Park.  The weather was made-to-order and the featured band for this month’s event made for an exciting close to this season of After Hours concerts.  First of all, I want to express my personal gratitude to the Wytheville Parks and Recreation Department for their continuation of this wonderful summer program.  For those like me who aren’t quite ready to bid farewell to the Chautauqua Festival, this event is a great opportunity to still enjoy the music as well as the community fellowship that comes along with such happenings.