Opinion
My granddaughters, the Presidential speech writers
Everyone who knows me knows how ridiculously seriously I take my role as grandfather. We have four granddaughters, three of whom live in Vinton and I have seen every week at least (and often most e...
Thoughts on Martin Luther King Day, from the whitest part of America
Throughout my 22 or so years in this job, I have written about almost every holiday: Christmas. New Year’s Day. Memorial Day. Veterans Day. Mother’s Day. Father’s Day. Thanks...
The best winter driving safety advice: Don\'t
I once had the enlightening experience of working with a teenage girl who had already wrecked her car two or three times.
She did not seem to make the con... 2014: The Year of the Wounded Angel
We all learned so much in 2014 – and many of last year’s lessons were from paint, and paintings – and pain.
I learned that I could mix one gallon of an impossibly ugly bright ... Pastor's Blog - “That’s Impressive”
A couple years ago, I read an article that caught my attention: “IBM supercomputers simulate 4.5% of the human brain, and all of the cat brain.” Reading further, the article revealed a...
Local Pearl Harbor memorial ceremony deserves large audience
"This is amazing, but we should have had a lot more people here."
I didn't catch his name, but the grey-haired veteran who stood up at the end of the very first annual Pearl Harbo...
It\'s the little things that matter
Yesterday was our day to visit the local homes for our elderly folks.
It's always a highlight for me, and I try to remember that as I rush home from church, grab some lunch and head out the...
Media, reality TV and the Akhoond of Swat
As writers, we often approach a topic knowing what we want to say, but feeling that something is missing. So in our writing, we do some research, hoping to stumble upon the informatio...
How media mediocrity (or malfeasance?) helped fan the flames of Ferguson
I was sitting with about a dozen local residents a while ago, when someone asked us to tell what local news station we prefer.
Most mentioned the local ABC or NBC affiliates, and a couple confe...
Letter to the Editor: Senate's Failure to allow Keystone pipeline
The Senate failed to pass legislation to allow the building of the Keystone XL pipeline by only one vote. There is no question that a pipeline to transport Crude Oil is safer for the environ...