Opinion

All I want for Christmas is....

It's the most wonderful time of the year... Now to do the shopping to make it wonderful! :) I find myself asking, "What would you like?" and being asked, "What should I g...

Eleven-forty five and all is well

       At 11:45 each day, the Vinton Today computer magically sends out hundreds of messages, telling many of our readers what is happening in our town that day.  &...

Parody, satire and the patriotic mosquito poem

       One of my favorite humorous poems has always been an 100-year-old ditty called “The Mosquito Hunt.”      The poem, from a book of poetr...

The simple solution to speeding up last-minute holiday shopping

  Every once in a while, you get a glimpse of society that gives you at least a bit of a clue as to how America deteriorated from the Europe-saving, car-and airplane-inventing military and...

Approaching the 10th anniversary of 9/11 while forgetting all of its lessons

       I have begun making plans for what to write about in 2011. On that list, of course, is the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the event that changed modern American history, ...

The Shooting Somali Pirates Principle

     If Barbara Walters were a serious journalist – and to anyone who takes issue with my assertion that she is not, I have two words for you: Jersey Shore – she woul...

142, 2122, 50, 2, 1 all important numbers

I love figuring out how something works.  Today I was pleasantly surprised to see our inbox brimming over with news tidbits, and thought, "I wonder how many contributors we've had...

City Dog, Country Dog

Abandoned Buddy, happy in his new home I've heard it said, "It's a dog's life"  A few months ago, I showed up at the door of a family with kids at home, another dog in the yard and about 5 cats. I was hung...

Pearl Harbor memorial ceremony: Be there

       I have to admit, that at the end of the very first Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School, I was disappointed.      Not in the event – it&rsqu...

A column a day...

       From March of 2003, until November of 2008, I wrote a newspaper column almost every day.      I do not know this for a fact, but I believe I ...