Over time, have you ever bought something (a car, TV, microwave, outfit, or purse) only to learn later that you paid too much for it? Remember that sinking feeling in your stomach and the regret that maybe you should have shopped a bit more before making the purchase? Well, every day your friends and neighbors… Read more »

You may or may not have heard of Sister Bernadette Kenny known to many in our region as Sister Bernie. If not, you should read up on her. Sister Bernie moved here (via Boston, thru Africa, and then Ireland) as a part of the Medical Missionaries of Mary. Their primary focus was St. Mary’s Hospital… Read more »

For some, the ultimate objective this time of year is getting a plastic pumpkin full of candy. Yet for me, my cousins, and my friends, we looked forward to one thing—my mom’s homemade popcorn balls. Not having much in the way of funds to buy candy, my mom invested her time and love in creating… Read more »

Over the past few years Tammie and I have traveled to the Isle Of Palms to relax, enjoy the beach, read books, and eat good seafood. Traveling there annually has allowed us to become familiar with the lay of the land and the changes brought by the waves.   This year, instead of my morning… Read more »

As a kid, we tossed rocks (often big ones) in my Dad’s or my uncle’s ponds. We wanted to see how big a splash we could make and try to spray water on a cousin standing next to the water. After the big splash, sometimes your attention turned to the ripples spreading across the water.… Read more »

One afternoon I ran down to Tractor Supply to pick up some bird seed for my father-in-law and some paint brushes for me. As I waited in line, a young man went by pushing a cart with his young son in the cart nibbling candy. I spoke with the young man whose clothes, hands, and… Read more »

James Bond movies are high-energy and the hero, based on the books written by Ian Fleming a former British intelligence officer, saves the day (and often the world). So, by now you must assume my share this week is about James Bond or Ian Fleming. Nah. It’s about PVB’s own – Ian Cantrell. For those… Read more »

Starting in the 1940s up into the early 1970s hundreds of thousands of Appalachians moved north. The coal business went from a manual business (digging by hand) to a mechanical process (machines dug the coal). The mechanization, along with some other economic factors, left folks unemployed and looking for jobs. They moved north to work… Read more »

All of us have lots of Fourth of July memories – fireworks, ice cream, watermelon, Tibetan Buddhist Nuns dancing to Tex-Mex music…   Well, maybe the latter is not one of your 4th memories, however it is one of mine.   The year was 2000 and the BCMA (Birthplace of Country Music Alliance) had been… Read more »

Sunday, we went to a birthday party for a two-year-old at a play facility. It had been a while since I had been around so many kids of a younger age. There were around twenty or so kids aged 18 months to 8 years old. At first glance there just seemed to be a lot… Read more »