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 »

This time of year, spring sports are in or moving to playoffs. During my son Seth’s high school years, he played baseball at Patrick Henry (PH). I was the announcer for their games at the tournament hosted by PH every year (think a combination of Al Michaels and Robin Williams). PH’s primary rival was Chilhowie.… Read more »

Even if you are not a sports fan you are likely aware that the National Football League is holding its annual draft. Tuning in to the radio on the drive home Thursday, I heard a story of a football team general manager taking draft prospects to dinner. Working with the waiter, he would have the wrong… Read more »

In life, we often become a collector of things. Lots of things. Massive things like cars and houses. But what if you only had a shoe box to hold your most important and precious things? Ok – let’s say it is a boot box – to give you a little more room. What would you… Read more »

Let’s face it – People are creatures of habit. We will abide/tolerate many things out of habit. This includes tolerating poor service and unfriendly workers. I am there with you. For years, I have been going to an eye doctor and to put it mildly, I wasn’t getting the service I wanted and the nature… Read more »

Over the weekend I was looking online for a replacement hood and side panels for my 2000 Troybilt riding lawn mower. My wife had shared that it’s just not proper for me to be driving around the house for three hours with a lawnmower frame held together by bungee cords – so, either fix it… Read more »