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Fred First

FRED FIRST: And the Memories Live On: Super-agers

Their brains age more slowly than normal-agersNot a day passes that I don't remember my mother, but especially this time of year. The end of May two years ago...

FRED FIRST: To The End of The End of The Book

The uncertainty and never-ending unknowing may soon end. For the past year, there has been...

FRED FIRST: My Wee Musical Man-Cave

Digital Tones and Frets and Reeds: Oh My!A month ago this small room behind me...

FRED FIRST: Still is Still Moving . . .

We just don't quite know when the VAN will be at the door THE RECAPThe storyline...

FRED FIRST: Turning Points of Note From a Season of Change

First night: Middle of April: The sliding doors are open with nothing but the screens to...

Garden Debriefing: Some Wins, Some Losses, and Lessons Learned

Last night’s hard freeze in mid-October abruptly ended our hope that we might watch our visiting grand-daughters pick the last of this summer’s green...

Think Globally, Celebrate Locally: Floyd’s Sustainability Festival

The first community project for the new southwest Virginia grassroots organization, SustainFloyd, was to organize a local action towards Bill McKibben’s global efforts to...

Handing Off the Future: What Will We Leave Behind?

I lift two heavy buckets of green beans fresh from the garden up onto the kitchen sink. The knees of my old worn khakis are...

Small Gestures Carry Big Message

It was only after we moved from the big city of Birmingham to the small town of Wytheville in the mid 70s that I...

A Perfect Memory? I’d Probably Just Say No

Lately I’ve been thinking about memory--not because I have new concerns about forgetting to put on my pants or pick up the milk in...

Sustaining the Power of Language for Change

New words or phrases we hear clearly. They gain our attention, rising in the radar of common language and conversation. Again and again on...