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Columnists

BOB BROWN: Lost and Found

All of us encounter loss. The meaning we attribute to loss influences our response to it. Our losses accumulate. They range from minor to unimaginable. Last week, two sets of...

FRED FIRST: Where You’re From

In the very early years of writing, I was exposed to a poem called “Where...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: I No Longer Watch Baltimore Orioles’ Baseball Games

I no longer watch Baltimore Orioles’ baseball games. I now only watch innings, and if I...

ANDY PITZER: “Look Mom! No iPhone!”

A very interesting visually recorded interview showed up on my feed the other night. In...

FRED FIRST: There And Back Again

RECAP: I would be able to visit southwest Virginia again–home for almost 40 years, and...

In Praise Of Peonies

Few cut flowers surpass peonies for sheer beauty, and in some varieties, scent. Their voluminous blossoms packed with silken petals make exquisite arrangements. In...

A Saga of Valor: Overstreet Over There

The 17-year old graduate of Clifton Forge High School, class of 1938 landed a job in Charleston, WV. The position dealt with the cost...

Grief, You Lied To Me

My dear friend, Jacquie, shared this provocative expression with me when we reunited last week. It leapt off the page of her journal, written in...

More Physicians? Not the Answer

I recently attended a reception for those who have served as interviewers for prospective students at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.  When...

Promises Made, Promises Broken, Rule Of Law, Just A Token

In his 2008-2009 campaign to capture the Presidency, Obama’s mantra was ‘hope and change.’ Promises were made such as transparency of government and the...

Of A Mind, Not Stentorian

 I'm not sure that anyone has used that word since Stephen Crane used it to describe artillery in The Red Badge of Courage. It...