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Loyalty to my favorite teams
I really started following sports when I was around 10 years old. That was in the late 1960s. The love for various teams began then and remains strong to this day. Let us just say many years later I am still loyal and follow those professional and college teams. I probably started cheering for the…
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Many West Virginians paid the price in the Vietnam War
West Virginians had a higher death rate per capita compared to other states during the Vietnam War. The Mountain State sent 36,578 troops to Vietnam, with 1,182 of them dying. This rate was higher than the national average, with West Virginia suffering the highest casualty rate in the nation. Kentucky had 1,024 soldiers killed in…
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Kids do not play outside anymore
Have you noticed you do not see kids playing outside these days as in years past? The courts, fields and yards are mostly vacant these days. I do not know about you, but when I was young and the weather permitted, we were always playing outside. Neighborhood kids would play basketball, whiffle ball or football,…
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Old sayings and their meanings
If you are like me, you probably grew up hearing a lot of old sayings that were more like proverbs. Their meanings made you think or were very logical when you thought about them. I thought I would whip out a few that I still use or have heard throughout the years. “The squeaky wheel…
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This and that, news and sports notes
Jury selection got underway last week in Mingo County for the second trial of a man accused of killing West Virginia state trooper Sgt. Cory Maynard in June 2023. Timothy Kennedy Jr., 32, of Matewan, appeared in court, where they began the process ahead of a new trial scheduled to begin May 4. Kennedy faces…
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Martin County deserves funds for clean water
Martin County Judge Executive Lon Lafferty and his staff deserve a huge congratulations for securing nearly $26 million in funding for water and sewer improvements in this rural eastern Kentucky county. For years, Martin County residents have suffered through terrible and outdated infrastructure – brown, murky water coming from faucets. And sometimes there is little…
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Missing scientists and general a real mystery
I am not always a believer in conspiracy theories, but where there is smoke there is usually fire. The first news most heard on this topic was about the February disappearance of retired Air Force Major General William Neil McCasland. This missing person case brought attention to earlier incidents involving specialists in aerospace, defense and…
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Memories of the Thomas Joyland Carnival
About this time in the spring, I start thinking of one of my best childhood memories. In April, the Thomas Joyland Carnival would make its way into Williamson for a week. These types of carnivals would travel around to small towns to set up for the entertainment of the locals. They were usually based in…
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Space launch brings back memories
NASA’s first crewed moon mission in more than 50 years is underway, bringing back memories of when I was a youngster growing up at Nolan. I can recall the early space programs in the 1960s. Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight…
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Remembering the COVID shutdown
It has been six years, but it sometimes feels like only a few weeks ago. The world stopped due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and everything came to a complete halt during the shutdown. It began in March 2020, when the COVID-19 virus began spreading throughout the United States and the world. You may not remember…
