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Back to school memories
Summer vacation breaks were much longer in years past. It is surprising how soon many school districts return to school in this day and age. Many of them go back the first week of August—most a few days after that. I know I am giving away my “baby boomer” age. But we did not go…
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Term limits needed for Congress
I have felt for years that the United States needs term limits for the U.S. Senate and congressional seats. I will go a step further and say we need them for local and state offices like state senators and delegates. Career politicians eventually get complacent, and I feel they are more concerned about getting reelected…
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My favorite football movies
With gridiron season nearly upon us, I thought about all the football movies made over the years. If you do the research, there are a lot more than you think, going all the way back to the 1920s. There are several great older black-and-white movies, like “Horse Feathers” with the Marx Brothers, “Knute Rockne-All American”…
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Cleaning out the notebook
It is sometimes difficult to come up with a topic for a weekly column. So there are notes I keep on various subjects that are not necessarily long enough for a column. But if I combine them, it can provide some interesting tidbits that readers may find informative or even useful. So here we go…
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It is an Appalachian food thing
Growing up in this region of Appalachia, you likely ate certain foods you might not find elsewhere in the country. Appalachian cuisine is a style of food from the central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States. For example, most of us grew up eating soup (pinto) beans and cornbread.…
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Inconsistent English language
Did you ever wonder why the word pneumonia starts with a “p.” I mean the first letter is silent and really does not belong. My dad Sam Lovern always laughed at the spelling of this word and said it should be pronounced “pugh-moan-yuh.” Thus we have the age-old question of the inconsistent English language that…
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How do you like your hot dog?
I hope you and your family had a blessed Fourth of July holiday weekend. I am sure there were a lot of barbecues – or, as we say in this region, “cookouts.” No doubt there was a lot of hot dog consumption across the United States. While lying in bed recuperating from my recent knee surgery,…
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Celebrating America’s 250th birthday, hoping patriotism is strong again
The United States of America will soon celebrate its 250th anniversary as a nation. Of course, that will be July 4, 2026. But many of us “baby boomers” can recall the Bicentennial and the celebration of America’s 200th birthday! The 1976 Bicentennial celebrated the 200th anniversary of the United States’ Declaration of Independence with nationwide…
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Debate over data centers
There is a huge debate and divide over proposed data centers. I have read numerous articles and watched television news reports about these facilities. It seems that wherever they are proposed or being built, there are both positive and negative sides to the story. If you are like me, you are not very knowledgeable about…
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A handsome dreamer, but a bit of a rascal
BY VICKI LOVERN My parents divorced when I was 5, so I barely remember my dad living with us. One of my earliest memories is being in my crib while my mom hid a birthday gift for my dad in a dresser drawer. “Now don’t tell Daddy,” she firmly told me. I also remember that…
