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Columns

The Speed Limits Of Our Lives

The other day I found myself driving south from Ohio County to Marshall County where I would visit a longtime newsroom friend. More on that in a minute. First let me tell you that driving in the Ohio Valley can be a challenge on the best day. It’s not the summer road construction season or ...

Where Did 50 Years Go?

Fifty years ago, in the summer of 1973, I donned a graduation cap and gown and joined my fellow Wheeling Central High classmates as we gathered at Oglebay Park’s outdoor amphitheater. Walking down those steep steps in platform sandals was just one of the challenges that we would face in years ...

Not Yet

Okay, so July Fourth has come and gone. The fireworks have been put away until Labor Day. But don’t pack up those picnic baskets and lawn chairs just yet. Despite what my dad used to say that summer was over as the July Fourth barbecue cooled off, the season has hardly begun. Yes, I know ...

Not Music To My Ears

I’m no prude. I have heard foul language since I was old enough to know what a cuss word was. Only these days, cuss words are the least of our social ills. Case in point: We were stopped at a local gas station the other day when a young man pulled up behind us at the pumps. We heard his ...

Taking Flight

The wait was not over. As we lifted the lid to the top of our propane tank, we encountered the little nest built there by a returning mother bird. Inside the nest were four, maybe five, tufts of feathered siblings resting snugly together. The mother bird was off fetching nourishment for her ...

Dads Are Important Every Day

I can still hear the rumble of the trains that would occupy the ping pong table every holiday season. You could smell the artificial smoke from the old trains our dad placed on that table in the basement. And of course, he smiled broadly when he pulled the switch to activate a whistle as the ...