HAPPY TO BE HERE
Happy to be Here: Time for Some Spring Cleaning
Punxsutawney Phil, arguably the world’s most famous groundhog, emerged from his burrow last month and predicted an early spring. He appears to be correct. Spring’s ...
Punxsutawney Phil, arguably the world’s most famous groundhog, emerged from his burrow last month and predicted an early spring. He appears to be correct. Spring’s ...
For those who have wondered: Yes, I am still working my way through the dictionary. I started reading Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition at the ...
We experienced our shortest day and longest night on the winter solstice, Dec. 21. In Farmville, sunrise that day was 7:22 a.m. and sunset 5 ...
According to many different calendars, we’re deep into the season of holidays. Depending on your outlook, the festivities may have started with Halloween or with ...
As a young adult, I wasn’t making enough money for ends to meet, but occasionally those ends got close enough to shout to one another. ...
Welcome to the time of year when we delight in the mysteries that occupy the boundary of what we know and what we fear. Ghosts ...
Some people enjoy watching for celebrities, and Farmville has seen a fair number throughout its history. Generals. Civil rights icons. National political leaders. World-class performers ...
Some novels include tales of family members or lovers who will soon be separated. While they are apart, they promise to remember each other when ...
Summer provides an excellent opportunity to hit the road and visit favorite people and places. Some trips span days or weeks, others take just a ...
A few weeks ago, I drove past a home where a father, maybe a grandfather, was teaching a child to ride a bike. The youngster pedaled ...
In 1955, Pete Seeger wrote a song asking “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” Additional verses were later added by Joe Hickerson, and the song ...
When I think of the wind, I usually picture gentle breezes. I hear it whisper secrets about the places it has been. I watch it ...
I hadn’t been to the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA) since before COVID became a household word. Some neighbors suggested it was time for ...
Many people enjoy winter. Some look forward to skiing. They arrange vacations and plan travel to seek out snow. My daughter is a snowboarder. She ...
Some of you have been asking about my progress reading Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. My original, overly optimistic plan entailed reading it, all 1,459 ...
As the song says, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Nature sets the stage with starlight and moonlight. Human hands decorate it with ...
A friend recently asked me about buying an inexpensive, fun telescope suitable for taking a first step into the hobby of backyard astronomy. It’s a ...
Last August, author Salman Rushdie was attacked and seriously injured while onstage for a panel discussion at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. Chautauqua ...
Here in Virginia, the opening years of the seventeenth century are probably best remembered for the arrival of the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery. The ...
Maybe you’ve seen amusing bear videos on the internet. There’s a cute one with a cub climbing onto a swing. Another shows a bear running ...
Among Christians, the prayer commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father is well known. I memorized its words when I was a ...
A few weeks ago, I received a disturbing voice mail message. The recorded announcement claimed that permission to place a call via my phone was ...
I remember when the earth seemed unimaginably large. It’s still easy to feel that way. If I spread a blanket on the grass and look ...
I’ve been watching the world wake up. As the year turns from its winter slumber, it reminds me of waking to embrace a new day. ...
Many months ago, on page 42 of my reading ramble through Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, I encountered the word amphibology. In it, I discovered ...
A year ago, when 2021 was brand new, I set myself a challenge. I planned to read through the dictionary in a year. An inspiration ...
A couple weeks ago, I stepped out of my house on a warm, Indian summer day. A ladybug landed on my glasses. I waved a ...