Columns & Opinion
Ham-Handed Politics With Va.’s Excellent Universities Risks Ruin For Them All
Virginia loves to believe in its exceptionalism, and there is no shortage of areas where it is justified. None shines brighter than its system of public colleges and universities. Why, then, have the executive branches of the state and federal government gone after these prestigious institutions of higher learning in an ideological purge with all the grace and discernment of […]
Christmas Trees
Christmas trees are like a distant cousin. They come to your house, surround themselves with presents, and stay a month. Then they begin to shed, and need somebody to drive them off. People often do strange things with cut trees. One of my neighbors pulled out a chain saw and widened his front door three feet. That allowed him to […]
The Bookworm Review: The Dogs Of Venice
“The Dogs of Venice” by Steven Crowley c.2025, G.P. Putnam & Sons $20.00 65 pages One person. Two, twelve, twenty, you can still feel alone in a crowded room if it’s a place you don’t want to be. People say, though, that that’s no way to do the holidays; you’re supposed to Make Merry, even when your heart’s not in […]
Are Search Engines Destroying The Magic Of Christmas?
The World Book Encyclopedia was the first challenge to my faith in Santa Claus. Its matter-of-fact description of Saint Nick as “mythical” had my father performing mental gymnastics. Luckily, given the encyclopedia’s notoriety for being outdated as soon as it came off the printing press, Dad had options. The years have dulled the details of my memories, but his response […]
TAPPAHANNOCK AREA DEVOTIONAL PAGE
The B-I-B-L-EI recently began a sermon, at Smyrna Christian Church in Bruington where I pastor, by quoting this children’s song, “The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me, I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-I-B-L-E.” Judging from the looks on the faces of the congregation, they must have wondered if I mistook them for the preschool class. Maybe […]
Breaking Down The Difference Between A Cold And Influenza
To Your Good Health By Dr. Keith RoachDEAR DR. ROACH: What is the difference between a cold and the flu? — A.T.R. ANSWER: Both colds and influenza (the “flu”) are respiratory illnesses that are caused by viruses. Influenza is caused specifically by the influenza viruses, which come in two main types (A and B). Influenza A is further broken down into different subtypes based on hemagglutinin (H) […]
