“We seem to have a problem in the kitchen,” Amy said. “There’s a bulge under the linoleum.”

Uh-oh.

I stepped on the section of flooring and felt it give. Grabbed a flashlight and headed for the crawlspace under the house. As soon as opened the door that led from the garage I heard water dripping on the plastic that covers the dirt floor the crawlspace.

Uh-oh, uh-oh.

We ready ourselves for the remnants of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated parts of the Gulf Coast but should bring little more than some heavy rain to Southwestern Virginia this afternoon.

Stopped off for some groceries at Food Lion in Floyd late Sunday night.

Ohmigod! Did he say Food Lion? Quick, somebody call the political corrrectness police!

You see, in Floyd, is is not politically correct to shop at Food Lion. It’s one of those dreaded “chain” stores. Same goes for munching on a pork chop bisquit at Hardees for breakfast. God forbid that we stop to pick up something necessary at the new Dollar General when it opens.

Arthur Connor (above right) of Copper Hill has been making fiddles for as long as anyone can remember. The legendary fiddlemaker turned 81 last week and Floyd bluesman Scott Perry threw a party for Connor at his Pickin’ Porch shop on Willis Street. While Perry cooked hot dogs, area musicians jammed and the sounds of music filled the dirt-lined street in front of the Pickin’ Porch.

"I see the camera you’re using is a Canon," Connor said as I took his picture. "Did you know that Paganini had a violin called a Canon?" I didn’t know that and one doesn’t often expect to hear historical lore about an classical composer from a fiddle-maker but Connor’s knowledge of all things music is vast and listening to him tell his stories is like a college-course in musical history. Connor’s detailed hand-made fiddles often feature elaborate carving like this Ram’s Head (right) but the decoration is just an addition to the sweet sound of his instruments.

Other long-time musicians and instrument makers like Stanley Lorton joined Connor to celebrate a life dedicated not only to making music but also to making the instruments that let others make music.

For a while, it looked like Floyd County High School might upset the heavily-favored Carrroll County Cavaliers Friday night. The Buffaloes led twice but fell behind early in the third quarter and never caught up. Carroll County won 31-22. Still, the team looked better against Carroll than they did in a pre-season scrimmage against Hidden Valley last week.