Oh no, don’t let the rain come down…

(Ah, ah) Oh, no, don’t let the rain come down
(Ah, ah) Oh, no, don’t let the rain come down
(Ah, ah) Oh, no, don’t let the rain come down
My driveway’s got a gully in it (my driveway’s got a gully in it)
My driveway’s got a gully in it and I might drown

–With apologies to the Serendipity Singers

July 30, 2009Comments OffRead More

‘So, how’s your driveway?’

Don’t ask. You don’t want to see a grown man cry.

July 30, 20091 CommentRead More

Disagreeing without being disagreeable

A little while back, a long-time friend, upset over an article I wrote about marijuana, threatened to expose some skeletons in my closet if I didn’t back off on my belief that the drug should remain illegal.

"You better clean up your own house," he said.

Long-time readers of this site know of my past battles with alcoholism. I often write about my struggles with the beast. That, and the fact that I lost a loved one in an accident caused by a driver under the influence of grass, lead to my opposition to the legalization of marijuana and other drugs.

But my position is an opinion: Nothing more, nothing less. It is my belief based on my own personal experiences. People can — and should — agree or disagree. That’s their right.

Yet my friend’s reaction — and threat — surprised me but it wasn’t the only strong one over the article. Some readers threatened boycotts. Other friends cut off communication. Another withdrew an invite to a social function, saying my presence there would make his other guests uncomfortable.

I’m no stranger to controversy. I’ve been stirring emotions with readers for more than 40 years. But lately, I’ve seen disagreement replaced by anger, debate supplanted by hate and discussion pushed aside by threats of retaliation or violence.

It’s not just the atmosphere here in Floyd County. Bitter partisanship divides our governments, road rage is commonplace on our nation’s roads and debates on TV turn into shoutfests.  Emotions run too high and tempers too hot. At Floyd County town council meetings, regular attendees talk about heated arguments between Mayor Rob Shelor and councilman Mike Patton and say their debates have come close to fist fights. A fight broke out recently at an event at Pine Tavern.

We’ve become a contentious society where diatribes become the dialog of debate. It’s not enough to say you disagree with someone’s position. You have to make it personal by calling them names or issuing threats.

I’m not sure where the answer lies, or if one even exists. Perhaps civility has no place in today’s society. Perhaps an extended middle finger or a shouted expletive suffices as communication now.

Maybe we’ve lost the ability to disagree without being disagreeable.

July 29, 20097 CommentsRead More

I’m riding in the rain, just riding in the rain

Tempted fate Monday by choosing to ride my motorcycle into Roanoke for a meeting that began at 6:30 p.m.  The National Weather Service said thunderstorms would hit Floyd County around 9 p.m.

The meeting should be over by 8, I figured, giving me just enough time to get home before the heavens opened up.

Wrong.

At 8:30 p.m., I was about a mile north of Copper Hill when the deluge came. With visibility down to nothing and both me and the bike soaked, I eased into J & J Market’s lot, parked under the awning that protects the gas pumps and sought shelter under the roof of the front porch of the store.

Called Amy. She said it was raining at home so I decided to wait out the storm, dry out and change into rain gear for the final leg home.

Over the next 45 minutes, the rain ebbed and flowed but didn’t stop. I could only imagine our driveway washing down the slope once again under the force of all this water.

The rain continued. At 9:30 I climbed back aboard the Harley and headed south on U.S. 221 in the wet, thankful that I had replaced a worn front tire last week. The rain continued to pelt down for the final 9 miles to Poor Farm Road but began to let up as I turned and headed for Sandy Flats.  By the time I got to Greenbriar Lane, the rain stopped and the road was, for the most part, dry.  So was the driveway.

Amy said the storm dumped several inches of rain in our back yard and the woods at the rear of our property but very little on the front yard or the driveway.

When it comes to rain, this has been a strange year.

July 28, 2009Comments OffRead More

Remembering WROV’s glory days

Each year, those who worked at some point for WROV AM radio in Roanoke when it was a rock powerhouse gather at a home in Cave Spring for a reunion.

Since I served as the on-air discussion moderator in 1968 and 69 for a forum of teenagers on the old Teen Talk show hosted by the late Fred Frelantz, I was invited to this year’s reunion and got the chance to meet Pat Garrett, who maintains the WROV History web site and serves as one of the keepers of the flame that was once WROV AM at 1240 on the dial. Pat, it turns out, is a long-time reader and fan of Capitol Hill Blue, my political news web site.

The reunion this past Saturday gave me a chance to visit with some old friends and remember Fred and others from the swinging 60s.

In these days of satellite radio and consultant-managed, chain-owned radio stations, sitting and talking with some of the old hands from the glory days of WROV was a special time. I worked in Roanoke from 1965-69 as a reporter for The Roanoke Times and wrote a column about issues affecting high schoolers, college students and younger adults. Frelantz was a neighbor in the old Jefferson Apartments near Elmwood Park and he asked me to join the show as the program’s guest moderator.

Floyd County has more than one connection to WROV. Pat Garrett has family here. Marty Hall, an FCHS alum, worked at the station as a DJ in the 60s.  Martha Weeks, another FCHS grad and Miss Floyd County in 1968, is married to Charlie Boswell, a WROV alum from the 70s.

Marty died a few years ago. Fred died from smoke inhalation from a fire in his apartment in 1986. I ran into Martha at the reunion and we talked about the old days in both Floyd and Roanoke.

Remembering the past. That’s one of the reasons we go to reunions. The other is to see old friends.

July 27, 20091 CommentRead More

FloydFest 8: Revival

FloydFest 8 opens its four-day run today just off the Blue Ridge Parkway and just inside the Patrick County line. The long list of performers include perennial favorites like Donna the Buffalo (above) and Railroad Earth along with a familiar mix of music, arts, crafts and events.

With luck, we won’t see a repeat of the disaster of 2007 when the Blue Ridge Parkway unleashed its Gestapo-like Criminal Interdiction Team (CIT) on visitors and turned their trip to the festival into a nightmare. With luck, we won’t see signs like the one below that signaled a traffic stop where rights were ignored. The Parkway disbanded the CIT after the 2007 debacle and Virginia State Police will handle much of the traffic enforcement.

FloydFest continues to evolve into a more of a family event and less of a Woodstock light. It’s not cheap. Tickets at the gate are $140 each for the four-day event while single-day admission ranges from $40 to $60. Advance tickets were cheaper but the cost has gone up over the past eight years. Local arts and crafts vendors hope for a successful four-days in a struggling economy while area restaurants, hotels and businesses gear up for spillover from the event.

Weather forecasts call for rain today and tonight, clearing on Friday and a possibility of rain on Saturday and Sunday so Friday may be the best day to visit the festival with decent weather.

I have other commitments this weekend and will miss this year’s FloydFest but Don Johnson will provide coverage for The Floyd Press.

Have fun. Stay dry.

July 23, 2009Comments OffRead More