The lady at Blue Ridge Restaurant this week wanted to know why I write what I do.

"Why must you be so critical?  There are so many nice things to write about here in Floyd," she said.

Yes, many parts of Floyd deserve mention and attention and I try to talk about those things as much as possible: the music, the culture, the people, the heritage and more.

But I'm a journalist who subscribes to legendary Chicago reporter Finley Peter Dunne's adage that "it is the role of a newspaperman to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."

I can't help it. It's in my genes. Always has been. Always will be.