It Is Time To Leave the Rice Family Alone

Bullshit sensationalism like this must stop.

Sympathy for former pro football player (and it looks like "former" may be permanent) Ray Rice is difficult to come by these days, as it likely should be.

But this Instagram quotation from his wife Janay, the young woman who was beaten badly in a casino elevator in front of a camera, keeps coming back to haunt me: "To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing. To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass off for all his life just to gain ratings is a horrific [sic]. THIS IS OUR LIFE! What don’t you all get. If your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you’ve succeeded on so many levels. Just know we will continue to grow & show the world what real love is!”

The chattering class will not let this go as long as its talk radio and TV shows can squeeze another viewer from it, as long as 24/7 online magazines and newspapers can bring in another hit. The've examined the national impact, the local effects, the personal dilemma to the nth degree and almost nobody disagrees that this was a bad thing, something that must change in our society.

But it's time to let this family--husband, wife, small child--heal. It's time to leave them alone.

The greater issue of domestic violence has been her since long, long before Ray Rice and it has been an NFL issue since I can remember. This isn't the first and, unfortunately, it won't be the last. And, far more important, this is not an NFL issue; it is an American issue, a world issue.

Could be that even our right-wing, knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing legislators--state and federal--will get at least some of the issue and maybe even the Republican women in the Senate will become sympathetic to this huge problem. Maybe the Rice case will have been valuable.

But it's time to leave the Rices alone and let them get their lives back.

Gratitude: Fried Green Tomatoes

Today I am grateful for:

Fried green tomatoes. This traditional Southern delicacy, born of abundance, is a marvelous alternative when the tomatoes start coming in fresh from the garden, as they have been at my Edinburgh Drive palace since June. This has been an extraordinarily bountiful year for my nine heirloom plants, which seem to have been fed steroids by somebody (not me, I promise. I don't use anything on them but occasional encouragement).

These tomatoes, which I cooked for dinner last night, were almost an afterthought. I accidentally picked a couple of greenies while harvesting my latest round of roast tomatoes for freezing yesterday morning. When my pal Sonya came over for dinner in the evening, she saw the green tomatoes on the kitchen window sill and said, "Oh, good, fried green tomatoes," and I thought, "Well, yeh, why not?"

They were tender, tart and quite lovely.

Recipe's simple:

Cup of yellow corn meal
Two eggs
1/4 cup of oil
Two green tomatoes
Salt and pepper

Combine the corn meal and eggs, salt and pepper. Cover the tomatoes in the mixture. Place in the hot oil until brown on each side. Serve. Easy. Takes little time. And it's good.

(Photo: Sonya Chappelear)

Gratitude: Butternut Squash Soup

Today I am grateful for:

Soup season. It's upon us, in spite of the date. The cool early fall has led me today to the first hot soup of the season: butternut squash soup.

OK, so this won't really be at peak until about Oct. 15 when the staymen apples come in fully, but I'm substituting Granny Smiths for their tartness and settling for second best. When the staymens are ready the soup will make you cry with joy.

Here's the recipe:

2 butternut squash
4 tart apples
1/4 cup of onions
3 tablespoons olive oil (the good stuff, Spanish is best if you can get it)
3 tablespoons of butter
Quart of chicken stock
Cup of heavy cream (or a block of cream cheese if you're adventurous)
Package of pumpkin seeds
Nutmeg

Halve the squash and take out the seeds. Core the apples. Bake at 350 degrees until soft (about a hour for the squash, 1/2 hour for the apples)

Carmalize the onions in the olive oil (about half an hour on medium/low heat). Put the cooked squash and apples in a blender with the onions and create a creamy mixture. Pour into the hot chicken stock and blend well. Pour in the cream or cream cheese and heat for about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle a little nutmeg and a few pumpkin seeds on top and serve. Listen for Mmmmmmmms.

(Photo: chow.com)

Gratitude: Having Something To Share

Today I am grateful for:

Having something to give the occasional friend in trouble. It could be physical, emotional, intellectual. Fact is, though, that I have enough materially, feel strong emotionally and have been around long enough to know a few things others might be able to use. It's all a real blessing and sharing it, giving it away is the very best part of having it in the first place.

Kendig Award for the Arts Nominees Selected

Jack Avis and Ginger Poole Avis.

Keith Ferrell

Twelve artists and arts advocates are among the nominees for the 2014 Perry F. Kendig Arts and Culture Awards scheduled to be presented Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 5:30 p.m. at Hollins President Nancy Gray's home. The awards are sponsored by Hollins and Roanoke College and they recognize exemplary individuals, businesses, and organizations in the Roanoke Valley that support excellence in the arts. 

(Full disclosure here: I've won two of them, one while with the Business Journal for support of the arts, the second a few years later for "literary achievement".)

 Here are the nominees for the 2014 Kendig Awards (one award will be presented in each category):

Individual Artist

Keith Ferrell – Former editor of Omni magazine and author of nearly 20 books, including the New York Times bestseller History Decoded, he is known locally for his work with the Roanoke Regional Writers Conference.

Charlene Graves – A native Roanoke artist, art teacher, and arts administrator who has become a key leader and volunteer in the Roanoke arts community. She currently works with the Parks and Arts program and has served on the Roanoke Arts Commission.

Joseph Mackereth – He has produced graphic design and illustration work for local non-profit organizations such as Opera Roanoke, the Science Museum of Western Virginia, Mill Mountain Theatre, and Center in the Square, as well as for The Roanoker and Blue Ridge Country magazines.

Page Turner – An assemblage/sculpture artist who grew up in the Roanoke Valley and is gaining regional and national recognition for her work, including her latest series, “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine,” representing women who have influenced her life. 

Bill White – A painter, educator, leader, and facilitator who has contributed to the arts in Roanoke for decades. He has earned acclaim for his artistic technique, his commitment to teaching, and his organization of exhibits at local museums. 

Individual or Business Arts Supporter

Jack Avis/Ginger Poole – Avis has used his business acumen as head of Avis Construction Company to support Mill Mountain Theatre. Poole, Avis’s wife, has served with distinction as MMT’s creative director. 

James W. Hyams – A contributor to the local arts community through service work, education, mentorships, and board memberships; loaning his personal collection to local and national galleries and museums; and curating and supporting local exhibits. 

Member One Federal Credit Union – Member One has continually supported arts and culture in the Roanoke Valley financially and through leadership, volunteer initiatives, and business practices. 

The Dr. Robert A. Keeley Healing Arts Program at Carilion Clinic – This program enables Carilion Clinic to collaborate with the local arts community to provide literary, performance, and visual art experiences for patients and their families.

Arts and/or Cultural Organization

Mill Mountain Theatre – Despite challenges during its almost 50 years of existence, MMT has succeeded through tenacity and perseverance. At the same time it has given back to the community through education and partnerships with other arts organizations. 

Roanoke Arts Commission – This all-volunteer body has worked to support and lead the development of arts and culture in Roanoke, developing the nationally recognized Park and Arts Program and overseeing funding for local arts and cultural organizations.

Roanoke Ballet Theatre – Serving a diverse population, presenting three large-scale performances each year, and actively promoting community outreach and education, the RBT encourages students of all ages to learn, grow, and perform dance.

Also highlighting this year’s ceremony will be the presentation of a new honor. The Harriett Stokes Memorial Award commemorates the life and work of the Salem artist who was called the “grande dame of art in the valley” by LinDor gallery owner Dorsey Taylor. Stokes, who passed away in May, was one of the originators of Art in the Alley and was an exhibitor at Roanoke’s Annual Sidewalk Art Show for more than 50 years. Last October, she received the Kendig Award in the Individual Artist category.

Named for the late Perry F. Kendig, who served as president of Roanoke College and was an avid supporter and patron of the arts, the Kendig Awards were established in 1985 and presented annually by the Arts Council of the Blue Ridge through 2012. 

For more information about the Kendig Awards, contact Brook Dickson at Hollins University, (540) 362-6287 or bdickson@hollins.edu.

Gratitude: The Courtesy of the Returned Call

Today I am grateful for:

People who return phone calls and e-mails, texts and shouts across the room. I love you and you know who you are. When you call me back--especially if I'm working on a project--you enable me to proceed and succeed and for that, I am in your debt.

Response. It is a beautiful thing.

Thank you. A lot.

Headless! PhotoShop Before PhotoShop

Oh, those wacky Victorians! Did we ever underestimate just how far they'd go for a laugh?!?

Photography was hardly new and not exactly a novelty in the Victorian world, so experimenting with effects was a game many photographers played. Double and triple exposures helped create one of the truly interesting and popular photographic oddities of the time: the misplaced head. (Story here.)

Victorians loved the dead, even their phony images.

There was also a little pre-PhotoShop PhotoShop that took a lot of time, effort and skill (here).

These special effects are not as slick and clean as today's, but the crudeness of the technology of the time make them all the more impressive. Not to mention pretty damn creepy.

If you look closely at some of the pictures, you can see the lengths the photographer went to in the darkroom to remove the head and place it in a spot where it would gather a few responses (like, "Oh, Shit!")

Can you imagine how difficult this one was to put together?

Rocky Mount's New Harvester Center Impressive

Crowd piles in for Asleep at the Wheel.

Took a drive under a full moon out to the four-month-old Harvester Performance Center in Rocky Mount tonight, where Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel are playing, and I have to 'fess up: I'm impressed.

This is a new music and general entertainment venue in the center of town that Town Council had built from an old warehouse, hired great people to operate and are seeing become a thumping heart of economic development in a town that has been impressive in that way for several years.

Exterior of the Harvester.

The Center held 450 for tonight's concert, but it can be configured in different ways and can hold up to about 550, according to Sheila Silverstein, the assistant GM who moved down here from her home in Baltimore because she was so impressed.

I ran into a number of people I know, including writing buds Roland Lazenby and Richard Lovegrove, as well as a guy I sponsored in AA years ago, who has since moved to New Mexico. Good to see old Mike.

The moon coming home was simply lovely, so I had to send out a moon hug to one who appreciates it most.

Take an evening and go to the Harvester Performance Center. You can find a schedule of events on the website (here) and my guess is you'll be impressed with the level of the entertainment. You'll like it. Guaranteed.

Disconnecting the TV Feed: A Statement?

This ad is from 2011, but it certainly still applies.

I've just killed my TV. After a fashion.

I discontinued DirecTV because its cost was increased from $61 to $82 a month, just like that. I watch a little college football and an occasional old movie on TV (no commercials outside the football, please) and that's not worth $82 a month to me. I can almost go to the football games for that.

The cable and satellite companies never let you go easily, so I was offered a confusing combination of discounts that actually resulted in a $2 per month increase, after initially sounding like a $30 discount. I have rarely seen such contortions with money, only to come out behind, yet again. 

I'm being fined $40 for shutting off the service two months earlier than the contract stipulated and have to ship the receiver back (they're paying the freight).

We're going to see how this household (me) does without a regular TV connection. No antennas, no cable, no satellite. Just me, the internet and some books, a few hobbies, some friends, streaming movies and old TV series (old, as in last year), plays, lectures, late afternoon walks and paddles and, well, you get the idea. TV so often is a mindless and thoughtless pursuit. Maybe I'll get smarter.

Wish me luck. This may be like breaking the hold of alcohol and cigarettes, both of which I dropped more than 20 years ago and both of which, like TV, were addicting. 

(Graphic: adbusters.org)

Gratitude: Work

Today, I am grateful for:

Fun stories. I'm working on two for the next week or so. I like getting these assignments, or having my ideas accepted. It's a great profession and the people I talk to are fascinating.

Today's Photo: Dew Drop Mushroom

The mushrooms just keep coming during the wetest late summer in my memory. I found this three-tiered beauty beside a rotting log on the Murray Run Greenway about noon today. Note the dew dorplets on the bottom of the 'shrooms. Really getting attached to these pretty little babies.

Gratitude: All of It Except ...

Today, I am grateful for:

All of it. The good, the bad, the ugly, the boring, the exciting, the sexy, the courageous, the honest, the backward, the genius, the religious, the secular, the optimistic, the grim, the defeated, the victorious. Even Republicans.

Hmmmmmmmm.

Maybe not the Republicans.

Today's Photos: Summer's End

With the kids back in school, the rope swing looks lonely.

Kudzu flowers are sweet as honeysuckle.

I took a brief walk along the Roanoke River today and came away with the impression that summer is nearly gone.

We're at the part of the season where the kudzo is in full bloom and smelling sweet, but the leaves are showing their first sign of fall, the river is clear and the air is hot and clean.

And, of course, the kids are otherwise occupied.

Kudzu was introduced into the U.S. at the 1888 Philadelphia Expo and has been a pain in the ass since.

This beautiful vine grows on the Greenway fence.

A Look at the Widened Memorial Bridge Sidewalk

Here's the new Memorial Bridge widening that accommodates those wishing to ride their bikes on the Roanoke River Greenway without having to cross a busy highway in order to get from Vic Thomas Park to the rest of the bikeway.

At the left is the path leading out of the park and above is the widened sidewalk. The inside part of the sidewalk is the extension and you'll note that it is substantial.

Riding World War II?

This World War II B-17 bomber has been buzzing around Roanoke this morning, riding in circles. I wonder if it's giving rides. Cool, if so.

McDonnells to Jail? Looks Likely

I didn't see this coming. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch this morning:

"Staying out of prison for the duration of their appeals process is far less likely, say lawyers familiar with the federal court system in Virginia.
 

“What it boils down to is, I think the presumption is going to be that they’re going to have to report” to prison, said Kelly Kramer, a white-collar defense attorney at Mayer Brown, based in Washington. “I think that they have an uphill battle in convincing” Spencer or the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that they should be released pending appeals.

“There’s not zero possibility, though,” he added.

I think most of us have been laboring under the impression that the former Virginia governor and first lady (Bob and Maureen McDonnell) would be paddled lightly, sent to their rooms for a bit and then let out to play again. Maybe Virginia is serious.

Cantos on City Market Finally Sold

My friend Rob Clark, who used to operate Cantos Booksellers in this building on Campbell Ave. in Roanoke (the one with the green awning), has finally sold the building after it sat empty for years.

"This has been bittersweet. This building was my remaining connection to downtown," he says. The new owner will put offices on the first floor and living space upstairs, says Rob.

When Rob and his wife, Jenny, ownedand operated Cantos, it was one of the best bookstores around, but it didn't provide enough of a living for a growing family (two kids). Rob was followed in the store by an awful woman who angered patrons at an alarming. She pissed me off thoroughly when I had a book signing there and a book signing is one of the real pleasures of being an author, under normal circumstances. There was even a web page established so people could officially complain about their treatment. It had a lot of contributors.

Rob studied to be a realtor and put the store on the market and there it has sat, smack in the middle of City Market, empty. I never could figure that because the location is prime and Rob is not a guy who would overcharge for anything.

Anyhow, the building will now be occupied and it sits next to my favorite dry cleaner. KC at the cleaner just took up (from the bottom) a wonderful cashmere sports jacket for me--one I got at Goodwill for $8; the repair was $25. KC's cool and will be a good neighbor.

(Rob Clark photo.)

Today's Photo, Too: Relaxing Canada Geese

This is part of a flock of 19 Canada geese I ran into today while walking along the Roanoke River. They were preening, eating, strutting and generally visiting. Nice to watch.

Today's Photo: Roast Love 'Maters

They keep telling me that a love 'mater is a love 'mater. So what's a roasted love 'mater?

It's good, that's what. These just came out of the oven (with a bunch that weren't so loveable) and they are so tasty they'll bring tears. Mmmmmmmm, 'maters.

Gratitude: A Record-Setting Day

Today, I am grateful for:

A record-setting blog day yesterday. The post on the Calendar Girls of Grandin Village set a single day record (and the 24-hour day still has 3.5 hours left it) for visits. That's No. 1 against more than 3,200 other posts since 2008.

This post is still a distant No. 1 overall, nearly double No. 2 and 10 times the draw--so far--of No. 3. It features a photo of an extremely skinny, naked woman and I think that's at least part of the appeal, though the liberal vs. conservative angle has its own devotees.

The Calendar Girls have soared to No. 3 in the history of the blog overall, behind the aforementioned liberal vs. conservative and this one about stupid guys liking big boobs (again, female body parts).

Fortunately, the Grandin Calendar post is a positive image for older women and I like that a lot. Maybe we're all growing up.

McDonnell Case: Who's Paying the Freight?

McDonnell (center) with expensive lawyers John Brownlee, Henry Asbill.

If you're interested in knowing who is paying for the 15 Bob McDonnell lawyers and the five who represented Maureen McDonnell, you can read all about it here.

Bottom line: They're paying in one way or another. That's for the defense.

The prosecution has cost the public--so far--$800,000. A hundred supporters of the McDonnells have forked over a quarter of a million dollars for their defense, which was carried out by top-tier D.C. law firms (one of the lawyers, of course, was John Brownlee the former federal attorney for the Western District of Virginia who prosecuted Richard Burrow and Cecil Knox in high-profile losing cases).

The McDonnell's bills are estimated to finish at somewhere between $1 million and $2 million. It is difficult to say yet, but they're paying up to $750 an hour for the various attorneys, according to an expert.

The federal government, which ran this case ultimately, doesn't release figures for its prosecutions, but The Pilot, in its story, said, "$795,000 was spent [by Virginia] last year to cover bills from two private law firms who supplied counsel to state employees involved in the case, including the governor."

 (Photo: The Pilot.)

Gratitude: Bold, Brassy, Naked Women

Today, I am grateful for:

Brassy women, like those in Grandin Village who are posing for the "nude" calendar, a fund-raiser for their business organization. (See the blog post here.)

My friend Charisse, a brand new young mother, was wondering what this all means. Well, it means a level of independence that is rare. These women, I think, are having some fun with our own sexual and body image inhibitions and they are being bold and courageous.

They are making a statement that older women (most of the 16 are in the 45-65 range) have lovely bodies that don't necessarily look like they did when they were 25. It is a different perspective and it is one to celebrate.

I celebrate them. They are my heroes today.

Not Celebrating the McDonnells' Conviction

McDonnell (center) and his ex-Roanoker lawyer John Brownlee*.

The conviction of former Gov. Bob McConnell and his wife Maureen on 20 of 33 charges against them comes as a mild surprise to me. McDonnell will face sentencing on on 11 of 13 counts and Maureen will have to answer to 9 of 13. McDonnell is the first former Virginia governor to be convicted of a felony.

Both of them cried as the verdicts were read, as you would expect. This has been a fall of Shakespearean proportion for a man who was talked about as a vice presidential candidate only recently.

Here's the breakdown on the jury's decision, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch (here):

• On Count One, both McDonnells were convicted of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.
• On counts two and three, both McDonnells were convicted of honest-services wire fraud.
• On count four, Bob McDonnell was convicted of honest-services wire fraud, but Maureen McDonnell was found not guilty.
• On count five, both McDonnells were convicted of conspiracy to obtain property under color of official right.
• On counts six through eight, both McDonnells were convicted of obtaining property under color of official right.
• On count nine, Bob McDonnell was convicted of obtaining property under color of official right, but Maureen McDonnell was found not guilty.
• On count 10, both McDonnells were convicted of obtaining property under color of official right.
• On count 11, Bob McDonnell was convicted of obtaining property under color of official right, but Maureen McDonnell was found not guilty.
• On count 12, Bob McDonnell was found not guilty of making a false statement on a financial document.
• On count 13 both McDonnells were found not guilty of making a false statement on a financial document.
• On count 14, Maureen McDonnell was found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding.

As much as I oppose what McDonnell stands for politically, I am not without sympathy that his fairytale world has become a living hell. I think both McDonnells were naive and totally unprepared for the meat grinder that is Richmond (and every other state capital, as well as D.C.).

McDonnell's political career--and perhaps his marriage--is over and my guess is that even Liberty University will not want to continue to employ him (if he doesn't go to jail) in its Helms School of Government, unless he comes up with a class that would be more suitable to a convicted felon. And, of course, Liberty seems friendly with felons these days (see previous blog post).

(See blog post about Brownlee here.)

(Photo: watchdog.org.)

Grateful for Gratitude

Today, I am grateful for the learned ability to be grateful.

Don't underestimate that simple response, because it is part and parcel of getting well for those whose lives have been controlled at one time or another by addiction. In addiction, there is no gratitude and no ability to feel it, express it, learn from it.

When getting well, learning how to be grateful often represents a turning point in becoming human for the first time since before the addiction began. Gratitude for the smallest, simplest and most ordinary of our experiences--expressed gratitude--helps create a real appreciation for everything, even the painful experiences, because they teach us.

I remember my old friend Mattie, who died sitting on a park bench, peaceful and content, suggesting gratitude as a topic at AA meetings. Mattie, who gave me my 5-year chip because "you finally deserve it," would often say, "I'm not asking for a litany of things you're grateful for. That's easy. I want to know why you're grateful, how you express it, what it does for you. It's about the concept of gratitude because that's what getting well is all about."

It is about learning and when we open ourselves to being grateful, we become full and educated in humanity.

Liberty Univ.: Lying Down with Dogs Again

Oliver North: Criminal.

You have to wonder what Liberty University is thinking when it features a couple of thoroughly discredited, corrupt and criminal former politicians in its convocation.

Academic freedom would allow for one alternate voice, but Liberty specializes in right-wing corruption in a way that would make other academic institutions cringe.

Most recently it featured former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, the very face of GOP corruption as the jury deliberates his fate, as a "distinguished professor" in government at the (Jesse) Helms School of Government. Jesse Helms?!? Is that right wing enough for you?

The newest additions are former Virginia senatorial candidate Oliver North and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. North, a convicted felon (Iran-Contra), was so poisonous that a sitting Republican Senator and a former Republican governor endorsed his opponent. Santorum, who was defeated in his run to hold on to his seat, is the sex-obsessed "king of earmarks."

Santorum was named one of the three most corrupt senators in Congress two straight years (that is a real accomplishment, considering his competition) and he is accused of taking $73,000 in unwarranted tuition reimbursements for his home-schooled kids and getting a deal from campaign contributors for a five-year, $500,000 mortgage. He also helped his friend Sen. John Ensign cover up his adultery scandal, which the Senate said broke the law.

Rick Santorum

In 1988, North was convicted of three (of 16) felony counts: accepting an illegal gratuity, aiding and
abetting in the obstruction of a congressional inquiry, and ordering the destruction of documents. But those were thrown out eventually on a technicality (with the ACLU's ironic help) that still doesn't make a lot of sense.

 There were also strong allegations by a Senate Kerry committee that North and his cohorts turned a blind eye to drug trafficing in Nicarauga when it suited their purpose of arming one side in a conflict. The corruption was complex, deep, thorough and very sophisticated. But it was corruption.

Both men have been commentators for Fox News, which may be as damning as any crime.

My thought here is that if Liberty is ever to achieve the broad support and respect it so desperately wants, this type of invitation needs to be in the past and not even a consideration in the future. There are plenty of conservatives out there who are clean, honest and who speak well. Try that on for a while. When you lie down with dogs ...

Photo: How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?

It was so hot out today that I went over to Valley View Mall at lunch to walk off some energy and ran into this little fellow at a pet shop there. I don't have much use for pet shops because most of them have a well-earned bad reputation, but who could resist this little guy? Not me.

Gratitude: My 200,000 Mile Truck

Today, I am grateful for:

My 1998, GMC pickup truck, which just passed 200,000 miles of service (actually 200,350 at this moment) with nary a whimper. It's been a good truck for lo' these 16 years and like so many people in my age group, it hasn't aged the way you'd have imagined. The old girl is still mighty pretty, I think.

She's basically my age, in truck years, and has had some of the same malfunctions, all due to age. Where my knee wore out, her AC went. While I'm having some trouble with cholesterol and blood pressure, her wheels wore down to the nub and had to be replaced. It's one thing after another, just like me, but she's entirely too valuable to replace and I wouldn't get much for what dealers say she's worth.

When I originally leased the truck--and opted to buy it three years later--my brother, Paul, who arranged the deal, said this, "You shouldn't have to ever do much to this truck but put gas in it and change the oil regularly. The engine's a little too small [4-cylinder] to be efficient, but it's a tough little truck and should serve you well." He was right.

In all the years I've driven her, she's only been dinged once: the truck that was moving me when Christina and I split ran into the tailgate and crumbled it at a traffic light. The little incident paid for the move.

I've driven pickup trucks since 1976 when I bought my bicentinnial Mother Truck, a mid-sized Chevy that served me well for a lot of years. I learned very quickly that one does not own a pickup truck; he simply looks after it until somebody wants to move something and then he gives it up for a day or two, very often being thrown into service as a physical mover, as well.

I learned with my GMC (who has never had a name) that an extend cab is a real blessing, especially if it has a jump seat and the proprietor of the pickup has a grandkid or two. The extend well holds all kinds of stuff and the little fold down seat holds Maddie.

Thanks, truck. I hope you have another 200,000 in you ... and I hope I do, too.

Remembering Joe Kennedy, the Very Human Columnist

Joe Kennedy

My former colleague Joe Kennedy died Monday at 66 and though the death is not unexpected--he'd been in ill health for years since suffering a stroke--his loss is felt.

Joe was the local daily's metro columnist--a position Dan Casey holds now--for 11 of the 36 years he was at The Times. (Casey wrote about Kennedy's recovery from his stroke here and here.)

"Columnist" was the job Joe always wanted. He was unceremoniously dumped from that position when cuts started coming fast and furiously some and I don't think he ever got over it. Joe was one of the first people offered "voluntary retirement" in September of 2007 when The Times was trying to strip to bare-bones in order to be sold.

At the time, the explanation from Publisher Debbie Meade was this: "Our business is profitable, just not as profitable as we had expected to be this year." All heart.

Joe was not the first veteran to be let go (and "voluntary retirement" in this case was a misnomer; you volunteered or you took a chance of losing your benefits) and he was far from the last. I don't  know that he was the most popular of those sent away, but his column was widely read and appreciated. He wrote about ordinary people--one of them himself--and he wrote with rare candor and sensitivity. When his wife, Sharon, killed herself in 1999, we suffered with him. He wrote of being a single father, of struggling and celebrating. He wrote of success and of failure. After The Times gig was up, his columns appeared in weekly newspaper The Roanoke Star-Sentinel. (Here  and here are columns for that publication.)

Joe was a quiet guy who smiled a lot, frowned silently when he disapproved and rarely made a fuss--though I felt the brunt of his anger at one point. Joe told me about this African-American-owned restaurant he at at frequently, one that served fried fish and "hot smokes." I visited, liked it and wrote a story. I thought he was going to kill me. "That was my goddamn story!" he fumed. He called me a sonofabitch and I don't think he ever got over it. I don't recall I ever wrote about anything he mentioned again.

Joe was a lifelong Orioles fan and a pretty good softball player. He occasionally became vocal about the Birds. When we worked together, the Orioles were good. (Two other friends, Kurt Navratil and Kurt Rheinheimer are also Orioles fans. Never quite got that, but I suspect the three knew each other.)

Joe was an obsessive of the first rank. I recall when he hurt his heel running for long distances (over and over, he hurt it). He tried different expensive shoes, different expensive doctors, different strides and finally had to give it up. So he took up biking. Like "century biking," 100 miles at a time. He was the very picture of physical health, trim and vigorous. I wondered about the obsessions, though.

His writing style when we were both feature writers at The Times always gave me a chuckle. Joe often came back to the office with story notes filling a big, yellow legal pad. He quietly sat at his desk--in a noisy features department--and typed everything he'd noted. All of it.

This was on a typewriter, not a computer, so he was transferring paper to paper. He set about re-arranging the notes and creating some order. Then he went at eliminating quotes and information, tightening and sorting more. Finally, he started writing what he called his "first draft." Joe's the only news guy I ever knew who wrote "drafts." Most of us just typed our stuff and turned it in. When he finally let go of the story, it was like he was giving away one of his kids. He didn't want to part with it.

But he did. Often enough to become a popular writer, one whose byline people anticipated. It is odd that his photo is almost absent from the Internet. I have no idea why.

Joe and I were never friends, but we respected each other. I went to a pig roast at his Craig County farm once and saw a Joe Kennedy I didn't know, one centered on family, healthy, happy and open. I think other people knew that man whether in person or through his writing. He is a guy many called "friend," even if they didn't know him face to face.

Here's what Joe wrote for the Star Sentinel in a column about writing his own obituary:

"The story would not be complete without my confessing that, like many, I thought everyone and everything would last forever, steadily evolving, growing more interesting every day.

"How, in our measly obituaries, can we elders impress on our young how quickly it all goes by, and how irretrievably everything changes?"

Gratitude: Organized Labor's Successes

Today, I am grateful for:

The American labor movement.

I note the excesses, the corruption of the 1970s, the ill-conceived "rights" and all the arguments the right uses to bust unions. The simple truth, however, is that the labor movement gave this nation the most successful and prolonged period of "normalcy" in our history. It gave us a big middle class that could actually afford cars, homes, education and the like.

Since Ronald Reagan did a major union bust, however, the movement has shrunk, along with the middle class, which is disappearing along with American prosperity.

When the middle class is small, everybody suffers and we're seeing that now. We could solve a lot of problems if we would organize labor and return it to the standing it had in the 1950s, when the country's economy was solid and its people had great hope for the future.

Happy Labor Day.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Oz

This photo was taken a few weeks ago when my little grandboy Oz, his father Evan and I had a joint birthday celebration during their visit to Roanoke. Oz has something of a pensive look here--unusual for a kid who makes the Energizer Bunny look lazy. Oz is 3, his dad's 40 and I'm 68. That's how the generations work, boys and girls.

Oz is back home in Cordoba, Spain, today, no doubt celebrating and having no idea at all what all the fun's about, but enjoying it just the same. He's a fun little kid and I get to visit him next month.