July 4, 2026
Opinion
Letters from Dogwood – No Techie am I
The other day I ran across a Facebook meme which featured an old fellow complaining about today’s frequent use of texting terms and abbreviations. Someone had sent him the message “GM,” and he was not about to be stumped by that. He replied, “General Motors to you, also!”
On & Off Earth – Exasperated with the extremes
The use of superlatives in our world has reduced their original impact to the mundane; neither a pizza nor a sandwich will ever be: ‘epic’. Very little that happens on a daily basis is ‘unbelievable’ any more. One word that does seem to be holding up, either as an adjective or a noun, is the word, extreme.
Thoughts from the Crossroads – “Give me liberty or give me death!”
In honor of the rapidly approaching Independence Day holiday, today’s column is about the speaker of that famous quote - Founding Father Patrick Henry. We are all familiar with his famous line, delivered to the second Virginia Convention in 1775, but how much do you know about the man otherwise? I must admit until very recently my knowledge was woefully pitiful. But I’ve learned a bit, so here goes.
Blessed Assurance – Becoming
am in a season where many beginnings are happening.
Data center dreams, rural nightmare
Our society is a stew, so scum rises to the top Lust for power and easy money will not stop They tried to hide Mega-site, got caught Huge protests, voted NO, lied, it got bought Then, so greedy, cut trees for solar plantations Shocked when rain lead to erosion frustrations Still our board & Wade plotted, drooled: MORE!
Thoughts from the Crossroads – Fort Bragg
Dear Readers, when I left you last week, Rick and I were departing our hotel in San Francisco and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge to head north. We drove the coastal highway all the way up to Fort Bragg, enjoying the scenic ocean views.
Blessed Assurance – Underestimation
Ihave recently been involved in some car care issues and have had to have “estimates” performed for the work that needed to be accomplished. This is often a harrowing process on a car with 200,000+ miles on it. The estimates for one piece of the work led to estimates for the next broken or worn-out part.
Blessed Assurance – Engaged
It is wedding season once again. In fact, according to one source, 76% of all weddings in the U.S. take place between May and October every year. I am currently engaged to officiate four weddings over the next year, and they all fall in that time frame. People are once again getting engaged and married after a hiatus during and for a couple of years after COVID. It is good to see that people are finding love and are being led to commit to another person – it’s good for them and it’s good for society.
Thoughts from the Crossroads – San Francisco
Dear Readers, Rick and I visited California recently, and really enjoyed our time there.
Roadside History – Three Notch’d Road
Once upon a time there was an old Colonial road in Virginia called Three Notch’d Road; sometimes Three Chopt Road. Its route followed an 18th century trail between Richmond and the Shenandoah Valley, most likely replacing an earlier pathway used by Native Americans. The road became a mainstay for east-west settlement patterns in Central Virginia from approximately 1730 onward. By the time of the Revolution its use as a major travel route was a well-established Colonial asset as the war came to a close. Later years saw its roadbeds improved, paved, straightened and shaped for U.S. Route 250 today. Regardless, the name and trace of the old colonial road have survived west of Richmond and on U.S. Geological Survey maps. Interstate-64 mostly followed the same path except for a diversion crossing the Blue Ridge at Rockfish Gap instead of Jarman Gap. Nevertheless, the route of the Three Notch’d Road remains virtually intact and in service from Henrico County through Central Virginia and Charlottesville to Augusta County west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.