When we moved to Beckley, WV, our neighbors on the corner were Buddy and Bertel Turner. An older couple, they took us under their wing. I remember Buddy having chickens and I was able to watch the chicks peck out of their eggshells under a heat lamp. I’ll never forget that. Bertel was often my babysitter when Mom and Dad went to Saturday night dances at the country club. I loved it when Bertel … [Read more...]
Sticker Shock in the Cereal Aisle
I don’t eat a lot of cereal, but I used to. Like many American kids, I wolfed down a bowl each morning while reading the puzzles and games on the back of the box and hoping for a great prize inside. Last week, I decided I needed to eat some healthy grains for a change and strolled down the cereal aisle. Holy Corn Flakes! Have you priced a box of cereal recently? A small box of Cap’n … [Read more...]
Signs of Our Times
Anna’s Pizza: Saying Goodbye
They opened in Charlottesville in 1974. We visited soon after and have been returning for nearly 50 years. But in a few weeks, Anna’s Pizza will shutter their shingles and say goodbye. “It was time,” said the two sisters who have baked tens of thousands of great pies. Maria Buzzetta, 65, and her sister Marta Grado, 69, will soon retire and a great Charlottesville institution will be no … [Read more...]
My Three Crows
I don’t know if they are the same crows that have been hanging out behind my house for years, or a new trio, but I have and have had three crows to visit my yard for a number of years. I like crows. They keep the hawks at bay, they harass grackles and eat their young, and they don’t seem to bother our plantings. I enjoy feeding them bits of cracked corn and especially stale bread ends. We save … [Read more...]
Oh, Deer!
It’s hard to drive 5 miles without seeing a crumpled up, dead deer along the side of the road. That’s because we are in peak season - the deer are in rut. Bucks are chasing does and they run across roads after the enticing females and worry about cars and trucks later. Some say to watch out for deer in the headlights, but I say just watch out. Recent studies say that Virginia is now the 11th … [Read more...]
Janice’s Chicken Lombardy
My long-time friend, Janice Kaltenbach (Aunt Remus), is one of the best cooks I’ve ever been around. Her fried chicken is second to none, nobody makes better potato salad, and her pralines are so yummy they should be illegal. When Janice shares a recipe or says something she made was good, I pay attention. So, when she told me that she had a delicious chicken recipe. I begged her for it and … [Read more...]
What’s A Saugeye?
A piece of sausage with a bad eye? Of course not. Sausages don’t have eyes. A saugeye is a fish, a member of the perch family and a Virginia state record saugeye was recently caught by Michael Miller from Nathalie, Virginia. Miller’s 6-pounder caught on a crankbait in the Staunton River on September 23. The fish measured 26 ¼ inches with a girth of 14 inches and was officially weighed at … [Read more...]
A Pile of Leaves
We had a bumper crop of leaves this fall, and for the most part, the foliage outdid itself in terms of beauty. Nancy and I made several trips to and from the Smith Mountain Lake area and were entertained thoroughly by the brilliant colors of the maples, beeches, dogwoods, and oaks. They brought back memories of our house on Court Street in Lewisburg, WV. There were two majestic maple trees in … [Read more...]
Signs of Our Times
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