A quick little short video I captured of two bucks hitting their horns together.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Monday, October 14, 2024
I Am Honored
Yesterday, the Botetourt County Historical Society, Inc. held its 16th Founders Day Dinner at Virginia Mountain Vineyards in Fincastle.
A few weeks ago, I received a call from one of the members telling me I should be there, and they were giving me two tickets to the event. I was receiving a recognition, I was told.
Actually, I received The Garland Stevens Award, named after one of the museum's founders. Mr. Stevens, who is no longer with us, was also my husband's cousin, and I knew him. I think I interviewed him at some point, but to be honest I have interviewed so many residents of Botetourt County that without going back through the newspapers I can't be certain of that.
I was greatly honored to receive this for my writing and for my other work to help preserve the historic nature of Botetourt County. Over the many years I wrote for the newspaper, I sounded the alarm on several structures that were up for demolition, and the Historical Society or others sometimes were able to step in and save these buildings. Not always, but not every battle is meant to be won.
Additionally, I served with Historic Fincastle, Inc., on its board for a number years and served as its president for two years. I also wrote the magazine that celebrated the county's 250th anniversary in 2020, and to be honest, because of Covid, that magazine (which is no longer in print) is about all the evidence that there was any notice of the anniversary at all. (My old editor, Ed McCoy, wrote a book called Chronicles of Botetourt that came out that year, and it was a 250th anniversary project, but it was not sponsored by the county.)
The event lasted 3 hours and much to my surprise, my father and stepmother came to see me receive my recognition. I was able to introduce my father to several people I know, including our representative to the Virginia General Assembly in the House of Delegates and the chairman of the county supervisors. I'm not sure my dad knew that I am on a first-name basis with these folks. I don't go around talking about it, after all. But I liked being able to introduce him to these dignitaries.
My close friend Teresa and her husband Robin also came (and they are important people, too, in our community), and I was so glad to be able to spend time with them. I saw many other folks that I haven't seen in at least 4 or 5 years.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Sarah McCartney, Assistant Teaching Professor, NIAHD, from The College of William and Mary. She spoke for about 40 minutes on the Battle of Point Pleasant, which is considered by some historians to be the actual beginning of the American Revolutionary War.
While the battle took place in what is now West Virginia, at the time it occurred in 1774, the land was part of Botetourt County.
We had a very nice time, although I was worn out when we got home. That was a long time for me to be out of my little nest here.
Sunday, October 13, 2024
Sunday Stealing
1. What do you hope your last words will be?
A. "I love you."
2. What do you spend the most time thinking about?
A. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I should be doing - and then not doing it.
3. What is something you can never seem to finish?
A. I do not finish novels or long short stories that I start to write.
4. What mistake do you keep making again and again?
A. I open my mouth.
5. What’s the best thing you got from your parents?
A. I received a strong work ethic from my parents.
6. What’s the best and worst thing about getting older?
A. The best thing about growing older is (hopefully) having a little more wisdom. The worst thing about growing older is the decay of the physical body (and I include the mind in that).
7. What do you wish your brain was better at doing?
A. I wish I could remember faces better. I run into people I am supposed to know at the store, and I seldom remember who they are until days or weeks later. Sometimes I never remember who they are. This is frustrating.
8. If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?
A. Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies.
9. What have you created that you are most proud of?
A. I am proud of the magazine I made for my county's 250th anniversary. I am also proud of this blog, because I have done it for such a long time.
10. What were some of the turning points in your life?
A. Turning points in my life include my marriage, my college graduation, and several health issues.
11. What song or artist do you like but rarely admit to liking?
A. I have no problem admitting to any of the songs or artists I like.
12. What small impact from a stranger made a big impact on you?
A.
13. As you get older, what are you becoming more and more afraid of?
A. I am becoming more afraid of losing my health, and I have become more afraid that some of the benefits I expected to have, like Medicare and Social Security, are at risk.
14. What are some of the events in your life that made you who you are?
A. I had teachers who told me I could write, and that supported me.
15. What could you do with $2 million to impact the most amount of people?
A. I would donate the $2 million to some charity, perhaps Feeding America, after much examination, to ensure that it would be the best place to put the funds to help the most people.
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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Catching a Comet
I have a few pictures of the Northern Lights from Thursday night, but I wasn't able to get out of the house to see them because my neighbor decided it was a good night to burn his brush pile. With my asthma I couldn't be out there, so what I have I took through a window.
But tonight, I caught the comet! This is comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas, which hasn't been seen for about 80,000 years.
Just yesterday, right?
Anyway, I got lucky with the photo. There were clouds and I captured this just before the cloud cover rolled over the sky. It's a little blurry because I was having trouble focusing but it's the comet.
Saturday 9: Jolene
Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.
1) In this song, Dolly Parton sings about a woman with great hair, great eyes, a great smile and a great voice. OK, so Jolene has it all. Of these, which is your most attractive feature: your hair, your eyes, your smile or your voice?
A. I'll go with my eyes. I am told they are quite expressive, and my close friends can almost read my mind by looking in my eyes. They are hazel and look like cracked ice.
2) Dolly tells us her husband mentions in Jolene in his sleep. Do you talk in your sleep?
A. I talk, scream, yell, gurgle, laugh, etc. in my sleep. My poor husband has to listen to that at night. Fortunately, he is a heavy sleeper.
3) Dolly has said this song was inspired by a bank teller she caught flirting with her husband. That was in the 1970s. Today we can do our banking from our computers, our phones or a bank ATM. When is the last time you spoke to a banker?
A. I spoke to a banker just this past week. I went inside to order checks.
4) Dolly had a crush on Johnny Cash. When she was just a teen, she saw him perform at The Grand Ole Opry and called it "love at first sight." Are you crushing on anyone right now?
A. I am not crushing on anyone except my husband, who is not a crush but my longtime love. I might be crushing a tiny bit on Taylor Swift, who gave $5 million to help out the flood victims from Hurricane Helene.
5) Dolly is more than a singer/songwriter. She's an industry! Her Dollywood is a theme park, water park, hotel and spa. Looking back on the summer of '24, did you visit a theme park, water park, hotel or spa?
A. I am afraid we did not visit much of anything this summer.
6) A luxury stay at Dollywood can get expensive, unless you're the teacher who wins this year's Chasing Rainbows Award from Dolly. She treats a deserving teacher to a week at Dollywood. Tell us about a teacher who made a difference in your life.
A. Lots of teachers have influenced me, and I have written about most of them at some point or another. One of my college professors, Jeanne Larsen, had a big influence on my writing and gave me the courage to move forward with it.
7) Dollywood is in Sevier County, TN. Her ties to the community are strong, and in 2007, Dolly raised the funds to build a new hospital that opened there in 2010. When you were last in a hospital, were you a patient or a visitor?
A. The last time I was in a hospital was in 2022, when my husband had hip replacement surgery. So, I was visiting.
8) In 1973, when "Jolene" was popular, Elvis' "Aloha from Hawaii" concert aired. "Aloha" is the native Hawaiian word used when greeting or parting. Can you say anything else in Hawaiian?
A. I'm afraid not really. "Mali maliki maki" (sp) is the thing they say for Merry Christmas, maybe? There's some song about that.
9) Random question: Have you more recently eaten cold pizza or cold fried chicken?
A. I have not recently eaten either. I haven't had pizza in at least a year, and I do not eat fried chicken (I eat baked or roasted chicken). I do not eat either of them cold.
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I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Thursday Thirteen
1. The Nature of Witches, by Rachel Griffin
2. "Nothing is worth more than this day," by Kathryn & Ross Petras
3. Coyote Weather, by Amanda Cockrell*
4. Chronicles of Botetourt County, by Edwin L. McCoy*
5. West of Santillane, by Brook Allen*
6. Kingdom of Copper, by S.A. Chakraborty
7. News! by Dan Smith*
8. The President's Daughter, by Bill Clinton & James Patterson
9. Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction, by Orson Scott Card, et al
10. The Year of Living Constitutionally, by A. J. Jacobs
11. From Strength to Strength, by Arthur C. Brooks
12. Atomic Habits, by James Clear
13. On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder **
* Local authors. I like to support the local authors when I can.
** I've picked it up and skipped around in it to read various chapters, but haven't read the entire thing.
The big question then is - will I ever get these read? Probably eventually, but this year I seem more into listening to audiobooks than reading. I have this need to listen. I think it is because I myself do not feel heard.
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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 877th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.
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