Lifestyles
Happy to be Here: In defense of cell phones
You’ve probably heard some grumbling about the awfulness of cell phones. We spend too much time on them. ...
Latest Happy To Be Here
Lifestyles
Happy to be Here: Time for Some Spring Cleaning
Punxsutawney Phil, arguably the world’s most famous groundhog, emerged from his burrow last month and predicted an early ...
Lifestyles
Happy To Be Here: Questioning an established authority
For those who have wondered: Yes, I am still working my way through the dictionary. I started reading ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here: Here comes the sun
We experienced our shortest day and longest night on the winter solstice, Dec. 21. In Farmville, sunrise that ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here: Empty chairs
According to many different calendars, we’re deep into the season of holidays. Depending on your outlook, the festivities ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here: Grateful for the years I almost didn’t get
As a young adult, I wasn’t making enough money for ends to meet, but occasionally those ends got ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be Here: Cryptids on the Loose
Welcome to the time of year when we delight in the mysteries that occupy the boundary of what ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here: Celebrities and Celebri-Trees
Some people enjoy watching for celebrities, and Farmville has seen a fair number throughout its history. Generals. Civil ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here: On the lookout for a Blue Moon
Some novels include tales of family members or lovers who will soon be separated. While they are apart, ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here: Taking an alternate route
Summer provides an excellent opportunity to hit the road and visit favorite people and places. Some trips span ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here: Lessons my father taught me
A few weeks ago, I drove past a home where a father, maybe a grandfather, was teaching a child ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here: Finding the flowers
In 1955, Pete Seeger wrote a song asking “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” Additional verses were later ...
Lifestyles
Happy To Be Here: The Wind Blows
When I think of the wind, I usually picture gentle breezes. I hear it whisper secrets about the ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be Here: A nostalgic viewpoint
I hadn’t been to the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA) since before COVID became a household word. ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here — Cozy comfort
Many people enjoy winter. Some look forward to skiing. They arrange vacations and plan travel to seek out ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here — From cut to Farkleberry
Some of you have been asking about my progress reading Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition. My original, overly ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be Here — Listen and let the songs play
As the song says, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Nature sets the stage with starlight ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here — Observing with both eyes
A friend recently asked me about buying an inexpensive, fun telescope suitable for taking a first step into ...
Columns
Happy To Be Here: Let’s talk about freedom of speech
Last August, author Salman Rushdie was attacked and seriously injured while onstage for a panel discussion at the ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here — Standing on new shores
Here in Virginia, the opening years of the seventeenth century are probably best remembered for the arrival of ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here — Keep distance from bears, despite the cute, cuddly look
Maybe you’ve seen amusing bear videos on the internet. There’s a cute one with a cub climbing onto ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here: Bigger than any one of us
Among Christians, the prayer commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father is well known. I ...
Lifestyles
Called by a scammer
A few weeks ago, I received a disturbing voice mail message. The recorded announcement claimed that permission to ...
Lifestyles
Happy to be here — Waking up
I’ve been watching the world wake up. As the year turns from its winter slumber, it reminds me ...
Columns
Multiple meanings
Many months ago, on page 42 of my reading ramble through Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, I encountered ...
Happy To Be Here
An unfinished project
A year ago, when 2021 was brand new, I set myself a challenge. I planned to read through ...
Lifestyles
Ladybug, ladybug
A couple weeks ago, I stepped out of my house on a warm, Indian summer day. A ladybug ...