It was a well-attended opening reception for the complementary art of photographer Rob Amberg and ceramics artist Josh Copus (my son), exhibited at the Weizenblatt Gallery at Mars Hill University. The long-time friends and collaborators both live in Marshall, Madison County, NC. Rob has been taking pictures and writing about the changing county since he […]
1. Yes, it’s true. Floydfest is moving to a new location. Joe and I have been to every Floydfest in its 20-year history of being on the mountain off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Joe has worked for the festival in different roles over the years, and I’ve been blogging and covering the festival for the […]
And where would we be now without good Floyd music, dancing and craft beer? A group of us who love to dance follow the C.C. Coates Band, a favorite local band that plays classic favorites with a rockin’ blues style and a soulful vocal delivery by front man Curt Coates (in the cowboy hat). It […]
From a promising first impression to a string of false starts It’s always a blind date when sleep plays hard to get When my mind is a bell I hold the clapper and match my breath with the chant of mantra While my thoughts wear a path and count down to the future They loom […]
1. I’m working on my third poetry memoir collection in a series, Poems from the Dark Room, with the theme: It takes time in the dark room to bring lived-experience into focus and to develop the meaning we’ve made of our lives. 2. I just read this line from one of the poems in the […]
Phlegar Hill is a local band with musicians from Floyd, Roanoke and Christiansburg. They play a range of classic favorites with an emphasis on Southern Rock and have played on the Dogtown Roadhouse stage about a half dozen times. They have a reputation for being a fun dance band that can draw out the dancers. […]
We broke a sweat. We held our own. We stopped to rest. And posed with boulders. The photo-ops were constant on the 2+ mile scenic trail to the dramatic hiker’s reward, a 66 foot Cascades Waterfall nestled in the Jefferson National Forest. The lower trail is stunning and well maintained with stone stairs for the […]
Waiting to be snatched to be left in the woods with no path back Waiting to forget names and faces to lose your place and everything you trusted How will it end? Asleep in your bed? Will it come all at once when you least expect it? Will we all be picked off one by […]
1. Colleen to Joe while watching Peaky Blinders, a 1920s-family crime drama show: “This ain’t no Downton Abby.” 2. “The writing is on the wall.” That’s how I responded to a Facebook friend who posted about the Roanoke Times, which has provided local news since 1886, cutting paper content and going primarily “digital first,” just […]
Wordless Wednesday
The PCR test came back. We were celebrating that we didn’t have COVID after being exposed. And we scored! Zoom on that food! prepared by our longtime friend and master chef at Mickey G’s Bistro, Michael Gucciardo.
The wasp leaves an unexpected sting It strikes for no visible reason and then flies away There is no justice as you go through the stages of suffering and the slow arrival of relief You learn to avoid it and come to expect it The swelling disappears But the memory holds on You don’t think […]
