My husband is a counselor, a soccer coach, a hunter. He practices martial arts and yoga and has just completed a last class for his Master’s Degree. Sometimes during the week, we hardly really see each other. We’re both independent and involved in our pursuits and passions (in my case, sometimes obsessively), which is why […]
It was “standing room only” at Floyd’s Country Store, home of the Friday Night Jamboree, when Democratic Senatorial Candidate Jim Webb and former Governor Mark Warner came to visit on Thursday. By the look of the line of young people waiting outside for their arrival, I figured that a high school field trip was underway. […]
-A WVTF radio essay It was probably the last time this year that I or my husband will mow the two acres of grass that surround our log home off the Blue Ridge Parkway. But that wasn’t the best part of mowing the lawn this past weekend. The best part was the perspective it gave […]
The burgundy shirt that hung on the post in front of Amy’s new apartment let me know I was at the right place. A Woman’s Clothing Exchange, a long time tradition in Floyd, was about to begin. “Late afternoon tea served, bring a simple snack or sweet to share. Leftover clothing given to Angel’s in […]
“Having something to say is more important than guessing what people want to hear.” ~ Barbara Kingsolver, spoken at the Floyd County High School auditorium, September 16, 2006 The line of people waiting to meet the acclaimed author, Barbara Kingsolver, wound from the high school library table where she was signing books, out through the […]
Downtown Floyd was abuzz with the sound of weed-whacking and lawn mowing. As I made my way through town yesterday hanging flyers for our next Spoken Word event, I couldn’t help but notice the smell of freshly mowed grass wafting through the air. Everywhere I went, up and down Locust and Main Streets, people were […]
The vows were exchanged under a fruit filled apple tree, alongside a small creek. The bride wore a silk sheath gown with a white rose behind her ear. Draped in a shawl, she was escorted by her father, who had arrived the day before from Spain. They walked past the gardens and the pottery studio, […]
I have a three acre piece of sky. It mirrors our three acres of green earth. It’s a good size for looking at the stars at night, but because our property is nestled in by trees, big firs and tulip poplars, I can’t see the sun when it sets. But I need a big sky. […]
Many of the best moments in my life have happened spontaneously. Last weekend at Floyd Fest was no different. Julie Hauserman, a Florida-based journalist and radio personality (pictured here), happened to be camping across the path from the Floyd Fest Poet Tree, a volunteer soap box stage for spoken word readings, located under an apple […]
Floyd Fest, our town’s yearly world music festival, is a people watchers paradise. My favorite part of the weekend festival – just six miles from my driveway on The Blue Ridge Parkway – is the cross section of people who attend it. Once on the sprawling grounds of open fields and wooded pathways, roles and […]
Floyd Fest is different this year. There is no mud. No rain or fog. No hurricane skirted the site, as it has in the past, and festival goers have had to drop the nickname “Fog Fest,” because there is none. The crowds are noticeably larger. Is that why I lost my parked car and almost […]
On the way to the Chateau Morrisette Winery, we snapped a photo of the usual suspects at the Saddle Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway where my husband and I got married 10 years ago. Besides me, the line-up consisted of my brother-in-law Nelson, my mother, my sister Sherry, and my brother Joey, all in […]
