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Columnists

ANDY PITZER: “Look Mom! No iPhone!”

A very interesting visually recorded interview showed up on my feed the other night. In 1966, several British adolescents were interviewed about their vision of the future (circa year...

FRED FIRST: There And Back Again

RECAP: I would be able to visit southwest Virginia again–home for almost 40 years, and...

SCOT BELLAVIA: Am I Proud to Be an American?

How proud are you to be an American? I posted that question on Facebook a few...

BOB BROWN: “Portraits of the Human Person”

On the night of June 21, 2025, President Donald Trump said all seven B2 Bombers...

BECKY MAUPIN: The After Bedtime Search

Picture this: You manage to get everyone fed and the dinner aftermath cleaned up. Then...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Putin Has Turned Trump Into A Chump

Russia fired a massive 367 drones and missiles on thirty Ukrainian cities and villages after sundown on May 24. It was the worst aerial onslaught on...

FRED FIRST: Gaggy Veggies I Have Loathed

I figured I might as well get another use out of the short personal essay I read recently at out little writers’ gathering here....

BOB BROWN: The Human Spirit

The human spirit is that which leaves the body at the moment of death. In this sense, the spirit is life itself. It is beyond...

DAWN CUSTALOW: Virginia Tech Graduation – One for “The Books” and Service

Virginia Tech held its 150th yearly graduation with commencement on the field at Lane Stadium for all 6000 graduates on Friday, May 16. The...

SCOT BELLAVIA: That Awkward Moment

In the true crime book The Onion Field, Joseph Wambaugh describes a moment between two characters: “Sometimes the boy wished they could sit and...

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Open Letter To Apple CEO Tim Cook

I purchased an iPhone 16e, winter-blue silicone cover and 20 watt power adapter online from Apple Sales on April 2. Unfortunately, I had to...