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Columnists

ROBERT L. MARONIC: Is Phase Two Of Trump‘s Peace Plan In The Gaza Strip Doomed To Fail? – Part I

Phase one of Trump‘s twenty-point peace plan in the Gaza Strip, which began on October 9, called for a ceasefire, cessation of military operations, along with a hostage and prisoner...

FRED FIRST: Approaching the Longest Night

Yes, you’re right—if you’ve even noticed—that this space has been neglected for some weeks now,...

A Life Well-Lived: Shirley Padgett Lester (1947-2025)

Shirley Padgett Lester of Vinton went to her heavenly reward October 4. Below is the...

BOB BROWN: How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden “Presidency”

Permit me to think out loud as an old-fashioned person who respects authority, history, and...

JOHNNY ROBINSON: The Gratitude Perch

On the old road up Mill Mountain, part of Roanoke’s fabulous greenway system, there’s a...

The Curse of a Synthetic Sea

Ever heard about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? It’s not some new gardening tool or electronic gizmo. It’s a massive gyre of marine litter...

Krispy Kreme Provides Balm for Spinal Surgery and More

The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer once said “The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom.” Recently, I spent six weeks with...

Christmas Comes To MBC

Christmas celebration came early at Mary Baldwin –  before the college closed for the holidays in mid-December, and three hundred girls packed up...

The Importance of Thank You Notes

 In the days of yore when most written communication took place via mail, it was always a pleasure to open the mail box...

My Aneurysm And ‘Christmas’

Christmas this year came on December 15th, this year of our good Lord, 2012, but it began three years ago when I suddenly...

People You Meet In The ER

Perhaps nowhere in the world has the invasion of ‘texting’ become so obvious. It’s no longer uncommon to walk in to a patient’s room,...