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Columnists

ANDY PITZER: Silent Barter

Take a look at your salt shaker the next time you sit down at the dinner table. Or the canister of Morton’s Salt in your cupboard. Now take a gander...

FRED FIRST: Spaces: Inner, Outer & Other

I exist even still in a “liminal space” (which could be a whole other post—with...

ANDY PITZER: Paraphrasing GPT

When I come to think about it, probably the one thing I’m most proud of...

BOB BROWN: IF YOU LOVE YOUR BRAIN, TAKE CARE 0F IT, PART THREE

This is A Brief Educational Summary of Neuroscience 101, Part THREE, our final section. These...

SERWAN ZANGANA: It’s time for positive change in Roanoke City, vote James Creasy for Sheriff

An enthusiastic and experienced law enforcement officer, a veteran deputy, is eager to bring changes...

Hummingbirds: Pugnacious and Bejeweled Sun-Angels

by H. Bruce Rinker, Ph.D. Having recently returned from a two-week expedition into the rainforests and mountains of Peru, I have come back once...

The Most Important Man That Never Signed

by Mike Keeler Charles Thomson was born in County Londonderry, Ireland, in 1729.  When he was ten years old, his mother died.  His father...

My Four Hundred Dollar Soap Carving

by Mary Jo Shannon When our son Harry was in elementary school, he became interested in soap carving. His first effort was a crude...

In Praise of the “Wolf Peach”

by Fred First It is, in fact, a giant berry, technically a fruit. And it has been variously misunderstood, feared, loathed and praised during...

Skateboarding in the Olden Days

by John Robinson Barry and I, both 12, had hiked the path of the old incline railway straight up Mill Mountain, skateboards hanging from...

Consequences Need to Matter!

by Keith McCurdy Quite often my conversations with parents focus on consequences.  This can be a tricky topic.  There are so many different strategies...