Okay..I’ve been on an unscheduled blogging break. The reason I call it unscheduled is because I don’t plan these things, they just happen. One day I don’t feel like writing and one day leads to another and the next thing I know weeks go by and yada yada yada. Anyway, here I go again.
The holiday season was interesting. Anne and I spent time with the Little Prince and Heir Apparent during Christmas and with my Mom the following week. We traveled a total of 1159 miles in ten days on some of the worst Interstate Highways in the USA. That amounted to more than 24 hours together in the car in horrendous traffic. Not to worry, we’re still speaking to each other, and there are no plans for divorce.
There are some really strange people on the highways these days. Religious zealots seem to be taking it to another level according to some of the things we saw. One RV we passed had a few interesting messages painted on it. Among them were, “God Kills, The Earth Will Burn,” and the end of the world will take place May 21 this year. I guess I can cancel the dental appointment I have scheduled for that week.
The weirdest church sign I’ve ever seen was posted in front of a tiny fundamentalist church near Fayetteville, NC. It stated, “God is Circumsized.” The best bumper sticker was in support of breast cancer awareness. It had the requisite pink ribbon and the admonition “Save the Ta Tas.”
The quality of food available along the Interstates continues to deteriorate. The best of the worst on I-81 is Mrs. Rowe’s at exit 222 in Staunton. The fried chicken is still good as are the vegetable sides, but a lot of the entres are just reheated food service crap. The biggest disappointment though was Ralph’s Barbecue in Weldon, NC. I’ve been going to Ralph’s for over 40 years and for the first time ever, the food was terrible. I overheard one of the local regulars refer to it as “The Trough.”
Back here on the home front, we had dinner a couple of weeks ago with Suzanne Capone and Bill Perry at their Omega Lane Farm. Thanks to Bill’s passive solar greenhouse, we were able to enjoy vine ripened tomatoes and a salad of fresh baby greens. Suzanne also makes some of the best pickled vegetables I’ve ever tasted. This year, rather than sell their produce at the Marion Farmer’s Market, they plan to custom grow starter plants for other people’s gardens. Give them a call at 276-686-5843 to place your order.
I was really disappointed to see that our esteemed Board of Supervisors shot down a proposed Property Maintenance Ordinance this month that would require property owners to clean up their trash and junked up land. Not only did they vote unanimously against the proposal, they voted against redrafting it to address some of the concerns of the Farm Bureau and others who objected to it. To call this Board a bunch of gutless wonders would be an insult to gutless wonders. The two pictures below, taken less than a mile apart on Rt. 52 near Ft. Chiswell, are examples of the problems that exist in the county. Combine this with a toothless litter law and this beautiful county continues to grow less beautiful.
Not to worry though dear hearts. I still continue to look at the glass as half full rather than half empty. With any luck at all, we’ll be able to start working outside soon prepping the garden, planting trees and doing all the things that still make this a great place to live.
hey cousin, glad your back, and so you will know, nothing, not nothing is the same as it once was and probably will never be again. scott’s wife vicky had breast cancer surgery a few weeks ago. she will be starting kemo next week, after that she has radiation to look forward to, so yes to save the ta,tas for all. the world is full of religious zealots. i hope you choose wise. its a shame the board members shot down the ordinance. these places could at least put up some kind of privacy fence.