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Time to jump in feet first
It could have been a boa constrictor tightening around its prey, except it was a toddler with his arms wrapped around my neck and his legs tightly around my waist saying “Let me out, let me out.” Summer swim lessons began this week at Armfield Civic Center, and Little Man is one of a large class of water tots, which are swimmers from birth to 3 years of age, taking the evening class. Last year, we took a morning class with just Little Man a...
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‘It’s about the farmers’
It’s no secret that since the first whisper I’ve heard about it I’ve been a fan of Pilot Mountain Pride, if for no other reason than it’s a deceptively-simple-yet-absolutely-brilliant program. The idea? Provide struggling local farmers a venue to market their products. Because let’s face it: If you’ve grown 20 bushels of squash it’s going to be much more difficult to sell than if you had 200 bushels to market to a grocery store or restaur...
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College education costing too much for most
It used to be that the biggest decision facing a student entering college was which major to pursue. While choosing the right field (where a job might actually be waiting) remains a challenge, there are perhaps even bigger issues confronting students today: Namely, how can I afford the whole darn thing? As is the case with some classroom tests, there is a two-part question involved with this dilemma. It starts with the fact that college...
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Allergic scare reminds us how precious life can be
I feel lucky to have two amazing parents, and last weekend I experienced a scare that made me really think about how important my father is, not only to me, but to my entire family. As I was enjoying the Nonesuch Playmakers’ performance of “Steel Magnolias” at the Jones Family Resource Center last Saturday with my Grandma and my friend Amanda, a crisis was occurring that I was not aware of, despite my constantly buzzing phone. I was capti...
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Certain about a grandfather’s pride for his grandson
I rounded the corner at the foot of the stairs at the Broyles home Wednesday morning to see Number One Son in his new uniform preparing to leave for training. He’s a big guy and looked sharp in the dress blues. After many years of work and a degree in criminology and psychology, Wee wifey and myself have been overjoyed to see him finally get a break into the criminal justice field, even though his talk with us on hostage policy unnerved me on...
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‘Dig into Reading’ at a young age
Vividly, I can recall sitting on the carpeted floor with other children listening as the lady in front of us reads a book and shows us the pictures depicting the action. I remember going home with a stack of books, reading them, then taking them back and getting them counted toward my summer total. Yes, as a child, my family frequented our local library often, especially in the summer time once I was old enough to start reading on my own. M...
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A rock and a hard place
It would seem that any of us who have to sit down every week and decide how we’re going to stretch our dollars can understand the predicament faced by county elected officials during this year’s budget season. The situation faced by the board of commissioners shouldn’t be lost on anyone: Take money out of the bank to cover obligations, raise taxes to generate more money or simply not fund needed projects. County Board of Commissioners Cha...
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NSA spying is one more reason to distrust government
I admit I’m not the best “Facebook friend” in the world — in fact I fail miserably in that role, based on accepted social media standards. Of course, I do maintain a Facebook account, mainly for work purposes to stay in the loop with certain events, and a profile page — albeit a skimpy one with no bells or whistles or extensive bio information. When people attempt to add me to their friends list so we can network about our activities, I t...
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Call me Pinball Wizard
I love pinball. For sure, pinball machines are my all-time favorite arcade game, but they have become quite rare. If I see a pinball machine anywhere, I’m hopelessly hooked, sometimes for quite a long time because I’m pretty good at it, and I tend to win lots of free balls and sometimes free games. Pinball takes a combination of hand-eye coordination, quick reflexes, and the ability to think ahead and change at a moments notice. I will be...
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From a lone hen to backyard chicken ranching
Several of the staffers who frequent the cublet environs of the news side of our building have urged me to do a chicken column. Previously, I have flatly stated I was an active beekeeper until absolutely awful tactical judgment resulted in the loss of my only two hives. It is a tribute to The Mount Airy News staff’s compassion they frequently endure stories of my adventures as a small-scale chicken rancher, which was heretofore a lesser kno...
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Saying good-bye to one of the NBA’s class acts
The NBA lost one if its best ambassadors this week when Grant Hill announced his retirement. The former Duke star was one of the class acts in sports, even earning the respect of this lifelong Tar Heel fan. I didn’t want to like Grant Hill when he first arrived at Duke. Not only was he going to the wrong school, his dad was a former Dallas Cowboy and his mom was a college roommate of Hillary Clinton. He wasn’t one of those underprivileged...
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Explore the state during 2nd Saturdays
The fact that state historic sites are available to visit year-round doesn’t mean everyone is going to go spend time at them, so the 2nd Saturdays series sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources is a way to have more available to attract visitors to our state’s treasures. Yes, they are treasures. Locally, Horne Creek Living Historical Farm is a North Carolina Historic Site participating in 2nd Saturdays, which kicks ...
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Restaurants, junk food purveyors aren’t the bad guys
A couple of days ago I read an article in which Don Thompson, the CEO of McDonald Corp., said he had lost 20 pounds over the past year while eating at McDonald’s every day during that span. This is the same man who told a 9-year-old at the company’s annual meeting during May that McDonalds doesn’t sell junk food, so it’s pretty clear, at least when he’s talking about his company and nutrition, his comments should be taken with a grain of sa...
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Summer swimming season leads me on nostalgic path
The opening of public swimming pools has always marked the start of the summer season for me, even though summer doesn’t officially start until summer solstice, June 21. Summer vacation and pools opening always happened around the same time when I was growing up, and this year schools released earlier than in previous years, so area pools are anticipating record seasons. It was a trip back in time for me when I went to Reeves Community Ce...
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Hoping the Superman is super good and the wisdom of remakes
I am hopeful the newest Superman movie will be good. The character deserves no less. Admittedly, I do not envy the scriptwriters in their task of making Krypton’s favorite son believable in the light of how hard bitten culture is now. Life is full of the sacrifice and altruism of others but it rarely makes it into the cinema. We are a nation obsessed with the anti-hero with a suspicion George Orwell was right after all. Don’t get me wrong. ...
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