What’s on Your Bucket List?

The Labor Day holiday is often thought of as the end of summer, but the calendar shows September 22nd as the last day of summer. If you live in South-Central Virginia, the summer heat does not stop until October. By that time, one may really want a break from the summer heat. This is one... Read More

The Wine Spot

September 13, 2025

Stronger

Strength. How must it be measured? What is its nature? Metal or mental? Useful? Or not? Consider its worth. Can it help? Or heal? When is its use apropos? Only the weaker ones know, to treasure their strength for use in ways that guard them.

Poet's Corner

September 11, 2025

Remembering Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffett

In early fall of last year, I was driving south on Piedmont Drive with the afternoon sun in my eyes, while approaching the permanently closed Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet, up ahead and to my right. To my “late-afternoon sun-blinded amazement,” I was able to make out a number of sunlit windshields in the parking... Read More

Essays

September 9, 2025

Movies You Missed from 20 Years Ago: The Greatest Game Ever Played

Movies You Missed from 20 years ago by Josh Lucia The Greatest Game Ever Played (6/10 Rating) Released September 30, 2005 Streaming on Disney+, For rent/purchase on all major platforms. Genre: Docudrama, Period Drama, Biography, Drama, Sport PG: Some brief mild language 2h This may not be the greatest film ever, but within the... Read More

Movies You Missed

September 5, 2025

Keeping Your Cool (A Mamie and Solly Story)

(Scene: Mamie and Solly are standing on the patio looking at a covered hip-high cylinder.) Mamie (pointing): What’s that? Solly: What do you think it is? M: A smoker? You’re going to learn how to smoke meats? S: How could it be a smoker? It’s vinyl. M: Vinyl seems like a poor choice for smoker... Read More

Fiction

September 2, 2025

Art on the Lawn: A Danville Tradition Blooms Into Two Days of Creativity

For more than two decades, the sprawling lawn of the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History has transformed each fall into something magical—a vibrant marketplace where local artists display their paintings, ceramics, and jewelry while families gather for music, food, and community connection. This year, the magic is doubling. Art on the Lawn, scheduled... Read More

Cover Features

August 19, 2025

Is It Too Hot For Red Wine?

In the summer, many of us turn to white or rosé wines for our vino enjoyment. But what about those who must have red? Have you ever thought about serving a chilled Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot? I didn’t think so. Suppose you read articles about drinking red wine in the summer heat. In that case,... Read More

The Wine Spot

August 15, 2025

Tennis

Spectators gather, amazed; Nadal was upset by his first-round challenger who defied his dominance, dispatched his long reign. His volleys didn’t threaten Zverev, who took Nadal’s reign with lightning fast serves, that dethroned the storied champ.

Poet's Corner

August 13, 2025

A Poor Man’s “Picture Phone”

When my daughter, Rachel needs a rest break from work, she sometimes schedules a few days at the Surfside Hotel, Nags Head, N.C., just a short walk from the truly iconic Jeanette’s Pier!(you don’t have to be an angler to enjoy the view). Rachel called me from there recently, telling me about the amenities, such... Read More

Essays

August 9, 2025

Movies You Missed from 20 Years Ago” Four Brothers

Four Brothers (5/10 Rating) Released August 12, 2005 Streaming on Paramount+, For rent/purchase on all major platforms. Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller R: strong violence, pervasive language, and some sexual content 1h 49m I remember seeing trailers for Four Brothers and thinking it could be entertaining, but it was likely just another action... Read More