What If You Want to Write About Your Travels?

Imagine that you were given a free ticket to travel to the one place you’d always wanted to see. All expenses would be paid. The only stipulation was this: you had to write a magazine article about that place when you returned. If that opportunity appeals to your imagination, you probably have some place in... Read More

Writers' Page

September 19, 2023

Plant XI: Kindness Matters (A Plant Dialogue)

Scene: Chatting easily, Linda is hauling a happy Plant out for a wagon ride. The distant drone of an ambulance puts Linda in a certain frame of mind. Plant: What’s your favorite human character trait? Linda: What do you mean, Plant? I don’t have a favorite — I just have character traits. I work at... Read More

Fiction

September 14, 2023

Movies You Missed from 20 Years Ago: Cabin Fever

Cabin Fever (7/10 Rating) Released September 12, 2003 (US) For rent/purchase on all major platforms. Genre: Horror R: Strong violence and gore, sexuality, language and brief drug use 1h 33m Five college graduates rent a cabin in the woods. Things go wrong. Yes, we’ve seen it, but this is certainly one of the better takes... Read More

Movies You Missed

September 12, 2023

Chain-fishing and the “Greater D”

I’m sure you’ve seen parents with their kids on a leash and kids who “need to be on a leash” (not the same meaning). The nicer term for “leash” is “tether” (however, I don’t think there’s a nicer term for “need to be on a leash”). But this article isn’t about the behavior. It’s about... Read More

Essays

September 7, 2023

Inside the Methid of Acting with Liz Cervantes

Though recently being seen as the stoic Mrs. White in Smokestack Theatre Company’s production of Clue, Liz Moser Cervantes considers herself to be “goofy, weird, and (someone who) loves to make silly jokes, do silly voices, and tries to make others laugh.” Having been on stage since high school, Cervantes is no newbie to the... Read More

Action

September 5, 2023

Why Not Pickleball?

As a child, sports gave me an outlet to leave the mundane existence which was my life. For most kids from a small community, competitive sports are over after high school. I filled the void with fantasy sports or slow-pitch softball, but it was not the same level of energy. Pickleball fell into my life... Read More

Cover Features

September 1, 2023

Wines for the Labor Day Barbecue and Beyond

I’ve seen a commercial where a man is sitting on a beach looking out on the horizon with an intense, thoughtful look as he eats a piece of candy, and a voice is heard saying, “Why can’t I wear white after Labor Day?” Depending on your region, some Americans think the Labor Day holiday is... Read More

The Wine Spot

August 17, 2023

Movies You Missed From 20 Years Ago: Open Range

Open Range (8/10 Rating) Released August 15, 2003 Streaming on Amazon Prime. For rent/purchase on all major platforms. Genre: Action, Drama, Romance, Western R: Violence 2h 19m Four cowboys find themselves defending their cattle and their lives when they encounter a corrupt lawman and the kingpin rancher that controls a small town on the... Read More

Movies You Missed

August 15, 2023

Bubbles in a “Straw”

The extreme “fizziness”(carbonation) within a bottle of Cheerwine soft drink recently took me back to my early childhood in my old hometown of Salisbury, N.C. (still the home of Cheerwine). In the hottest part of summer, the meteorologist warns us of thunderstorms popping up in the sky. But the above-ground, adult immersion pool pops up... Read More

Uncategorized

August 12, 2023

Preserving Wine During the Dog Days of Summer

When someone uses the term “dog days of summer,” it usually refers to the most oppressively hot time of the season. According to almanac.com, this period of sweltering weather coincides with the year’s heliacal (meaning “at sunrise”) rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Majoris—the “Greater Dog”—where Sirius gets... Read More