Life since March has been much more different from any one of us could have ever expected. As you may or may not remember, I was in Africa, from March 2-14. Within a week of getting back home, national borders began to shut down all around the globe. For countries with substandard healthcare, the best solution was a complete lockdown of the entire country. Limiting the movement of people was the best way to slow the spread of COVID-19. Four months later, we don’t know who or what to trust. Is COVID as bad as some say, or is this…
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Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. As I have mentioned in several past articles, my neighbor has three large dogs that like to come over and visit now and then. One is a Great Pyrenees and the other two are Burmese Mountain dogs. The other day I noticed “Whitey,” the Great Pyrenees, and “Dude,” the youngest of the three (the names I gave to the dogs), were in the yard. They like to come over and lie in the cool grass that is shaded by the house from the hot Western setting sun. Normally, I…
Itried to write this article last week, but it was not flowing well. This article is not going to solve the issues that are tearing away at the fabric of our nation, but I did want to weigh in. We have watched as monuments are torn down, schools and other public buildings are renamed, and the history of our nation appears to be going through a paper shredder. Instead of wholesome and meaningful debate, the issues have been politicized and polarized. Many of our major cities, led by liberal mayors, have become places of mayhem and lawlessness, Though this has…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. I had an interesting experience the other day. I mean normally it would not have registered on the “gee wheeze” scale, but in this case it did. Let me explain. A few days ago, I took my car in to have a slow leak fixed on my tire and decided to get an oil change while I was there. I have one of those cars that can tell you the life of your oil…and mine registered 25%…not quite ready but close enough to want to save another trip to…
To the Editor: Two months or more ago, I lost the car keys. “They’re bound to be here,” I thought. “Because I drove home in the car,” they’ll surely show up soon. However, after constant searching of the car, pockets, house, and garage, the keys were never discovered. Finally, I was convinced I’d never see those keys again, so I planned to go out on last Monday to have a new one made. Sunday night, the phone rang, but I didn’t answer since it, showed no recognizable name. However, after four rings, a cheerful voice said, “I’m Tim at Panera…
You have probably heard someone say, “you are adding fuel to the fire.” This is a metaphor for when the words that we say or write ramp up an already heated conversation. This is not the fuel that I will be writing about in this article, but the literal gasoline that many add to a fire though they should not. Gasoline is a flammable liquid with a low flash point and a low ignition temperature. In other words, it takes very little heat to get gasoline to burn. There are many people, including off-duty firefighters, who have been burned badly…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. I hope you had a nice Fourth of July weekend despite all of the things that are going on trying to prevent us from celebrating our freedom. As I have mentioned before, I live out in the country surrounded by farmland, and I am constantly surprised by the number of critters I see. I mean on the road, not in the fields. I have roughly a mile plus gravel road to drive before I get on the nearest paved road. Now, I say “paved” loosely, since the part I…
The weather that we are so famous for in central Virginia, has arrived. Hot, hazy & humid are the three normal H’s, during our summers. With these H’s comes the three important H’s of protecting yourself in and from the heat, hydrate, hydrate, and hydrate! Water is the best hydrating agent, unless you are overcome by the heat, which will then require fluid with electrolytes. Hydration is something that must be done prior to, during, and after an event in the heat. If you are not well hydrated prior to going out into the heat chances are great that you…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. As Spring spreads into Summer, it also brings along the allergy season. All three of my kids suffer from some kind of allergy, but as for me, I do not have allergies. Despite being tested and found negative, I still have some symptoms. This is due primarily to the fact that I live in the country, and I am surrounded by farmland. When the farmers start plowing and spraying, all of the stuff in the air causes me to have some slight nasal drip and an occasional irritating nagging…
I just got home from what I would call “A Boater’s World,” in Southport, N.C. Yesterday morning, I watched about 100 boats of every size headed to the ocean. A bit later, about a dozen kayakers launched into the Cape Fear River from a beach in Southport. I then saw multiple yachts, sailboats, and the occasional pilot boat, going out to meet a ship. All of this reminds me that boats are a huge part of many people’s lives. Boats are great sources of recreation, while some live on their boats. Whatever your boating world looks like, it is important…