Hello and welcome to the “I can hardly wait for Christmas” Dogpound. Even though I am writing this article weeks in advance, I can feel the spirit of Christmas starting to worm its way through all the murky, snarly daily issues that tries to drain the positive energy out of each and every one of us. The closer it gets, the better I feel, and the better I feel, the more spring I have in my step. So much so, I have made more progress in my attempt to get all of my Christmas shopping done before Christmas Eve. Last…
Browsing: Commentary
I have managed to stay away from writing about the election, but as the inauguration is growing increasingly near, I cannot stay silent any longer. I am fearful, I am anxious, I am overwhelmed, and I am burdened by sorrow that my fellow Americans have put something into play that will undoubtedly be a troublesome and frightening era for this country. I have the opportunity, writing for this newspaper, to say what I feel on a public platform. I am thankful for this, and wonder how long I will be able to do so freely. About four weeks ago, I…
RE: Spoiled brats are a blessing To the Editor: I am writing in response to the letter to the editor by Diane Goss, “‘Spoiled brats’ are a blessing,” published in the November 16, 2016 issue of your paper. Like Ms. Goss, I, too, have teen family members who are responsible, hard-working, and concerned about the future of our nation. I have no doubt that they will involve themselves positively in their environment. However, I vehemently disagree with Ms. Goss when she said that the anti-Trump supporters are “… more inclusive, more tolerant, more accepting…” than the pro-Trump supporters. Really? Tolerant?…
W e got home from West Virginia the Friday after Thanksgiving. We unpacked the truck and settled in for the evening. The only problem was that my wife said that it felt cooler than normal in the house. I went to the thermostat and saw that it indicated that the auxiliary heat was running, but the outside unit was not running. The thermostat also read 64 degrees, though it was set to 68 degrees. I shut everything off, allowing the system to reset. The system started up, but quickly began to make a sound that we had not heard before.…
Hello and welcome back to the festive world of the Dogpound. Christmas is rapidly approaching, and I can tell because my mailbox is overflowing with catalogs. Even with the all of the online purchases, companies are still eager to get your attention at home and at the store. So far that is not really working for me…I have only gotten two things done so far. One, I did get my Christmas cards out, including that cute picture of me all decked out in my Ohio State University clothes, coffee mug, and blanket in front of the fireplace. Of course, one…
As I travel around, I know it’s the holiday season. The Salvation Army bell ringers fill the air, parking lots are full, and parents are saying “I’m gonna tell Santa if you don’t be good.” Thankfully, I have matured past, or at least I am physically past, that last part. Another sign of the season is all the Christmas plants that are for sale in the stores. Garden centers, grocery stores, florists, and even department stores have plants just waiting to brighten someone’s home. Here are a few plants that make great gifts and tips on how to keep them…
I want to take the weeks before Christmas to talk about fire causes that either happened around Christmas, or that resulted in loss of life at other times of the year. I will couple two things into this title: improper disposal of smoking materials and fireplace ashes. I may seem to repeat myself in these articles, but preventing a fire in your home is my number one goal. I remember a Christmas Eve fire in the Northeast, brought on by fireplace ashes being taken from a fireplace or woodstove and placed on the front porch; a child did not believe…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful holiday world of the Dogpound. I am sure Christmas will be a wonderful holiday but I already got my little taste of it on Thanksgiving Day. I wanted to get a photograph transferred to a poster board and my little cracker-box Wal-Mart does not have that capability. Backtracking a minute…I like to take pictures and I usually make some of the better ones into 8x 10’s to hang on the wall, but of late I have gotten into canvas posters. Something about the texture and the wrap-around picture that makes the pictures stand…
We have made it past the turkey and are now moving full speed ahead towards Christmas trees and lights. In reality, the minute Halloween was over, the retailers were pushing Christmas down our throats faster than you can say “candy cane.” It saddens me that Thanksgiving is now such a fleeting holiday. The one day a year that we have designated our “thankful day.” On Thanksgiving we give thanks for our family, our freedoms, and our food. I really thought about what being thankful meant to me this past week, and was surprised at what I came up with. Of…
As Christmas rapidly approaches, I thought that we could think of a different list from those being written by children for Christmas morning. It has always been my intent to prevent fires or any other type of accident that could stop your family in their tracks. In almost every case, accidents are preventable. We must be of a mindset that a fire or accident can occur in a moment. I am going to offer you a hodgepodge list of things to keep in mind as you enjoy this special time of the year. Do you have an appropriate number of…