Items of local interest to the four-state area (Western Md, Southern PA, Northern VA, and Eastern WV).
It’s no secret that the opioid epidemic is sweeping through all levels of society in the United States. Like a raging brush fire, it scorches the earth – leaving loss, pain, and misery as its calling card to every family it touches. Even if you don’t have an immediate family member who is suffering from addiction, odds are very good that you know someone who does. This is not an isolated problem or one that attacks only one segment of…
Ahhhh – the American dream. For most people, it consists of a family of four, two cars, a comfortable house, and a yard. Three of these things I like and enjoy, while one brings week after week of frustration, dread, and annoyance. Yes, I’m talking about the yard. With the unseasonable warm weather over the past weekend, I was reminded that it is once again time to undertake my weekly chore that is lawn care and maintenance. I got out…
As time marches towards the end of another school year, the calendar is being filled with not only various spring sports (such as baseball, softball, and tennis), but also plays, recitals, musicals, and concerts. All over the country, teens are diligently rehearsing and preparing to perform their musical pieces, showcase their art, or present their dramatic monologues to audiences of proud parents and friends. I would argue that even if you don’t have a son or daughter participating in these…
One of the many nice things about living in a temperate weather zone is the yearly change of seasons. Believe me, I spent many years living in Florida, and there is nothing more boring than a subtropical climate. The joke in the “Sunshine State” was that there were only three seasons – early summer, late summer, and next summer. That wasn’t far from the truth. There was nothing more uninspiring than dressing your kids up for Halloween in some sort…
I’ve written previously about how hard it is for a small-town, rural school to compete in athletics and other extra-curricular activities against larger, more populous institutions – where there is a larger pool of talent to choose from and use each and every year (click here to link to that article). But every now and then, lightning strikes – even in a small school. The town where I live (Clear Spring, MD) is a tiny hamlet (only 350 residents, according…
Well, we barely made it past Valentine’s Day (whose candies and trinkets appeared on shelves around December 26th) and if you’ve been out and about at any store, you’ll know that Easter must be right around the corner (FYI – this year Easter happens to coincide with April Fool’s Day [4/1/18], so don’t mix-and-match your holidays). Shelves at local grocery stores and retail locations are loaded with chocolate bunnies, chicks, colorful eggs, and bags full of various shades of plastic…
February 14th is fast approaching. That’s right, boys and girls – Valentine’s Day. Even though we know it today as a holiday created to celebrate love, originally it never had anything to do with hearts, chocolate, or red roses. It was an observance named after Saint Valentine, a Roman priest who was killed in 269 A.D. Originally, the day was noted more for martyrdom and death in the early Christian church rather than life and love[1]. In fact, there were…
This past Wednesday, Wal-Mart #2790 opened its doors just off of the Sharpsburg Pike in southeastern Hagerstown. Now, if you know anything about Western Maryland, Hagerstown, or our other esteemed Wal-Mart location – the infamous Supercenter #1674 just off Garland Groh Boulevard in Hagerstown’s glorious west end (for those of you unfamiliar with that retail nirvana – read my previous article here), then I know that this news may bring up a few questions in your inquiring minds. Fear not,…
Well, I suppose time takes its toll on all businesses, but I have to say that I was sad to see a local eatery icon, the Barbara Fritchie Restaurant – just outside of Frederick, Md – permanently shut its doors as of the first of this year. The restaurant had been serving customers in some form or fashion (and at various addresses) since 1910, and its familiar candy-cane sign was well known at its Route 40 location, just west of…
Well, the ball has dropped (or if you were in Hagerstown on New Year’s Eve, the doughnut was dunked), the Christmas clutter is slowly finding its way back into the attic, and the long (and recently quite cold) winter nights have me in deep thought about the New Year. As you may know, I turned fifty this past October, so that means that I probably have fewer years ahead of me than behind me (statistically speaking), so I find myself…