I spent this rainy Veterans Day reviewing the artifacts of a 23-year career in the U.S. Army. Lonnie Lee Watkins, “aka” Bill, came out of Toney Holler, Fayette County in September 1949 and joined the Army. I suspect that his decision was influenced by his uncle Basil Toney, who had served in WW II. He...
I voted in the 2020 election this day. I have a decal on my shirt as evidence. My wife is the witness for all times that in the face of COVID and off-the-historical chart Republican behavior, I voted because it is important. As it turned out, we voted today with the “blessed one.” She was...
10-26-2020 Headlines Fauci says the US’s record-high COVID-19 cases put it in a precarious position: ‘No matter how you look at it, it’s not good news’ Minnesota reports three Covid-19 outbreaks related to Trump campaign events in September Donald Trump Questions Barack Obama Being ‘Handsome’ and a ‘Good Speaker’ at PA Rally Senate confirms Barrett...
I have been thinking about the upcoming election. I have come up with a categorization for evaluating those brave enough or opportunist enough to run for public office in 2020. As a former TV-Radio news reporter, a congressional staff member (10 years), a director of communications for a national union (yep, worker focus) for another...
There is much to reflect on these days. The potential of hope and love. The potential of pessimism and hate. We know in part and we prophesy in part. We are sensitive. As a former fellow radio news colleague noted, “This frosts my ass!” Still, we are willing to bet the farm on hope and...
The ghosts of Odd Fellows filled the room, And watched as living poets talked of death. Dead fathers, dead mothers yet to come. They in time to be dead daughters and sons. They stopped for death, lingering in nuances Of frailty, mourning the dead and themselves. A death poem was delivered while the March lion...
It weren’t a decent God, Ancil cried, That let children and coal towns die. And it weren’t coal dust, it were blacken gold That swirled and rolled from the tipple hill, Past the movie house, to Mocky’s Grill. It weren’t a dream. It were reality. It weren’t FDR, it were Ethel Mae, Who faced the...
Rush Limbaugh and I are both award winning journalists. He has the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I have the United Press International (UPI) West Virginia Broadcasters Association 1982 Best News Coverage – Radio award for my coverage of the United Mine Workers presidential election between incumbent Sam Church and Richard Trumka. Trumka was a 33-year-old...
There was a time not too long ago I began my mornings with some six cigarettes and two cups of coffee. In a sense, the routine steeled me for the day ahead. It is a challenge to daily face narcistic and lead from behind leadership. Fortunately, I retired and did not have to work for...