I’ve mentioned before why I prefer living in smaller towns. While there are certain advantages to being in a bigger city, there are also some shortcomings to live in metropolitan areas. A trip to one such place reminded me of why it’s a good idea to live in wide open spaces. My roommate and I…
Category: Point of View
These are my posts where I give an opinion about something, take a stand one way or another, give praise and also give criticism.
Not a magazine cover model and don’t care that I’m not
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the beholder’s standards are a tad high for most to accomplish these days. Just take a look at most magazine covers, where you see paper-thin waifs with pouty lips looking at you and telepathically asking, “Why can’t you be like me?” Of course, we’re seeing in…
Walmart in Chino Valley? Don’t go there!
My hometown of Chino Valley has seen a lot of growth over the years. Going from about 1,000 people in the 1980s to more than 8,000 when I worked for the Chino Valley Review in 2000 to more than 12,000 people today, it is no longer a small farming community. In that time, we’ve had…
Friend’s actions defuse blow of losing a freedom fighter
The death of any soldier before his or her time is sad and somewhat disturbing. It hits home that war is not quite as romantic as classic cinema makes it out to be. When a community loses one of its own to war, it affects everyone in some way. My hometown of Chino Valley, Ariz.,…
Bristol’s bristly blog post lacks virtuous credibility
You have to admire the gall of the judgmental people in this world. To turn your nose down at a group of people while your character is in the gutter takes a certain talent, not to mention having a lack of mirrors in your house. I was flipping through some of the news on the…
No more ‘Sanctuary’ from the drivel of cable television
Someone might want to hide the candy and ice cream. I’m in binge mode right now, which is not a good state for me to be in. Why am I so candy-cidal right now? The worst has been confirmed; they are not renewing my favorite television show, Sanctuary. After four years of fascinating stories of…
Gay marriage endorsement good, but Obama needs a plan to back it up
It all started with a slip in the tongue from the vice president saying he thinks gay people should be allowed to marry. Now President Obama is on the airwaves saying that he also believes marriage should not be defined only as a heterosexual union, and the media is eating it up like it’s the…
First rule of small-town politics: Don’t enrage the townspeople!
My first time reporting job was with my hometown newspaper, the Chino Valley Review. During that time, I covered numerous town council meetings, and some of them proved to be contentious. Some of the issues were serious, while some were just plain nutty. The latest brouhaha in my hometown would qualify as seriously nutty, and…
Boobs get their nipples in a twist over cleavage
The human body. It comes in all shapes and sizes, although some shapes tend to get people more hot and bothered than others. I don’t mean the hot and bothered you’re thinking of. I’m talking about the prudes that wig out if someone shows skin in just the wrong place. The wigs then catch fire…
Shooting holes in a doctor’s anti-gun argument
The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution is one that has caused more philosophical, political and occasionally physical fights than almost any other in one of this country’s founding documents, save the First Amendment. Whether or not citizens should be toting guns is an argument that really gets heated, as those who don’t have…
Do you, before the eyes of God, take this sturgeon to be your fishwife?
With the warm weather in Wisconsin, the part of the state I live in undergoes an annual ritual that I can honestly say I hadn’t seen before I moved here. There is a type of fish called a sturgeon that travels to Shawano in the springtime for spawning purposes, and it brings people from all…
Down in the country – a yarn about tire swings and walking
I’ve written about small-town life previously, and told you why I enjoy it so much. Today I got to see some more examples of how life in small towns differs to greatly from life in the big city. Today, the return of the warmer days after several days of cold and rain prompted me to…
Rural Roots and American Rainbows 