Southwest Va. editorial and opinion

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Southwest Va. editorial and opinionSouthwest Va. editorial and opinion

Sweethearts for nearly 70 years

The last nine months have not been exactly kind to my wife, Terry, and me. Nine months ago, in August, Terry's mom, a good person and my friend, passed away from complications from lung cancer. Nine months later, to the day, our neighbor and good friend, Frances Price, who was also my mother-in-law's best friend, also died from complications of cancer.

05/18/2012 5:07 PM

Three generations of service

Piney was suddenly submerged in family reminisces. His oldest son, William Walton Cobbs III, but affectionately termed "Bucky," visited Piney and She Who Must Be Obeyed with his charming wife, Betty Cobbs. They were on their way to Ecuador as missionaries.

05/18/2012 4:22 PM
Mother's Day: A bittersweet occasion

Mothers, we all have one, that much is an indisputable fact of nature.

05/11/2012 5:20 PM
Old friend returns to life

Through memories, Piney had an interesting happening from many years ago and thought the incident worthwhile for his column and a smile or grin or two.

05/11/2012 5:18 PM
A MOUNTAIN VIEW

Ode for the river

05/11/2012 2:22 PM
World has lost the 'real deal'

This is a sad day for me and for many other folks. It is Wednesday, May 2, and Terry and I have the sad duty of going to the viewing of a dear friend, Jim Stamper. Jim passed away Monday, April 30, atHolstonValleyMedicalCenterinKingsport, Tenn.

05/04/2012 6:14 PM
An admirer of oxen, strength and simplicity

Piney's rural mind had slipped into the past and settled on oxen.

05/04/2012 6:12 PM
SENIOR MOMENT

Proms today aren't the way we remembered

05/01/2012 4:04 PM
Memories of a good beginning

I am writing this column on Wednesday, April 25, although it is about an anniversary of an event that actually occurred on April 24, 1998, so yesterday was the actual anniversary date. I almost got in trouble for not having said anything about it.

04/27/2012 4:09 PM
The difference with good night's sleep

Piney awoke this morning at his usual 5 a.m. full of "philosophy!"

04/27/2012 4:07 PM
A MOUNTAIN VIEW

Seeing the forest

04/22/2012 4:25 PM
Animal lover and defender

Let me start by saying this, I am not against killing animals. By this I mean the legitimate killing by hunters or by producers of meats for human consumption. Sadly, I am also aware that occasionally one must euthanize a pet as we recently had to do with our dear old dog Brandy. She had been our friend and companion for nearly 15 years.

04/20/2012 6:06 PM
House-filling hum of old frig proved better than silence

Piney learned through the great TV History Channel or a news story on CNN (He could never remember the sources from the great leveler, the TUBE.), the story of Dr. Kelvin, who had discovered in the middle 1800s that pressure in enclosed spaces made the contents of the spaces cold.

04/20/2012 6:03 PM
Compromise sought for Back of the Dragon bikers, residents

As I have done occasionally in the past, I have asked my FaceBook friends for suggestions for this week’s column topic, and they always come up with some good ideas.

04/13/2012 5:10 PM
A formula to test religions

Piney and She Who Must Be Obeyed had looked at the vagaries of religion across the world and had finally arrived at a simple understanding. There were about 2,703 differing beliefs, ranging from the bizarre to the sublime in the opinion of well-educated people.

04/13/2012 5:08 PM
Fans, former Atlanta Braves players unite for good cause

This is my dear wife, Terry. She likes baseball, at least the Atlanta Braves. Like is an understatement, a vast understatement. I would say an enthusiastic admirer of a celebrity or public performer is closer. However, in Terry's case, fanatic would be closer to the point, particularly of one player, Ryan Klesko. Calling her a fan of the Braves doesn't quite do her justice; she loves them.

04/06/2012 6:30 PM
The risks of youthful experiments

Piney was viewing a television report of a high school student who excelled in science and mathematics, confounding all his associates and teachers. This lad had in fact progressed to begin work on his own nuclear reactor, an experiment under supervision by the local university. This story reminded Piney of his own genius brother and his early childhood scientific exploits.

04/06/2012 6:27 PM
A MOUNTAIN VIEW

'Getting away' with distraction

04/06/2012 4:22 PM
OUR VIEW: Answering some burning questions

If your home is on fire, do you really care who’s trying to put it out? Specifically, would you be concerned if there’s a felon – a criminal in other words -- driving the fire truck or manning the water hose?

04/03/2012 2:49 PM
Attempt to help waitress goes awry

Last Saturday I did something I did not intend to do, and would not have done so normally. I apparently offended a young lady accidentally. I suppose it was more a case of embarrassment rather than offended. But still it was unintended.

03/30/2012 5:09 PM
A lifetime of loving cars is still going.

Piney decided to tell in the first person his "car history" from childhood to age 87.

03/30/2012 5:06 PM
Keep the Raven football team

Parents and grandparents want to save team

03/27/2012 7:16 AM
Ready for the new season, baseball season that is

I wasn't feeling the best yesterday evening. I'd been having car trouble for almost two weeks and was not sure if it has been corrected just yet. I used to really like this time of year but since the terrible tornado outbreak that hit our area last year, I have been dreading the season.

03/23/2012 6:06 PM
Finding the secret to letting go of fear

Piney, three months from his 87th birthday and on a Sunday in sunny Florida, reflected on the present life of a couple together for nearly 42 years and in acceptable health.

03/23/2012 6:03 PM
A MOUNTAIN VIEW

A closer look

03/23/2012 4:22 PM