My daughter is a puppy. A spotted puppy. It's an important distinction. Her breed may be a mystery, but her markings have been mapped with a surveyor's precision. She has a black ring around her right eye, three spots on her rump, a spot on her left rear "paw" and a black-tipped tail. ...more

October 26, 2008

Ruth and I took a ride out into the country earlier this week to the visit Edd and Rita Vowels, who just about a year ago sold off all but one of their McDonald's restaurants. Last Feb. 15, I wrote the final chapter on the couple's highly successful business ventures in the tri-county area as well as their influence on so many of the area's community affairs. Then on the 21st of that month they signed the papers that closed out that phase of their life. They then officially joined the ranks of the relaxed retired ones. "One thing about retirement," Edd says in his soft-spoken manner, "when I wake up I wonder, 'What day is this?'" ...more

February 9, 2008