Public displays of sculpture or art aren’t a new idea, having been done in such places as Chicago with pigs. And, horses in Lexington, Ky., and Newnan, Ga. Yet the display of 42 fiberglass, small train engine models that recently went up in Huntington, W. Va., is every bit as impressive as the online photos…
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My wife and I recently attended two community forums organized by a woman concerned over the calamity in our city wrought by heroin and other drugs. We were shocked to learn that heroin overdose deaths in 2015 in our city are projected to be six times the national average. Nor does it matter where you…
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I first saw the story of a company’s startling pay increases on the NBC evening news, but it has garnered considerable attention elsewhere. The move has eye-popping value. The owner of a credit card processing company decided to pay all of his 120 employees at least $70,000 a year by 2018, which means some will…
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Customary wisdom says printed book sales are dead, supposedly done in by the millennial generation’s affinity for all things digital. Yet, pesky signs keep appearing that say printed books are alive and kicking. Granted, younger people may not have the same love of dead trees as yours truly, but something is afoot in Tradition Land.…
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In about two weeks my brother and his wife will celebrate 40 years of marriage, having tied the knot about four years before I did the same. The older I get, the more grateful I am for the faithfulness of my parents, who were married for 42 years before my mother died. As in any…
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The recent story that an apple a day may not keep the doctor makes for good headlines, but I beg to differ. There is more to this story than meets the casual eye. Granted, researchers who followed more than 8,000 people over a three-year period found those who ate an apple daily didn’t have significantly…
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Twenty-one years have passed since George Foreman claimed the title of oldest heavyweight champion of the world at age 45 by defeating Michael Moore. However, my fascination with his comeback predates that fight. A couple years earlier, half a dozen other men and I gathered at the home of a friend who has since passed…
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March marked the fifth anniversary of the premiere of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. The six-week ABC mini-series won an Emmy Award for “Best Reality Series” and catapulted Huntington, West Virginia into the national spotlight. Not only did the lush, colorful scenes that opened each installment put an attractive face on the area, it brought permanent…
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Time magazine’s recent cover story on health pictured a wide-eyed infant next to the headline: “This baby could live to be 142 years old.” The feature touched off such discussions as one raising the question: is it a good idea to live that long? Most of the cover package stories detailed research into aging and…
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According to the researchers who check the pulse of America, I live in the most miserable state in the nation. West Virginia recently topped the ratings for the sixth consecutive year, dragged down by such factors as poor well-being, motivation, finances, safety, and health. Kentucky and Ohio, the two states bordering the area where I…
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