Twenty years ago this month, the stinking, rotting, smoking and leaking symbol of industrial decay and folly that was Avtex Fibers in Front Royal was finally forced to shut down, leaving behind a toxic mess that has taken all of that time and a projected $150 million to clean up -- with much of that cost borne by FMC Corp., a former owner of the plant.
We're told to love thy neighbor, and that's always seemed like good advice. In fact, it's been pretty easy counsel to follow. No matter where I've lived over the years, I've been lucky to have wonderful people living just across the fence.
When the receptionist picked up the phone, she was laughing at some joke with a co-worker and took several seconds to compose herself before acknowledging the customer at the other end of the line.
It will soon be Halloween, a time to venture into the attic of the old house, preferably late at night when there are no sounds except perhaps the scraping of a branch against the roof or the low moan of the wind in the trees outside.
Everyone loves a happy ending. Lassie rescues Timmy from the bottom of the mine shaft. Alice wakes up, no worse for wear, on the right side of the looking glass. Dorothy and Toto miss their balloon ride but still make it home safely from Oz.
It's too bad Alma Porter isn't in charge of Congress. Mrs. Porter, God rest her soul, was my 11th-grade algebra teacher, and she ruled her class with an iron fist.
If the "Grey Ghost" gives up the ghost tomorrow, I won't mourn. I'll just leave my old friend by the side of the road and walk away satisfied. The Ghost, my 1993 Nissan pickup, is the single best automotive investment of my life.
How far will we go to plumb our roots? Cindy and I got off the highway at this central Michigan town and drove through block after block of shuttered factories, boarded-up shopping centers and streets where every third or fourth house has been abandoned.
If the recession has you counting pennies, I have good news. You can count on saving a nickel on every dollar spent next weekend for school clothes and supplies.
Sometimes it's good for editors at newspapers, even those who only work part time on the copy and design desks, to tell readers a little about how The Daily Miracle is put together and to explain our decisions about the selection and placement of stories and photographs.
Every generation has its special words. When my generation's parents would say something was "super," or "neat," we would say it was "cool," mainly because we wanted to sound cooler than our parents.
Twenty years ago this month, the stinking, rotting, smoking and leaking symbol of industrial decay and folly that was Avtex Fibers in Front Royal was finally forced to shut down, leaving behind a toxic mess that has taken all of that time and a projected $150 million to clean up -- with much of that cost borne by FMC Corp., a former owner of the plant.
We're told to love thy neighbor, and that's always seemed like good advice. In fact, it's been pretty easy counsel to follow. No matter where I've lived over the years, I've been lucky to have wonderful people living just across the fence.
When the receptionist picked up the phone, she was laughing at some joke with a co-worker and took several seconds to compose herself before acknowledging the customer at the other end of the line.
It will soon be Halloween, a time to venture into the attic of the old house, preferably late at night when there are no sounds except perhaps the scraping of a branch against the roof or the low moan of the wind in the trees outside.
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