PRESTON COUNTY, WV—Since I last blogged, my world has changed beyond recognition. If you recall, my niece had just given birth on Dec. 27, 2019, to a beautiful baby girl. Then my mother suddenly died on New Year’s Day. Eight days later, I became homeless. Two days later, I attended Read more…
MORGANTOWN, WV—It’s at times like these that I think of Anthony Shadid. The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist died in 2012 from asthma, while on assignment in Syria. He was just 43. He was also extremely allergic to horses. Sadly, Shadid was walking behind a horse as he and another New Read more…
First came the stealthy knock, carried out under cover of darkness. Then the sound of footsteps, running away from the house. And then, the horrible message: “TRUMP is our president now. Get out of our neighborhood now FAGGOTS!!” I hate that word. I refuse to utter it and hate to Read more…
I haven’t quite gotten the hang of writing from the open road. You would think it would be so easy: just walk into your hotel room, open your laptop, and begin writing, right? Not so much. At least, not for me. I’ve struggled to find a balance between driving, interacting Read more…
My heart is heavy after hearing the news out of Orlando. Upon realizing that the mass shooting at a gay nightclub is the worst one in U.S. history. My son is gay. So was my Uncle Robert. I’ve been around gay family members since the early 1970s, after my mother Read more…
June 2, 2018 By Anonymous Reporter ANY CITY, U.S.A.—Under cover of darkness, a lone woman wearing a ski mask to hide her identity met me in an empty warehouse, far from the glow of the city lights. She was skittish, and kept glancing around as if afraid she was followed Read more…
You may not know this, but many journalists don’t vote. Why? Because they believe holding a political opinion impairs their ability to objectively do their jobs. This is one reason I remain largely silent during election years. Since journalists are at the front line of an election, in order to Read more…
It was almost midnight when she made her entrance, the beautiful, fair-skinned blonde with a red flower in her hair. Unlike most of the women I saw on the streets of Morgantown last night, she wore slacks. Not a sequined miniskirt. Three men, possibly of Pakistani descent, in a nearby Read more…
It couldn’t be more ironic if we had been reading lines from a script. Today’s early morning drive along Route 7 was pleasant enough, as I wound my way from Morgantown, W.Va., to Kingwood. It even included a serene interlude with an old friend at a Reedsville café. From there Read more…
EDITOR’S NOTE: As I sit here in a friend’s Pompano Beach apartment, every few minutes another small plane flies overhead. I am directly under their flight path on this, the 15th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks here in the United States. After mulling over every way our Read more…