Virtual Postcard from Virginia

We were initially going to go with an image I myself took of a dog next to a fire station in the Grandin village section of my hometown, Roanoke. Then, we thought about going with an image of Foamhenge, near Natrual Bridge and Lexington, the latest creative project from eccentric artist Mark Cline, who resides in that area in the lower Shenandoah Valley. Foamhenge has gotten worldwide attention through CNN.

But, ultimately we decided to go up Route 11 from Lexington to New Market, a distance of some 70 miles, where one can see the Doofy Johnny Appleseed statue beside a restaurant/hotel. There is another Johnny Appleseed statue in Fredericksburg.

New Market is most famous for a Civil War battle, and the Endless Caverns tourist attraction, which also produces great bottle water, is near that community as well.

SIDEBAR: Our deepest thoughts go out to the family of the Rev. Mack Wolford Randall, a snake-handling pastor from Matoaka, West Virginia, who died yesterday while using a rattlesnake during a sermon; as the old cliche goes; 'Don't try this at home.'

But, West Virginia should not be the only state one thinks when it comes to fringe ministers. We gather that the Rev. Johnny Robertson of Martinsville, Va., has pretty much done everything radical or unimaginable except snake-handling.

SIDEBAR TWO: We are intending to take a brief hiatus, well until Tuesday, which means we will not have to time to congratulate Northwestern University for winning an NCAA title in women's lacrosse. But, though several members of my family have gone to various Big Ten schools, none of them have gone to Northwestern.

http://www.sillyamerica.com

PSA- Save PBS (So, We Don't Have Watch John Denver Specials!)

Actually, contrary to the title of this entry, there are many songs from the late folk singer John Denver (1943-1997) that I enjoy, but let's face it a PBS special with a live performance of his song during Pledge Week is about as painful was well a Lawerence Welk PBS special (irregardless if it airs during Pledge Week or not!).

Earlier in the week, my local PBS station UNC-TV, which broadcasts all over North Carolina even though it is based in Raleigh, aired one such John Denver special. We believe it was "A Song's Best Friend," but we can not verify that as we honestly changed to channel to a rerun of "Ghost Whispherer."

Amazingly enough, I saw a copy of the John Denver record "Poems, Prayers and Promises," (pictured here) which features one of his signature songs "Country Roads" for ten dollars (?!) at Duke's Antiques Mall in Lexington, Va., a few months ago.

We do happen to love PBS and UNC-TV, which aired an interesting segment about the Charlie Poole Bluegrass Festival which is taking place in Eden, NC, this weekend. The festival featured the Durham, NC-based band Carolina Chocolate Drops a few years ago right before they made it 'big' nationally.

Tonight, WUNC-TV is airing another Pledge Week special "Change Your Brain, Change Your Body" with Dr. John Amen at 9:30 p.m. This guy is apparently very popular with PBS stations because we found out that another one of his specials "Magnificent Mind at Any Age" is airing tonight at 11:00 p.m. on MPT (Maryland Public Television). So, perhaps a person living in Kannapolis, NC, can phone their sister living in Hagerstown, Md., and compare notes.

But, Amen's shows are not airing on every PBS station in America tonight as KBDI in Denver, Colo., is not going to air any of his specials tonight. However, the same station is going to air "Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart" at 7:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. (Mountain Time, of course). So, you may want to ask your brother in Aspen to tivo it for you!

SIDEBAR: Kudos to the Chicago Blackhawks for winning their first Stanley Cup since 1961 thanks to an overtime goal from Patrick Kane in overtime last night during Game 6 against the Philadelphia Flyers in the City of Brotherly Love. My cousin Erroll Gokbudak, who grew up in the Chicago 'burb of Skokie, Ill., is assuredly most pleased. He can now go back to watching "Antiques Roadshow" on PBS like the rest of us!

Items for Sale at Duke's Antique Center in Lexington, Va.

If I were still a newspaper reporter, this entry would be called a 'conflict of interest' because my mom is one of the antiques merchants at Duke's Antique Center in Lexington, Va. (one hour north of Roanoke, two and a half hours south of Washington, DC). The antiques mall is actually open 365 days a year- even Christmas Day! Duke's is located at 30 Pinnacle Lane, Lexington, Va. 24450. Phone: 540.463.9511

Here are some of the items you will find there, and I will use an * to indicate the one item which can be found in my mom's booth.

$8- John Denver's "Prayers, Poems and Promises" lp featuring West Virginia's unofficial national anthem "Country Roads" (pictured here).

$28- Vintage framed poster of President Gerald Ford (we're not making this up!)

$20 Zorro comic book

$28 Woody Woodpecker story book from the 1970s

$5 "Saturday Night Fever" dvd

*$20- Roy Rogers lunchbox- it's really not that old, but we'd sure like to get rid of it!