• Black Friday

    3 minutes

    By way of introduction for the uninitiated, let's define black Friday (a.k.a today). "Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, is historically one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year. Many consider it the 'official' beginning to the holiday season. Most retailers will open very early and usually provide massive discounts on their products" (Wikipedia). Massive discounts indeed. How about a portable DVD player for $50? That's a bargain boys and girls. We got a Wal-Mart flyer in the mail yesterday advertising this sweet little $50, 6 inch-screened bundle of DVD viewing joy. A couple of…

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  • Turkey Day

    1 minute

    Turkey day, turkey day. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, gravy. That's Thanksgiving here in America: food, food and family. We got together with the Maust family today, Thanksgiving Day, back on what Sir Nigel D calls "Maust Mountain;" Mt. Davis, Pennsylvania that is where we have a cabin and good times. A short hoedown followed the food with Uncle Jim and myself on guitar, Uncle Mert on the djembe, and various little cousins on the egg shakers, among the sung were Life is Like a Mountain Railway and Faith of Our Fathers. Next holiday up?…

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  • 6. Remembering America August 2006: Thanksgiving and Home.

    2 minutes

    Thanksgiving came early to Beckley this year. Duane and Chris kindly invited us to experience a real American Thanksgiving before we went home. We'd had a pretend one in England the year before when Drew came a-wooing (Emily, that is). What a fine lad he is, and also his brothers. Duane and Chris sure know how to bring up kids, don't they?  Well, the meal was fantastic, turkey, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie – you know the sort of thing. Those settlers certainly ate well. Duane must have been up early that day with his gun, hunting that turkey on Maust…

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  • 5. Remembering America August 2006: Morgantown

    3 minutes

    Someone once said that Morgantown was the sort of place you could drive through without a second glance. Not true. The official Morgantown website tells us that "Morgantown, WV has been recognized as one of the best small cities in the Country. World-class healthcare, recreation, education, and art facilities complement our strong business community". And the website wouldn't lie to us, would it?

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