Posted: 5:15 AM Let's try listening for a change

Posted: 11:51 AM Thanksgiving is my very, very favorite season; I use the word "season" on purpose, because I string it out as long as possible, and I love everything about it. There are so many things to love about Thanksgiving, and one of the favorite things to me is that you can really look forward to family visits without the pressure of, "Did I buy you the right gift?"

Posted: 1:00 PM When I was a child, I played outside from morning until night, running, making mud pies, creating plays, jumping rope, playing “school” on the steps of the church, skating, and riding a bike when I could find one. I would see groups of adults at church or in community meetings in the 1940’s, and all I saw were ladies in girdles and tight clothes and men dressed in suits and hats, talking, and I dreaded the day that I would enter that world.

Posted: 1:48 PM It had been a beautiful fall day. Emily Anne was all dressed up in a costume; she loved to dress up. She spent most of her days dressed as Cinderella. But this day was different; just about everyone was in costumes.

Posted: 1:41 PM I saw Shana yesterday, and even though we had not communicated since she was a young child and we would not have recognized each other on the street, there was an instant connection on my part. (I cannot presume that she would feel that way, for she was looking into the face of a stranger on the day that she was burying her father, the only parent she really knew.)

Posted: 3:44 PM When I came to Harlan there were a few things that surprised me. One of these things was seeing grandmothers (real grandmothers with gray or white hair) smoking cigarettes. I had never seen that before.

Posted: 12:27 PM The recent story by Diane Sawyer on the TV program “20/20” concerning the problem of drugs in Eastern Kentucky brought forth a strong reaction from all of us. We all had the feeling that once again our homeland here in the mountains would suffer the wounds of prejudice. Most people do not know that they are prejudiced; some of the most prejudiced remarks that I have ever heard were introduced by the words, “I’m not prejudiced, but….”

Posted: 5:22 AM There is an old story about a man who moved to a new town; soon after arriving, he walked into a small barber shop and sat down in the chair of an elderly barber.

Posted: 3:35 PM We spent our first Memorial Day week-end in Harlan 40 years ago, in 1969. We were surprised at the large number of cars that arrived that week-end bearing license plates from Michigan, Ohio and other states.

Posted: 3:34 PM I have been asked to share with you my views on life from my hill in Harlan County where I have resided for over 40 years. WYMT is a special blessing in eastern Kentucky because it gives the news to us with the flavor of our real life.