As a journalist and part of a small-town newsroom staff of three, I was able to enjoy the comradery of artisans like myself and share in the satisfaction of helping produce a quality finished product that the public had learned to expect from the famous centennial newspaper. It was very rewarding to be part of that endeavor. The owner of the Bedford Bulletin and my publisher, a spry young woman in her early nineties was a particular help to this young reporter. She took me under her wing and “toughened” me up. Together with my editor, a genuine poetic wordsmith and my comrade, a seasoned reporter and excellent photographer, I was truly blessed to have such award-winners (recipients of many Virginia Press Association awards) as my surrogate family and mentors.

           I was born in Maryland, a former southern antebellum state, but I was raised in Virginia and I’ve found my true love in the South. While I have enjoyed a few adventures to the north and west of the Old Dominion, my soul remained in the South. My life experiences stem from my immersion in southern culture and I have followed it from Virginia, on a slow, southernly breeze, throughout the southern states. I currently reside in the Deep South. In a not-so-quiet community called Venice, Florida.