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This week's column.

This column is an expanded version of an earlier post.

What a strange, sad story.

My UNCG class was abuzz Monday night following the Saturday, March 24, shooting in a dormitory on campus.

Two days later, my N.C. A&T class was equally abuzz following the arrest of Sidney Lowe II, 21, son of the first-year N.C. State basketball coach, in connection with that shooting.
The younger Lowe happens to be a sophomore at A&T.

You couldn't make this up. At least you wouldn't. A wicked twist like this one only happens in real life.

The shooting also prompted my UNCG students (all but one of whom are female) to express concerns about being on campus at night. It's not that the campus itself is unsafe, they say.
There's simply no practical way for UNCG or A&T or any other school to completely insulate themselves from their surroundings. Nor would they likely want to.

As for the younger Lowe, he appeared eerily calm while in police custody, the thick, combed-back shock of hair atop his head distracting only slightly from his dead-on resemblance to his smooth-pated dad ... the same friendly eyes, thin mustache and round cheeks, though not yet quite as chubby as his famous father's.

Police have charged Lowe II with a laundry list of offenses, among them felony aiding and abetting of attempted armed robbery, three counts of possession of stolen goods or property, two counts of possession of a weapon on educational property and one count each of possession with intent to sell or deliver marijuana.

They say the UNCG shooting was related to a dispute during a drug transaction.
They also say Lowe II was involved in a home invasion on West Friendly Avenue, for which kidnapping charges also are pending.

Several of my A&T students said they know Lowe. They describe him as an "OK guy."
But he's obviously also a troubled guy, however the charges against him play out.

Already we've determined from a distance how a kid from such a privileged home could go so bad. Lowe, the married father of three, obviously was too busy coaching other people's kids and not his own.

Could be. But it's unfair and premature even to speculate at this point.
That said, unique challenges do come with being a player and coach in professional and major-college sports, as Lowe has been.

It's hard enough being a parent who works in an office or a factory.

Add the pressures that come with the travel and time demands and media scrutiny of coaching and it seems nearly impossible.

Other high-profile coaches have weathered all-too-public family struggles. Tony Dungy, the Super Bowl-winning head coach of the Indianapolis Colts — and father of five — lost an 18-year-old son, James, to suicide last year.

More recently, Andy Reid, the head coach of another NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles, took an unprecedented five-month leave of absence to attend to two troubled sons.
Garrett Reid, 23, tested positive for heroin and entered a rehabilitation facility. Britt Reid, 21, was arraigned on drug and weapons charges.

But remember, there are other young men involved in the UNCG incident, and they aren't coach's sons.

As for Lowe II and the other young men involved, I offer no profound advice or wisdom.

Only my hopes and prayers, for them and for their families.

A new look on Monday

Beginning this week, the Monday opinion pages will take on a fresh look with a new roundup of commentaries in brief called "Short Stack." Intended to be snappy and fast-paced, the new column will replace the traditional Monday editorials.

In addition, the Second Opinion page will be smaller, but two popular columnists, Thomas Friedman and Leonard Pitts, will remain fixtures on that page. Another feature, the notable quotes roundup, "It's Been Said," will move to the main editorial page, under a slightly different name.

More new features are planned for the coming months, in the printed paper and online. Please let us know how you like them.

Given the Tar Heels' ignominious collapse in the NCAA tournament, I'd consigned myself to watching anything but basketball tonight

But here I am, pulling for Florida against Ohio State for the national title.Why the Gators?
Because their stars could have made a run for the money in the NBA after winning it all last year. (If I were in their Nikes, I certainly might have.)

But instead, they all stayed, and dedicated themselves to doing something special -- winning a second title in a row.

I like that. So for one night only, I'm a Gator guy.

Some in the A&T community didn't take kindly to a UNCG student's pronouncement on TV that you expect things "like this" to happen at A&T, not UNCG.

It's not especially useful or constructive at this stage to point fingers.

According to police, students from two campuses were involved in the March 24 incident: UNCG and A&T.

Even the victim of the crime, UNCG student Stephen Cobb, may face criminal charges.

These are two, generally safe campuses that have had their brushes with crime. That's both are located in the real world, not in the Land of Oz. The young lady's comments were unfair.

I'm not quite sure how to react to Starmount Co’s. plans to sell all of its retail holdings, including the Friendly Shopping Center, Brassfield Shopping Center, Westridge Center and even the new Shops at Friendly.

On the one hand -- with a few notable exceptions such as Tex and Shirley's -- most of the stores are parts of national chains anyway. You've seen one Barnes and Nobles, you've seen 'em all.

Plus, Koury Corp. sold another major shopping venue, Four Seasons Town Centre, and no one seemed especially bothered. Of course, that also could have something to so with malls' struggles in general to remain attractive to changing public tastes..

On the other, 50-year-old Friendly Center is in particular a local landmark. It’s sad to see it sold to an out-of-town owner, which appears likely.

I won't know those people. I know Coolidge Porterfield.

N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe has got to wonder, what next?

This from the News & Observer of Raleigh:

Larry Harris, an assistant men's basketball coach at N.C. State University, was arrested and charged Wednesday night with resisting an officer and speeding, a Raleigh police spokesman said.

Syndicated columnist and N.C. A&T faculty member DeWayne Wickham will be a panelist on the June 28 PBS presidential candidates' forum hosted by Tavis Smiley, reports Richard Prince.

Democratic candidates Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson have confirmed their participation in the "All-American Presidential Forums on PBS," moderated by Smiley.

The other journalists on the panel will be Michel Martin of National Public Radio and syndicated columnist Ruben Navarrette Jr. of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Smiley chose the questioners.

This week's column.

The grim tone and pained expressions are gone, at least for now, on WXII (Channel 12)'s early morning newscasts.

The anchors are smiling and joking again, in the we-all-love-each-other-we-really-do way that morning anchors are known for.

On Thursday, the Channel 12 morning crew's wacky traffic woman wore a red clown nose and then muddled, following a joke, through a report of an accident somewhere (she apparently is an acquired taste that I have yet to acquire)
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But it is a lot easier to grin and bear such silliness after watching many of these same people struggle three weeks ago through reporting that one of their own, 32-year-old co-anchor Tolly Carr, had been involved in a fatal tragedy.

Carr had seemed tailor-made for the job, which he had only recently won, and he handled it with professionalism and ease. But he is likely gone from Channel 12 forever.

His career and his future are on hold after a pickup truck he was driving ran off a street in Winston-Salem on March 11 and struck and killed 26-year-old Casey Bokhoven.

Carr's day in court was continued last week to May 9. In the meantime, he has entered a 28-day rehabilitation program. Prosecutors say they have the results of Carr's blood-alcohol tests taken on the morning of the accident. But they won't release them until the investigation is finished.

Part of the high interest in the Carr case is his local celebrity and, frankly, the odd satisfaction some of us seem to get from cheering someone's rise and then reveling in his fall.

But, to be honest, this story is as much about us as it is about Tolly Carr.

We, as a society, don't tolerate drinking and driving the way we used to, as stiffer penalties and the harsher social stigmas attached to such offenses attest.

But recent headlines make you wonder whether we're just talking a good game.

Not sure what radio host Don Imus was thinking when he made gratuitously demeaning remarks about the NCAA Women's basketball championship game, specfically about the Rutgers team that played in Greensboro in March's regional here.

Well, yes I do: He wasn't thinking. Or didn't care. Or both.

Imus has since apologized and insists he is not a racist. He appeared as a guest today on the Al Sharpton's radio show. But he has a pattern of making racially offensive comments over the years.

My cynical prediction: Despite calls for his firing from WFAN radio in New York and MSNBC, which simulcasts his show on cable TV, Imus is not going anywhere. His ratings are too strong.

Alas, in light of this most recent controversy, they are likely to rise.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans has come out against a slavery apology by the state Legislature.

Part of their concern is what they see as the fruitlessness of assigning accountability for -- and fixating on -- something that happened when none of us was alive.

In other words, those who would bring this up at this point are living in the past.

Oh, the irony.

I was wrong in my original post. Don Imus is not getting off so easily after all.

Major sponsors continue to pull out of Imus's radio show

Now this just in from Richard Prince of the Maynard Institute:

"Effective immediately, MSNBC will no longer simulcast the 'Imus in the Morning' radio program," the network announced late Wednesday.

"This decision comes as a result of an ongoing review process, which initially included the announcement of a suspension. It also takes into account many conversations with our own employees," the statement said.

"What matters to us most is that the men and women of NBC Universal have confidence in the values we have set for this company. This is the only decision that makes that possible. Once again, we apologize to the women of the Rutgers basketball team and to our viewers. We deeply regret the pain this incident has caused."

The other shoe has dropped.

Don Imus has lost his job and his radio show.

In the face of a growing exodus of sponsors. the network showed the craggy-faced cowboy with the foul mouth and crabby disposition the door.

CBS said in a statement that it will "cease broadcasting the Imus in the Morning radio program, effective immediately, on a permanent basis."

“From the outset, I believe all of us have been deeply upset and revulsed by the statements that were made on our air about the young women who represented Rutgers University in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship with such class, energy and talent,” said CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves, in the statement.

"Those who have spoken with us the last few days represent people of goodwill from all segments of our society — all races, economic groups, men and women alike. In our meetings with concerned groups, there has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society. That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we made our decision, as have the many emails, phone calls and personal discussions we have had with our colleagues across the CBS Corporation and our many other constituencies."

Imus brought this on himself. His demise seemed hastened by public sympathy for the Rutgers women's basketball team, who were minding their own business when this storm blew in, and who did nothing to deserve being targeted as "nappy-headed ho's."

Now let's see if the outrage extends to the lyrics and images of rap music, as it ought to (CBS, by the way, is owned by Viacom, which also owns MTV and BET).

Meanwhile, don't weep for Imus. He'll probably find an afterlife on satellite radio.

Running for office, even locally, is no Holliday

A major catalyst in decisions by former Mayor Keith Holliday and veteran City Councilman Tom Phillips not to seek re-election clearly was the demand of their day jobs versus the demands of public office.

As devoted as someone might to public service, there are still groceries to buy and bills to pay.

While it is a healthy thing to allow for new ideas and fresh faces on governing boards, too much turnover has its own hazards. A board can lack chemistry, experience and continuity. (That clearly hasn't been the problem in Greensboro but it could be with the next council).

That's why it makes sense to consider ways to help defray the costs in time and money that elective office can entail.

For instance, the council should consider raises for members that are indexed to cost-of-living increases.

Such a system would remove the politics from the process and just maybe make the job more attractive to a broader cross section of ages and backgrounds.

Otherwise, it may get to the point that you have to be retired or independently rich or both to be able to serve. And the prospect of more young people choosing to run will become more and more remote.

Meanwhile, Yvonne Johnson will announce that she will run next week. She has been waiting, for years, for Holliday to step aside. There had been an understanding between the two that one wouldn't run against the other although Johnson's patience had started to run short.

She has a good chance to become the first African American mayor in the city, even if Florence Gatten chooses to run against her.

North Carolina public school teachers are absolutely right to balk at a long-standing policy that requires them to pay $50 per day of "personal leave" to help cover the expense of a substitute teacher.

In an era in which school systems find it harder to recruit and retain effective teachers, the practice is cheap, tacky and demeaning.

I don't know of any other jobs that charge you for your time off.

On the other hand, you don't pay the fee for a sick day. So you can call in "sick" and not incur the charge for a personal day. In other words, the system rewards lying.

This is a policy that needs to change and should have changed a long time ago. And that's the truth.

Every weekday morning, barely past the first glint of sunrise, a neighborhood teenager pokes her head out of her second-floor bedroom window and puffs a cigarette.

I wish she wouldn't, especially at such a tender age.

Of course, it's none of my business.

Many of my friends tell me that they began smoking as teens because it looked stylish, or made them feel older or more sophisticated. Few say it was pleasant or tasted good. Then they got hooked.

Just as I suspect many of the young people in my neighborhood will. Some sneak drags in the cover of night.

Others walk along the street, raining butts on the asphalt in a sad little nicotine-flavored trail of tears.

Never mind that it looks cool now. Just wait till your teeth turn brown and your breath goes bad.

In that special way he had with words, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. once described his habit of smoking as many as 90 cigarettes a day as "a fairly sure, fairly honorable form of suicide."

The author died last week at 84 from an ailment unrelated to tobacco, but he had a point: Smoking is one of the vilest, unhealthiest, most disgusting habits known to man.

Somehow, though, I doubt my teenaged neighbor has read a whole lot of Vonnegut. Besides, what a neighborhood teen does in her own room on her own time with her own lungs is, like I said, none of my business.

When she does it in a restaurant or workplace, well, that's another matter.

Perhaps the most unsettling thing about the horrific killing spree at Virginia Tech is that it seems so familiar.

We have been here before. And we keep coming back.

There are spasms of shock followed by spasms of anger and grief. Then desperate, futile attempts to make sense of what happened.

There will be stories of heroism and selflessness. Accusations that people should have noticed the telltale signs that a killer was about to act on his twisted thoughts.

There will be debates about gun control, followed by no tangible action.

Then in another time, in another place, it will happen once more.

And the same sad story will play out again.

The problem isn't too many guns on campus, some people say in light of the tragedy this week at Virginia Tech; it's not enough guns.

In other words, if more students and faculty had been packing heat, disturbed 23-year-old gunman Cho Seung-Hui would not have been able to kill 32 innocent people before killing himself on Monday.

That might be true: More people would have been able to defend themselves.

So, hand out handguns as standard issue with lap tops and orientation manuals?

Sell ammo at the student store?

He who has the biggest arsenal lives to graduate?

Surely somebody's not serious. Or if they are, they're scaring me.

We spent a long weekend in the hills with a couple of very good friends who have retreated to a blissful retirement in Black Mounrtain. Lucky ducks.

Among the highlights of the trip were a Saturday afternoon in downtown Asheville, where the energy and activity are so palpable you can almost touch them. There are shops and restaurants and enough eclectic, historic architecture to make your head spin.

Or you can just watch the people, who are a show in and of themselves.

Greensboro ought to take notes.

Saturday evening we wound up on the rolling campus of Warren Wilson College, where students raise cows and tend fields between classes.

There we stumbled onto a Black Mozart concert by Futureman of Bella Fleck and the Flecktones fame.

The concert was a tribute to an undersung black French composer and violinist, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

They should make a movie about Saint-Georges (1745-1799), who pioneered the writing of music for string quartets. He was also France's best fencer and fought heroically in the French Revolution.

Saturday night's concert combined classical, blues, jazz, rock and rap ... well, you had to be there.

And boy was there plenty of there there.

Here we were, sitting in a church across a country road from cows and pastures and cornfields and silos, listening to a black drummer conduct two violinists, a cellist and a banjo player in a roomful of college students with blue hair and tattoos.

Is this a great country or what?

As expected, Yvonne Johnson has announced her candidacy for mayor.

Johnson, a veteran at-large council member, has had her sights set on the top job for some time, but she did not want to run against outgoing mayor Keith Holliday, who has served four terms.

She would be the city's first African American mayor, if she wins, and her chances should be good.

Johnson has a broad-based constituency.

The question now is who she'll run against. Florence Gatten will announce her political intentions on May 1, but her chances of running for mayor seem remote.

Some wonder whether she'll even run again for the council.

Chirs Daughtry's new video for his hit song, "Home," filmed in Greensboro, makes you proud to be a Gate Citizen.

It would have been nice, however, if they'd shot some local landmarks as part of the production. Aside from one "Greensboro" sign on what appears to be on I-40/85, it's pretty much impossible to tell where the video is set. Might as well be Pittsburgh.

Not that I'm complaining ...

New Bennett College President-elect Julianne Malveaux is continuing, at least for now, her frequent stints as a broadcast political commentator.

And she is showing no signs of muting the outspoken tones for which she is known.

In a recent appearance on the NPR show, "News & Notes" (which no longer airs in the Triad), Malveaux said the falsely accused Duke lacrosse players "don't deserve any apologies at all."

To hear the whole discussion, click here.

There was something downtown for everybody Saturday.

A baseball game. Center City Park in full bloom. A high school prom at the Empire Room. An anti-war demonstration. And an anti-anti-war demonstration.

I dropped by Phill G. McDonald Plaza to see the event firsthand and was struck by several sights.

1. The Greensboro police were in more than full force, including a Mobile Command Center in the City Hall parking lot.

And that's how it should have been. The show of numbers was reassuring, even if, ultimately, the protesters and counter protesters only traded dueling words and signs.

2. Speaking of signs, there were plenty. On the one hand: "[Cindy] Sheehan is a disgrace to the USA." "Peace comes only through victory." "The World Can't Wait for Cindy Sheehan to shut her mouth." On the other: "Blindly following a bad leader is not patriotism." "Power to the peaceful."

3. The counter-protester on the bullhorn was alternately funny and mean. "Look at the people around you," he said to the anti-war crowd in one barrage. "They're not from around here. They're from the Socialist Republic of New York." And later: "Why in the world would want to bring children to a communist party?"

But I was most struck by the apparent extremes on both sides. Many of the counter protesters looked like Hell's Angels, although there were some moms and kids. The antiwar contingent was an odd, wide-ranging coalition of the willing, bringing to the stage such pet views as global warming, racism and Hurricane Katrina.

Between those two extremes there were probably some moderate voices, but, from as far as I could tell, not a lot of them.

If you are to believe nearly every poll, this is not a popular war among most Americans, from many different walks of life.

You didn't see many of them Saturday.

Let's be clear. I respect the willingness of both groups to take their convictions to the streets.

But Saturday's rallies seemed better suited to more extreme voices. There didn't appear to be a lot of territory for middle-grounders to stand on.

You have to feel for the Greensboro YWCA, which hopes to build a facility at a new downtown location soon.

The latest setback is the end of the Y's plans to hitch its wagon to developer John Kavanagh's planned mixed-use project on Murrow Boulevard and Summit Avenue.

Alas, the Y couldn't raise enough money in time to make the new YW facility part of the plan.

This follows the awkward dissolution of another partnership. The Y had been part of plans for a new downtown swim center and had joined forces with the local swim community.

But the swim groups abruptly dropped the Y when the city came up with an alternate plan that involved building the swim center on the grounds of the Greensboro Coliseum. Its like being dumped as a prom date at the last minute -- because a prettier girl came along.

Ultimately, voters said no in a bond referendum.

So, the Y's being kicked to the curb didn't turn out to be that big a loss.

Meanwhile, YWCA leaders will have to go to Plan C.

Word is that Carolina's Brandan Wright will announce that he will enter the NBA Draft at a 4 p.m. news conference.

No one asked me, but I think he'd definitely benefit from another year in college, and would, in fact, increase his NBA worth by developing a better free-throw shooting touch, a more accurate jumper and more upper-body strength, all of which could come in another year of ACC ball. Plus, he's got some work to do on his defensive skills.

But what do I know?

Choosing editorial cartoons rarely is easy. By their nature these visual editorials are edgy and provocative. If almost any given cartoon fulfills its mission, somebody is going to be offended.

Last week choosing editorial cartoons was nearly impossible. (While I admire the clever inspiration, I can't say much for the artist's sense of taste. I also can't imagine that the late Charles Schulz would approve.)

With the Virginia Tech tragedy still so raw and hurtful, some cartoons went too far too soon and never the saw the light of publication. At least not here.

One (below) even depicted Charlie Brown killing Lucy with a handgun.

Daryl Cagle, a cartoonist whose work appears occasionally in the News & Record, and who runs his own cartoon syndicate for artists throughout, and outside of, the United States, addresses the dilemma in an op-ed piece that will run in Wednesday's News & Record.

Cagle writes: "I run a syndicate that distributes editorial cartoons to newspapers, and our editors were not happy. The day after the tragedy one editor from Georgia wrote: 'As a Cagle subscriber, I have to tell you the cartoons sent today about the Virginia Tech shootings showed a deplorable lack of sensitivity and taste. Can't you find (someone) who isn't so quick to try to be funny or cute at innocent people's expense?' "

I felt similarly about cartoons distributed by Cagle and other services the News & Record subscribes to.

In fact, Cagle himself initially decided not to draw cartoons on the tragedy. "When I first heard about the massacre, I wrote in my blog that I would not be drawing any cartoons about it," he says in his op-ed. He ultimately changed his mind, but I'll let him explain to you why in Wednesday's op-ed.

What follows are cartoons I chose not to publish last week because they didn't seem appropriate or tasteful:

The sad truth has come out: Rather than give accurate accounts of the actions of two of its most high-profile soldiers, the military concocted fictional narratives.

In the more disconcerting of the two cases, the account of the death of former pro football player Pat Tillman was a total fabrication.

The military's account: Tillman (pictured below in an Associated Press photo) died heroically in 2004 when he was felled by enemy bullets during an ambush.

The truth: Tillman was killed by friendly fire from fellow U.S. troops.

The military's account: Jessica Lynch (pictured below,also in an AP photo) was taken prisoner in Iraq after being wounded by Iraqi gunfire during an ambush of her convoy but kept fighting until her ammunition ran out.

The truth: Her gun had jammed and she did not fire a single shot. Also, the military's videotaped account of her rescue was exaggerated as well. Lynch's captors had left long before the troops who found Lynch arrived.

"I'm still confused why they lied and tried to make me into a legend." Lynch said at a congressional hearing Tuesday.

The irony is that there is plenty of heroism to go around in Iraq and Afghanistan. There's no need to make stuff up.

To do so is wrong, dishonorable and a disservice to all of our troops. We are better than that.

I need all your help for a project I'm working on.

When has the Triad gotten it right?

When has the region made the most of its collective clout and resources? Where have area leaders ignored city limiits and pooled resources for the greater good?

And where has the Triad blown it? What are examples of opportunities missed and victories lost because leaders couldn't -- or wouldn't -- get along?

Also, what are future opportunities to work together to improve the area’s economy and quality of life?

You're welcome to respond right here. Or send your nominations by e-mail (to edpage@news-record.com), by fax to 412-5920 or by U.S. Mail to Regionalism's Biggest Hits and Misses, c/o Allen Johnson, News & Record, P.O. Box 20848 Greensboro, N.C. 27401.

Please include your name and address and a telephone number where you can be reached during the day.

Your responses will be used as part of an upcoming Sunday Ideas front.

As you may know already, County Commissioner Skip Alston is blogging.

So far, he seems to have made a serious commitment to the enterprise, posting entries on hot-button isues such as school construction and the proposed new county jail.

I wish him the best. It is helpful in Greensboro and Guilford County for elected officials to discuss the issues of the day in a forum that can reach so many so quickly. And that can rationally tackle issues more effectvely than a televised shouting match at a commissioners meeting (at least usually).

Of course, anybody can start a blog. The hard part is sustaining a blog. City Councilwoman Yvonne Johnson, now a mayoral candidate, authored her own blog briefly but shut it down barely before it had a chance to boot up.

Councilman Tom Philiips was a witty, topical blogger -- a natural -- but he said it took too much time and walked away.

When asked recently if he might fire his blog back up now that he's not seeking re-election, Phillips says he doubts it.

It's just a small circle of the same people, he said, whining and complaining and taking too much of his time.

But at least he was smiling. And we all know he's reading the blogs because he comments on them from time to time.

Meanwhile, it's good to have our first commissioner on the blogosphere. As a Baptist preacher is prone to say when opening the doors of his church, Welcome aboard, Brother Skip. Is there another?

Who says size doesn't matter?

A new 18-screen movie theater is coming to Greensboro near Four Seasons Town Centre.

Good. That part of town needs a first-run theater.

But they may call it the Grand.

Never mind that there already is a Grande multiplex at Friendly Shopping Center and that the multiplex on Battleground originally was called the Carousel Grande.

Not since Teddy bear heavyweight boxer George Foreman was inspired was to name each and every son George has one name seemed to hold such widespread appeal.

From a marketing standpoint, this could be downright confusing to moviegoers. Both as to which theater is which and why the owners couldn't come up with more distinctive names. We get it ... they are BIG.

IYet it's not as if there aren't, oh, 100 million possibilities for theater names. Other than Grand.

This week's column.

The caller was so fired-up one voice mail couldn't contain all of his anger. So he left two.

To put it bluntly, he was sick and tired of my attacks on the tobacco industry. And he was offended that I didn't tell "the whole truth" in a column that supported a legislative ban on smoking in restaurants and workplaces in North Carolina.

Part of that truth, he fumed, was Lorillard Tobacco Co.'s prominent role as a corporate citizen in Greensboro. And part of it, he added, was my own ungrateful attitude despite the many kindnesses tobacco has bestowed upon me and my family since I was knee-high to an ashtray.
"You fail to mention that you were fed, clothed and educated on tobacco money," he said. "Are you biting the hand that fed you?"

And he was right. In the interest of full disclosure, it's time to come clean on the vital role tobacco has played and continues to play in my family's life.

My mother spent more than 30 years as an employee at Lorillard, from which she retired 11 years ago. She enjoyed her time at the place she called "Old Gold," for one of the cigarette brands it produced.

For her, Lorillard was like family away from home. Many of her friends still work there.

But there's more.

I