Call it a case of old-fashioned distracted driving.
A dispatcher overheard on our newsroom scanner relayed a complaint this morning someone was reading the newspaper while driving on N.C. 68 south near Bryan Boulevard in Greensboro.
So this newspaper - and I can only guess which one - is such a compelling read that you can't wait to get to work to dive in? Maybe there is hope for our industry.
So I spent a good chunk of the past weekend with my electric-powered leaf blower. My wife was like, are you going to get some clear plastic bags for 'em? Nah. Figured as long as I put that nice long pile of leaves at the edge of the yard but not on the curb per the city's request (yes, I'm paying attention), I've done my civic duty.
But that's been blown all to Hades.
Wind gusts exceeding 30 mph? Are you kidding me?
Last check my beautiful leaf pile was scattered across my yard and into part of the street. My neighbors are even getting a little slice of my leaf action (sorry neighbors).
Oh well. Fool me once...Time to break out the bags this time.
When I heard about the highly successful book "The Secret" from my wife, who had seen Oprah sing its praises after its release last year, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it.
Granted, critics have rightfully described the book's premise that the universe responds to your positive thoughts - literally - as far-fetched.
But after listening to the audio version of the book in the car during a road trip, I decided, what the hey, give the book's instructions about harnessing positive thinking a shot. Instead of throwing the Secret out with the bathwater, maybe you can get something out of it after all.
The results surprised me - not that positive thinking works, but how it works.
It's that time of year when our little hyperactive mixed-breed goes bonkers in the backyard whenever she hears or smells nearby deer in the woods.
We've been a little worried that she'll succeed in hopping over the fence. Then what? I can imagine one of those deer, if it felt threatened or cornered, could intentionally or accidentally injure her or worse.
Yet, despite all the bravado, I take this very same dog for a run through our neighborhood the other day and she gets frightened by an inflatable holiday decoration.
I was jogging by a house with one of those inflatable Christmas trees and I almost tripped over Anna as she jerked my leash and bolted toward the middle of the road after being startled by it.
0ne of my favorite pursuits during the lazy, hazy days of summer is to visit my family's property along a Chesapeake Bay tributary in Virginia and fish.
Usually I reel in croaker. If I'm lucky and the bounty is plentiful, my aunt will fry 'em up, then serve them with cornbread and her homemade cole slaw on their gazebo overlooking the water.
This video I shot a few years year ago reminds me I'm not the only one out there fishing. That's my brother, by the way, taking practice shots.