There is a thoughtful and well composed opinion piece at The Roanoke Star News today that was written by my good friend and alumnus, Russell M. Painter.
You can find it right here:
https://theroanokestar.com/2022/12/12/we-are-called-to-tolerate/
There is a thoughtful and well composed opinion piece at The Roanoke Star News today that was written by my good friend and alumnus, Russell M. Painter.
You can find it right here:
https://theroanokestar.com/2022/12/12/we-are-called-to-tolerate/
I discovered this morning that The Roanoke Times published my latest letter to the editor; it appeared on November 21. (This was my letter about drawing comparisons between the January 6th attack on the Capitol and protests by Black Lives Matter.)
Thanks, as always, to the editorial staff of The Roanoke Times for the opportunity to share my point of view with my neighbors.
I am so honored today that The Piker Press published my prose love poem, “Her Smile Was Silver Jupiter.” You can find it at the link below.
Thanks, as always, to Managing Editor Sand Pilarski for allowing me to share my voice at The Piker Press!
“Her Smile Was Silver Jupiter”
“A Roanoke Thanksgiving”
I am thankful for
fine friends, gracious neighbors, and presently forgotten adversaries,
the smell of smoke outside, its rich and deep and ageless burning notes that sound upon the palette,
the hills under all my days, which pluck up my breath,
all the countless “hellos” their slopes will yield,
the mountains’ incandescence in this cooling season,
the colors now igniting their high and wooded perches,
this new home, this Old South,
this ranging, easy vale of firming winds and firm tradition,
its gentle people, and their surprising hearts —
this fair, far Star City.
~ Eric Robert Nolan, Thanksgiving 2019
Construction proceeds slowly but surely off Campbell Avenue at the site of the now-extinct bus station.
I love the phrase “extinct bus station” — like it was too big and slow to adapt, and stone age hunters ran it down to oblivion.
This is from 1988 — it was my speech when I ran for president of the International Student Organization at Longwood High School.
I even had buttons made up. I was quite the extrovert back in those days (and a nerd too, in case you hadn’t noticed). But I wasn’t exactly Marcus Antonius, even if I wanted to be.
Note the use of a dot matrix printer! 😀


I actually had a hard time picking out the best shot of the moon yesterday up at the north edge of town. These might have been the better shots.




Virginia.

Looking north.
