Thanks, Buzzworm, for listing Sylvia Earle’s recent talk at Warren Wilson College [“‘Living Legend’ Oceanographer to Visit Warren Wilson,” April 25]. Getting to hear a world-renowned oceanographer such as Dr. Earle was an incredible opportunity. It was fascinating to learn the story of orange roughy, who lived free from human intervention until about 30 years […]
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In memory of memory
My cousins and I are standing on the threshold of hell. Or so it is, statistically. My family is afflicted with Alzheimer’s. The disease has run rampant among the aunts and uncles and cousins in my memory alone. As a 25-year-old therapist, I was horrified to see that on my list of newly assigned patients […]
Disclaiming the “Disclaimer”
I was minding my own business, having dinner with my illegal-alien friends at a local safe house, when I came across the article about my kidney stone in the “Asheville Disclaimer” [Xpress, May 9]. According to the writer, I passed it at the Dennis Kucinich (Dennis the Menace, as we used to call him back […]
The Literacy Council of Buncombe County
The Literacy Council of Buncombe County provides free one-on-one or small group instruction to adults in basic literacy and English as a second language. The Literacy Council currently has 150 tutors, all of whom are trained volunteers, serving about 250 students: 200 studying ESL and 50 studying basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills, including GED […]
Possibilities, limited
A cash-strapped Center of Unlimited Possibilities, which sought to provide a hub for much of Asheville’s alternative culture under one roof, closed its doors on April 30. “We were not able to keep up with the rent,” says Anna Walker, CUP’s volunteer manager and one of its co-founders. “For the amount of space we had, […]
Back to Walden
On April 16, when tragedy struck the Virginia Tech campus, I was reading about Thoreau and his retreat to Walden Pond in Susan Cheever’s book, American Bloomsbury (Simon & Schuster, 2006). I was also finishing up a memoir class. We had just come through a “dogwood winter” of record-breaking proportions that had stopped spring’s flowering […]
None of this makes sense
Speaking at Virginia Tech about the killings there, President Bush said: “It’s impossible to make sense of such violence and suffering. Those whose lives were taken did nothing to deserve their fate. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Mr. Bush could have said the same words about the more than […]
Wrecking ball swings toward Asheville black history
I just want Asheville to know it is about to lose a historic African-American building in the Burton Street area. A year ago, I did research on the building at 3 Buffalo St. and found out that it was built in 1924 by a black man. I later heard that he used to do carnivals […]
Downtown has become a hostility zone
I am fed up with Asheville’s attitude on crime, homelessness and drugs. I work downtown on weekend nights and have been doing so for the past eight years. Tonight I witnessed a purse snatching and an assault (completely unrelated), and my car was broken into for the second time in two years. On a weekly […]
It’s all downhill for manufacturing
The continuing decrease in the role of manufacturing in the U.S. economy has been getting worse over the past 57 years, as shown by America’s output, which accounted for about 25 percent of the gross domestic product in the 1950s and ‘60s. One out of three jobs was in the factory sector, but currently, manufacturing […]
Three major vices
Greed, money and corruption—the three major vices that control this nation and make this country stand out—have finally arrived in Asheville and Western North Carolina. Individuals who have waited nearly 60 years have finally been able to capitalize, with the help and manipulation of a chosen few. These are the few individuals that have the […]
New possibilities
After 10 months of building a community-gathering place, the Center of Unlimited Possibilities has closed its doors at Westgate. There are many that share our feelings—of sadness for the things we’ll miss … thankfulness for having been a part of this beautiful vision … and optimism for what will come next! We know that CUP […]
Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC
Little Sister Shiquane and Big Sister Carleigh Knight at Fired Up! Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC matches young people, the majority of whom are from single-parent families, with caring, adult mentors. “Mentoring transforms the lives of children and volunteers,” says Development Director Ashley Vandewart. “Matches spend little moments together that create big magic.” Fun […]
River-sculpture contest taking on a better shape
Artists this year will see more money and less red tape.
Prestigious Lark Books goes straight to the dogs
Last year, Thames & Hudson published an endearing little book called David Hockney’s Dog Days. In the preface, the famed ‘60s pop artist writes: “I make no apologies for the apparent subject matter. These two dear little creatures [a pair of dachshunds] are my friends. They are intelligent, loving, comical, and often bored. They watch […]
Gallery Gossip
• They’re doing it again! Despite all the unnecessary red tape they waded through last year, Arlene and Robert Winkler are organizing another river-park sculpture exhibit. Let’s hope they’re rewarded with more cooperation from the city this time around. • Time again for the Doors of Asheville fundraiser. Neighborhood Housing is such a worthy cause, […]
Eatin’ in season
Spring is egg season on the farm. While eggs are certainly a year-round delight, the rich, golden yolk and distinct flavor of a farm-fresh egg shines best in spring, when hens enjoy a diet of new green plant growth and insects newly emerged from winter’s cold. This time of year, the differences between a farm […]
Fleet of foot, strong of character
The five kilometer footrace or “5K” is the country’s most popular running event. Last year, more than three million Americans finished a 5K, and participation numbers continue to rise. Many choose the 5K as a fitness goal, from novices lacing up their first pair of running shoes to seasoned veterans out to collect race T-shirts. […]
Surviving by creation
My son first blew into a saxophone when he was 8 years old. An accidental relationship developed between the two, nothing either of us had planned. An old friend had found it in a thrift store or pawnshop and left it in our living room. And for months, the sound of that horn followed me […]
Abortion ruling assaults the environment
The recent Supreme Court decision restricting [late-term] abortions was doubly disastrous, not just for the reasons cited elsewhere, but also because it was done without an associated victory for state’s rights. As a federal regulation, these new restrictions apply not just to South Dakota and Alabama, but to New York, Vermont and Hawaii, as well. […]
Wildlife still here, and welcome
I’ve seen bear, deer, wild turkeys, squirrels, chipmunks, a ground hog, rabbits and a variety of birds including cardinals, blue jays and Baltimore orioles on my four acres along Chunns Cove Road. I thought that I had just about seen everything, until my granddaughter Jeana coaxed me out of my comfortable easy chair to stroll […]