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Author Archives: tommystafford
And Here We Are Almost Three Years Later.
Nelson County, Virginia Back in April of 2020 I wrote a post here right here called, Keep The Fire Burning : Why A Hug, A Handshake & Friends Matter Now More Than Ever My opening paragraph in that post was … Continue reading
How I Became Friends With The Late Earl Hamner, Jr – Creator Of The Waltons
Nelson County, Virginia Back in 2005 when we started a printed magazine here in the Blue Ridge of Virginia, Earl Hamner was in his early 80s and very much alive. A local director, Peter Coy, was in the process of … Continue reading
Posted in family, Life
Tagged earl hamner, friends, John boy, jr., my memory, Schuyler, the Waltons, va, Waltons mountain
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Downing Of The Lights
Bryant, Virginia It’s always a bittersweet time of the year. After weeks of holiday feels, starting back with Thanksgiving, it finally ends in early to mid January. This year we decided to keep the outdoor lights up until just after … Continue reading
Posted in family, Life
Tagged blue ridge mountains, Christmas lights, farmlife, holidays, over, taking down lights, virginia
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6 Years & 50 Pounds
Six years ago on this very day I’d had enough. November 6, 2016. My pants were tight, my shirts were tight, I was fat. My blood pressure was bumping into pre-hypertensive territory and even lying down in bed my heart … Continue reading
Posted in Fitness, Life
Tagged Fitness, lifting, losing weight, resistance training, running, trail running, weight loss, workout
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A Chicken Funeral
Nelson County, Virginia Once laying hens get old, usually about 3-4 years, they stop laying. On a farm they’ve served their purpose and lived a pretty good life, especially if they are able to get to pasture like ours … Continue reading
Posted in family, farming, Life
Tagged a boy and his pet chicken, blue ridge mountains, chickens, death, farm animals, farmlife, Life, poultry, virginia
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“So Long To All My Friends In Tupelo, Mississippi” – RIP Captain Larry Bell
Dyer County, Tennessee Larry Bell and I shared an office together in the 1980’s when I was still in law enforcement. We both had moved into administrative jobs, more or less, at that point and it became necessary to have … Continue reading
Posted in Life, Uncategorized
Tagged Captain Larry Bell, death, dyer county sheriffs department, obit, Tennessee highway patrol
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It’s Not The Same. But It’s Still Great!
Somewhere On The Bay For 13 years we’ve been coming to this spot on the Chesapeake Bay. Summer calls you here after those long, cold and dark winter days. We gave it a test run one year in the October … Continue reading
Posted in family, Life
Tagged Chesapeake Bay, daughter, family, father, growing up, Virginia side
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Just Before Sunrise Summer Quietly Arrived And Unpacked
Without a sound summer arrived this morning at 5:14 eastern time. I think I was still asleep, but I may not have been. I love summer. It’s my favorite time of the year. I really wish it officially started on … Continue reading
Posted in Life
Tagged big sandy, blue ridge mountains, Paris, summer arrives, Tennessee River, virginia
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Doug Viar Taught Me Everything I Ever Learned About Covering News – Sure Wish He Was Still Around
I’ll never, ever forget the day Doug Viar’s daughter, Lori, sent me an instant message over Facebook. “Tommy, daddy is gone.” It sort of confirmed something I had a funny feeling about that day. I’d been trying to reach Doug. … Continue reading
March Begins. I Can Coast Now.
I can remember it. Clear as day. Every year on March 1st, even if it was snowing, my daddy would say, “Tommy, we can coast now. We’ve made it through February, that’s the worst of it.” He’d go on to … Continue reading
Posted in farming, Life
Tagged 2022, blue ridge mountains, childhood, crocus, dyer county, farm, meteorological spring, nelson county, Northwest Tennessee, virginia
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