Tommy’s Window on the World
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It’s 2026 and Coal is Changing
It’s 2026 and Coal Is Changing I grew up in a coal‑mining family in the far southwestern corner of Virginia,…
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My Grandpa’s Dilemma
The night sky over Clell, Virginia, hung low with stars, a frosty bowl of light over the narrow valley. The…
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My Close Call… by Jane Strebel
I remember him still: massive, intimidating, and totally fulfilling the expectations of his name. Samson was a Hereford bull. He…
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The Silence of Loneliness
Hank sat on the bank’s edge, fishing pole in one hand, a thick cigar in the other, and his middle…
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Betty’s Gift of Berries
By the time anyone heard Tom coming, it was already too late to pretend they weren’t home. The old truck…
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My Life in Ten Sentences
As my eighty-fifth birthday approaches, I’ve taken on the challenge of telling my life’s story in just ten sentences, a…
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Kindness and Determination
As the years accumulate, so do the values that steer a life. Some prove noble, some less so, but all…
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Three Missing Teeth
The old man stared at the tools hanging on the rough-planked wall of his workshop. The two-person crosscut saw and…
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Popeye Is Dying
All four of my grandparents wrapped me in love as I grew from a skinny mountain boy into a young…
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Last Breath
In 2014, my wife and I boarded a plane and flew to London, England, to spend a week touring the…
