Price's Fork Elementary: Ragged in Old Age.

   Price's Fork Elementary used to be one of the smallest schools in the Blacksburg area. It had way too many students for its size, and the building desperately needed to be updated. Instead of updating it, they just built a new one.

   This is the old one. It's been run ragged with the little feet of youngsters roaming its halls.  Paint is peeling, garbage is still in the back, and the baseball field looks like it needs tumbleweeds rolling through it. It all seems hauntingly empty. This building is now for sale, and will cease to exist as a former school.

Thank You.

I think we sometimes forget just how much we owe our soldiers. These people are putting their lives on the line for us. We may not know their names, the how, or the where, but they are.  I want to say thank you to my cousin, Ethan, for doing just that with the Marines.

Ethan, you are awesome for doing what you do. I wish we could see you more often, but know that your family loves you so much!

The Lawn.

Every year, fireworks are set off at my old high school. The school collapsed a few years ago, but the fields and track are still used by the community. Across the street from the old school is the recreation center for the entire town. They have a skate park, a playground (it's still fun to play on at my age), soccer fields, baseball/softball fields, a big, red caboose, an indoor pool, and basketball courts. On top of all that, they have a big lawn in front of it all.

   This lawn fills with people from town to watch the fireworks. Instead of just having fireworks, there is a band, fairground food, and spontaneous games everywhere. I see people from all my years there as they come back to visit their own families who are still there.

Storm and Sunset.

The day after the Derecho, a smaller storm came through Christiansburg. I happened to be there at the time and I got to experience one of the best sunsets I've seen in years.

Derecho.

The Derecho Storm is not news to those of us on the east coast. Power outages are still everywhere, including my family's house. The rumble of generators is echoing through the valley. Last night, I had the pleasure of driving a mile down the road with friends in an ATV to fill up buckets of water at a neighbor's well (powered by a generator of course), and haul it back up to the house to help water my family's horses. As we were filling up the buckets, we realized how valuable water really is, and how often we take it for granted when we don't have it.