Each morning, Travis Osborne wakes ⏰️ up and chooses a Bible Verse to send me through Messenger. Then I attach one of five photos 📸 of him / his family and declare that the day has begun.
Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
Sometimes, all a person needs to know is that they are not alone !
This week is The Coast of Carolina Week, and the challenge will be to see 👀 how many different ways one can get on the water 💧????
Take the extra second and show kindness in the direction of others ! You just never know what impact you could have on someone else !!
The Greater Fool is an economic term that has a special meaning to me because of my appreciation for Aaron Sorkin over the years. Sorkin, along with God, Tim Tebow, my father 👨 and Jimmy Buffett combined to create the person who my site has belonged to for the past 18 years.
Anyone who pays attention to my work will notice that my name doesn’t appear anywhere on my site because this effort is not about me in the slightest. It is about my efforts to show God my appreciation for the life that I have been blessed 🙌 to live.
Find a need and fill it – The six word message came from a Southern Baptist church service that I listened to almost 50 years ago, and I have tried my best to follow those words to the very best of my abilities.
There is no shortage of folks holding a camera around here, and a large number of them operate on a very high plane. We are blessed to have the likes of Mike Turner, Craig Worrell, and Velvet Leonard, just to name a few. There is no ” need ” there, that is for sure.
I consider myself skilled in a number of areas, but when it comes to photography📸, I am just a guy who uses his cellphone.
Ryan McCafferty is an answered prayer, and I have done everything I can to assist him during his transition into our area. It’s been a hot minute since The Carroll News has designated a staff position to solely cover Sports in our area. He is young and energetic ➕️ he has an understanding of his surroundings. We needed that in a BIG way, and now we have it.
We are halfway through year six living in the suburbs of downtown Laurel Fork, and every day, I wake up and ask myself, “What can I do today that will give another person hope ?” Can you make someone smile or laugh by showing them a random act of kindness ?
Where that gets tricky is the fact its hard to put a tag on the effort. Everything that I attempt to do is because of my Faith and because I will never have the ability to Preach a sermon, I do my very best to let my actions speak for me.
Love Thy Neighbor is part of the thought process as well. We live in a very unique place, and if everyone had the mindset of watching out for each other, Wow, just Wow !
The Laurel Fork Coconut 🥥 Telegraph is our sister site, and that name is in tribute to both Jimmy Buffett and the place we call home !
This site is designed for a quick hit smile when a photo can tell a story on its own. The photo 📸 there makes an impression, and it is one of our current players. If someone sends me a picture, it is because it matters to them. By extension, it then matters to me, and if it doesn’t need 500 words, it goes on the Coconut Telegraph. If it needs a story, a story is created!
By the way, can you tell me which player it is ?
Alone in a Crowd – Allen Worrell, Anthony Barnes, Greg Talley, Martin McKenzie, Marion Harris, and Shannon Dalton are some of the people who were an absolute pleasure to interact with over the years and I miss them very much. Yes, I have to include Marion on the list because there was a time when he was contributing material to our efforts. I miss interacting with Kris Richardson, but that falls into a different category as my neighbor and friend is also way too busy.
Removing the photo 📸 of the school 🏫 from the banner of the site was a natural thing to do. Yes, the original design was to build a safe place, free of bullying and hate, for people to wake ⏰️ up to. But the percentage of the school that was involved with this was less than 5%. Using my photo of the school was the equivalent of false advertising.
The one in its place is a special one to me as a shop owner down in North Carolina, used a laser to combine our logo with the shape of The Commonwealth.
The new title is a temporary one, and the site itself still has the same address it had back on Day 1. Aroundthevalleyin60days.blog
Other names will include :
The Bill Gallimore Sports Report
The Road Less Traveled
Greg Bolen is a Rock Star
I hope that Kevin Burress never grows up
Joe Walsh once had an album in which he titled it ” You bought it, You name it.”
Clever stuff !
Things that you should know about my efforts going forward are :
I am trying hard to act like a smaller version of Tim Tebow.
I am trying to write ✍️ every word like Jimmy & Aaron.
I am serving God.
I love ❤️ the following things not already listed : Educators, anyone who wears a uniform – Police or Military, anyone trying to coach a team without a Nike shoe contract.
EVERY word I write ✍️ will always be in a positive manner because the World 🌎 needs more of it !
I also ❤️ Kevin Burress and Buc-ees !!
Longer read than normal, but the focus has to shift to the folks who want the interaction.
The softball capsules are fun to do, and they tend to make people smile. All I ask is that if you want one for your family, just let me know by sending me a pic or 2 that you love.
As folks like Travis Osborne and Travis Leath know, Softball is the Greatest Show on Dirt !
Let’s wrap this up by saying that, Yes, I truly believe that their is still time to make a difference in this World 🌎 and I proudly accept the label of The Greater Fool for believing that we can still get there !!!
Yes, the Morning 🌄 Brew will still include Travis Osborne with his Bible Verse of the Day :
Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
If you believe what I believe, I welcome 🙏 the interaction, but if not, that’s okay too, just change the channel.
Staunton High School sits 15 miles from fellow Augusta County School, Waynesboro High School. Today, the two schools are set to square off once again, this time on the tennis courts.
Staunton High earned the right to play their neighbors by stunning the #5 seeded Liberty Christian Academy last week.
Yes, the Storm proved that 12 over 5 upsets were not limited to March Madness !
Departure time – 2:15 on the dot.
2:38 pm – arrived at Waynesboro High School, ahead of the scheduled 3:30 start time.
The two teams are very familiar with each other, and this year, they split their regular season matches. Little Giants is the nickname for WHS, and they are the #4 seed in the Regional tournament.
The Waynesboro head coach is explaining the format for today. The singles are best 2 out of 3 in the normal tennis 🎾 scoring system. The first team to accumulate five points will advance to play the #1 seed in the semifinals. Once a team has reached five points, the match is complete.
Pappy has worn many a hat over the 25 years that we have known each other. Even now, in his seventies, Meade keeps himself pretty busy. Teaching school, coaching, and playing tennis 🎾 in addition to writing ✍️ when time allows it.
Meade grew up in the area, attending the school but back when it was still called R.E. Lee High School. From R.E. Lee to William and Mary and then back to the valley he still calls home today. The Meades currently reside in Stuarts Draft and recently joined the fraternity of grandparents !
Thirty minutes remain before first serve !
More 2 follow…
80° and minimal wind should make for near ideal conditions.
Great sign that the entire Storm roster is in attendance !
3:26 – Start the 10 minute warm up period now.
Mrs Pappy Meade!
We are underway !!!
Storm #1 player in action 🎬Having six courts available at the High School makes the playing of a match incredibly smooth.
It is also worth noting that the combined crowd is in the 50 – 75 range.
Supporting the Storm singles !
We have reached the 60-minute mark, and most of the matches have entered the second set.
Regular season standings :
The good news is that Staunton played the six singles matches well enough that the doubles matches were needed !
Waynesboro High led 4-2 after singles, and then the Little Giants captured the first of the three doubles matches to close things out, 5-2.
Getting to spend some time in support of Pappy, in a word, Priceless !!
The road less traveled ! 