Larry Denham. Now, that’s a name that means a whole lot me, personally. I wouldn’t have been here without it, after all. He, however, would still be here if not for the cancer that festered in the two to three packs of cigarettes he smoked every day and hung concentrated in the air of the bars he regularly frequented for decades, then spread to his lungs and beyond, and eventually killed him. On April 17th, my family will note the fourth year since the passing of my dad. It’s become...

Weirton, WV, the home of the first Wal-Mart in this area, is supposed to be coming into its own, Wal-Mart wise, with the (rumored) construction of a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the grounds of the old Weirton Steel Corp. General Offices (or the G.O., as it's called here) out on Three Springs Drive. Why we need another WM Supercenter is beyond me. Weirton already has the one Wal-Mart and, right across the river in Steubenville, OH is a large Supercenter, just about three or four years old. Oh, wel...

I’m not sure I’m going to be able to convey this properly, but here goes: From the time we’re little kids, we hear how everyone is different. We’re none of us, no two, completely alike; we’re all unique in some way. Even identical twins. Some are similar, yes. In views, personality and temperament, which is how we form friendships, but we’re all different. Our backgrounds are what "form" us, I suppose you could say; our genetic makeup, our upbringing, environment, whatever. That’s wha...

Maybe a month ago now, I posted an article asking for opinions on my writing abilty. It was titled "Can I write"; a post in which I requested JUer opinions on my abilities, and indicated my desire to, possibly, begin work on a novel. The article recieved little traffic, save comments from Little Whip and Dr. Guy. Both of them seemingly found at least minimal favor with my skills, and since no one else showed up to shoot me down, I have decided to proceed. It's a sci-fi story I have b...

"From What's New Wal-Mart" on wmconnect: Grandpa Munster's Deathbed Secret When Al Lewis, who will forever be known as Grandpa for his role on the '60s sitcom "The Munsters," died last week, one of the many tall tales he told on himself was finally set straight. In a business that idolizes youth, Lewis did something very unusual. He lied about his age--but he told people he was far older than the date on his birth certificate. Virtually all of Lewis's obituaries reported that he...

Okay folks, I'm putting my fate, or at least a portion of it, in your hands. I'm thinking of trying my hand at writing a novel. Problem is, I'm not so sure of my talents in that particular arena. So, I'm asking for opinions....from all of you. Can I write? I'm talking about my ability to convey my thoughts on the page.....to assembled words into coherent sentences. I'm not talking about the content you may have read here on JU. I've posted a few stories on a favorite website. T...

Back in January, when the Pittsburgh Steelers slid barely under the wire into the playoffs, it was looking like there might yet be a chance at greatness. 'Burgh radio station WDVE ran a promotion asking listeners for Steelers' "fight songs", to bolster the team. They said they'd play anything they got, as long as it was positive and appropriate. The public responded in droves. Hundreds of amateur-produced CDs and tapes came in, some good, most pretty lame, but all supporting the team in thei...

"Quinn and Rose in the Morning", a Pittsburgh-based rightwing talk radio show, played a shameful recording made in the Steeler's locker room in Denver after that game, the AFC Championship. The sound came from a video of the event, which was described by Rose, who found it "sweet and refreshing". As if! The general rowdiness and joyful laughter of the victorious Steelers was quickly and viciously stifled as Head Coach Bill "The Chin Man" Cowher came in and yelled, "Okay, over here! Hats o...

I came across this in a magazine at work. A study conducted in 2002, and published in the American Journal of Sociology, found that: "A racially diverse student body in US high schools does not automatically lead to interracial friendships(duh). Researchers found that teens tended to choose same-race friends, even as chances to choose friends from different races increased. The study suggested that schools interested in promoting substantive racial integration should encourage activiti...

A couple weeks ago, my wife’s cousin stopped for gas at a station just up the street from his house. He got out, pumped his gas, then walked toward the building to pay. As he crossed the lot, a rather sizable group of young blacks (somewhere between 30-40, according to eyewitnesses and police reports) both men and women hanging out at the station, took note of him and loudly started asking "what Whitey was doing in their neck of the woods", and insulting him. He ignored them, paid and walke...

I have sincerely enjoyed Tex W’s thread (see link) on her recent discovery that she is a sci-fi fan, and is "embracing the inner dork". I welcome her with hailing frequencies open. As I related, on her thread, I have been a fan of the Trek universe for many a year, dating back to the 70s. Jumping off the school bus, running into the house, grabbing a fistful of Oreos and a glass of milk, and settling down for an hour of star-flecked bliss before homework. My friends and I would often congr...

Picture's a couple years old; we got married in December, 2003. I have different glasses now and I've lost a few pounds, but it's me. Just click the link at the bottom. Take it easy.-----Rob

A week or so ago, ParaTed was asking for input on his Christmas CD idea. One of the songs I suggested was a tune by Garth Brooks, from his CD "Sevens". The song is called "Belleau Wood", and is loosely based on an actual incident that occurred in WW I. It’s not so much a "Christmas song" as it is a song "about" Christmas, and the power it has over those of us who believe in its Message. Why it wasn’t included as at least filler on his Christmas CD, I’ll never know. Last year at this time, I ...

My wife has two celebrations today; one is, of course, Thanksgiving. The other, she's not so much looking forward to. Today is her birthday. I want to live, so, just in case she ever sees this, I won't tell you how old she is, but it is one of those "milestone" years. To all the JUers in America: Happy Thanksgiving. To my beloved wife: Happy Birthday.

My wife and I made a couple of rather large purchases recently, and raced to the bank Saturday morning to deposit our paychecks in order to make sure everything was properly covered. The checks were deposited, the proper buttons pushed, and we were given our deposit slip, thanked, and sent on our way. We should have had much more than enough in our account, then. Monday evening, I went downtown to DiCarlo's Pizza to get us some dinner. The total came to $8.27. I gave the guy my debit card...