The Charleston Gazette - Nanya Friend

This will take some critical thinking

( ) — Fri, 03 May 2013 23:45:00 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- BACK in the dark ages when I started college, students didnt register for classes by computer. At Virginia Tech, we were directed to a large gymnasium bordering the fabled drillfield. We would stand in long, slow lines in front of ...

In praise of a mortgage -- and adieu

( ) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 23:45:00 -0400

WEDNESDAY was a day that my fellow empty nester and I will remember. We celebrated our wedding anniversary, but not in our usual low-key way. We walked across town together and paid off our death contract. That, according to an online history, is the liter...

George Hohmann is one of a kind

( ) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:41:18 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- IT has never been hard to keep track of Daily Mail Business Editor George Hohmann. His tiny office in a far corner of the newsroom is about as far from me and other editors as a writer can get. Only three staff members - Managi...

An F for student achievement

( ) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 14:49:41 -0500

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- LEGISLATORS came and went this week. Theyll be back in a month. They recessed until Feb. 13, when Gov. Tomblin will deliver his State of the State speech.State law gives a governor in the first year of a new term an extra month to ...

In defense of parents who care

( ) — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:56:20 -0500

CROWDED off the front page by bigger news events this week was a man-bites-dog story. That old saying succinctly expresses what reporters look for. Sure, theyll tell you when a dog bites a person. That happens from time to time. Theyll also tell you when e...

Woods are lovely, dark and deep

( ) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:54:46 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A veteran of several extended power outages, I have come to a conclusion. If I cant accept these inevitable periods of disruption, I need to move back to the West Side. Thats where I grew up, in a small house on Garden Street, whic...

General elections are grueling

( ) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:16:10 -0400

YOU may be sick of campaign ads and speechifying, but its about to get worse. Debate season is upon us. You can always flip the channel or turn to another page in the newspaper, and I do that myself sometimes. It can get tiresome. However, political campai...

The Holley proposal is a bit odd

( ) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 15:32:18 -0400

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- In prospering cities today, young professionals are opting for a downtown lifestyle. Disdaining the suburbs of their parents generation, they want nice apartments within walking distance of good restaurants, friendly bars and trend...

The ancients were on to something

( ) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 14:58:32 -0400

IN anticipation of a few days off after a whirlwind week, I found myself wishing for the dog days of summer. I was thinking of a slow, sultry respite. I would lie on my screened porch with a good book and a cold drink. The book would fall from my hands and...

Seeking the calm after the storm

( ) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:32:10 -0400

YOU could call this the tale of two clerks. It was about 7:30 a.m. Saturday, June 30, and I was maybe fifth in line at a local convenience store. Only 12 hours into the massive power outages, the place already was under siege. Some customers were after gas...

From little red flags to big ones

( ) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 15:41:08 -0400

ON a walk through my neighborhood, I passed a mailbox with the little red flag in the upright position. Everybody knows what that means, right. For a moment I marveled over such a simple but effective means of communication. Its chances of failure were sli...

Society has indeed moved on

( ) — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:04:50 -0400

FEW people will fail to honor their mothers in some way this weekend. The occasion has a relatively short history, in terms of holidays. In fact, a woman from Grafton is credited with its founding in honor of her own mother in 1905. It was an idea that cau...

On Tax Day, we all report to them

( ) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:33:07 -0400

WHEN I think of how many people are spending their time this weekend, I cant help but feel a little smug. Theyre filling out tax forms. In a departure from my usual pattern, I sent mine into the Internet ether three days ago. This had nothing to do with ex...

Jahlil Clements still speaks to us

( ) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:18:14 -0500

JAHLIL Clements is a name I want to remember. Those of us in the news business are drawn into the painful details of many tragedies. To continue doing our jobs, we cant let them all affect us deeply.But sometimes a story does, even for reporters and editor...

About restaurant inspections . . .

( ) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:46:20 -0500

On a trip up Interstate 79 several years ago, my traveling companion suggested we stop at a restaurant I had never heard of despite many trips up that road. The Wonder Bar on a hilltop off the U.S. 50 exit in Clarksburg is close to the interstate but ...

Do you leave or stay in W.Va.

( ) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:43:15 -0500

COLLEGE students can have some crazy dreams, and my lifelong best friend and I had one in the 1970s. We were roommates at Virginia Tech. Her studies combined home economics and business, with an emphasis on fashion. I was an English major. Feel free to rol...

Ready or not, Christmas comes

( ) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:00:58 -0500

AS the clock ticked toward Christmas this week, my mind was racing at times. So much left to do. So little time. It is always this way.***The week was evaporating, but each day I would swallow some panic and start my daily routine, reading the morning pape...

Fighting in the cholesterol wars

( ) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:11:11 -0500

TWO years ago, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I arrived home and thought to check my answering machine. I often dont remember to do this, and it certainly was not a message I welcomed. My doctors office was informing me that it had received the res...

School cooks are caught in the middle

nanyaf@dailymail.com (Nanya Friend) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 23:45:00 -0400

ONCE upon a time, there was an uproar over school lunches.

Reporters stood by cafeteria trashcans and watched as scandalous amounts of food were being dumped by pi...

Heres to Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.

( ) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:16:32 -0400

One of the things I like best about West Virginias latest source of national pride is the way he states his name. "Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.," he says with an engaging smile and as much pride as if he were saying "John D. Rockefeller IV"...

Heres to neighborhood heroes

( ) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:01:36 -0400

A heroic act took place in my neighborhood one day this summer. It was the middle of the day, and many people were at work. However, one woman was out for some exercise, or perhaps she was walking a dog. The important fact is she was outside, and she saw s...

About that high school reunion . . .

( ) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:30:07 -0400

A sad conversation is taking place in my corner of the online world. For months a dedicated group of my high school classmates has been planning our 40th reunion - Aug. 19-20. They are tenaciously seeking and urging the rest of us to sign up and come. Fac...

We cant continue down this road

( ) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 19:19:05 -0400

LITTLE changes can make a big difference. Save a little every paycheck. Eat a little less. Exercise a little more. You know what happens.The account slowly builds for the unexpected expense or long-term goal. The weight, cholesterol and blood pressure drop...

To rules, written and unwritten

nanyaf@dailymail.com (Nanya Friend) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:29:11 -0400

AS the first of May approaches, Im reminded of what the date meant to my neighborhood gang on the West Side of Charleston in the 1950s and 60s. With only three channels on TV and no air conditioning in most of our houses, playing outside was our best fair-...

So this is how better living begins

nanyaf@dailymail.com (Nanya Friend) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 23:45:00 -0400

I grew up in Charleston, not far from the coalfields, but the mines could have been on another continent for all I saw or heard of them. As a college student at Virginia Tech, I wound up in a writing class with a student from one of West Virginias sou...

Well, here we voters go again

nanyaf@dailymail.com (Nanya Friend) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:36:12 -0500

ELEVEN weeks from today - in less than three months - West Virginians will nominate two candidates for governor. Some would call the short period between now and the May 14 special primary a blessing. Another unusual aspect is the sheer number of candidat...

Committed to a digital resolution

nanyaf@dailymail.com (Nanya Friend) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:37:36 -0500

JANUARY is three weeks along. Its time to get serious about a New Years resolution. I dont usually make any, but this year was an exception. For the past two years, I have received digital gadgets for Christmas. I resolve to learn to use them.I got a remin...

Some Christmas traditions must go

( ) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 20:45:56 -0500

This Christmas, for the first time, there will be no stockings hanging from my living room mantle. Dont reach for the Kleenex. Every family has its traditions, and filling the stockings has been a long-standing one in my household as in many others. But t...

Tomblin jumps into the fish bowl

( ) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 23:00:00 -0500

OUR new acting governor, state Sen. Earl Ray Tomblin, has been described as an introvert.That description is a little hard to buy. Hes a politician, after all. He has put himself in the public spotlight by running for office, not just once but several tim...

The privilege of election day

( ) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 18:18:06 -0400

TODAY marks the end of the early voting period, an increasingly popular option among voters. Kanawha County Clerk Vera McCormick has been reporting bustling activity in the Voters Registration office in downtown Charleston since Oct. 12. Thats where the e...

For heavens sake, hit the roads

( ) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:49:47 -0400

ITS time to hit the road. Or at least to start coming up with some excuses for doing so.Fall officially began this week, and West Virginians shouldnt pass up the opportunity to renew their souls. Thats what a road trip in this state can do for you. If you ...

Stacks of books made childhood rich

( ) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:49:19 -0400

MY two siblings and I felt deprived as we grew up without a television set in our home on Charlestons West Side. This had nothing to do with family finances. Our parents actually gave away our set about the time my older sister started school. They didnt l...

Summer campers need real mail

( ) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:29:39 -0400

Somethingimportant islost with e-mailA young friend of mine has headed off to summer camp. Shell be gone for a couple of weeks, and its been suggested she might like to receive some mail. The thought of mail at summer camp brings back happy memories. Ther...

Finding the balance with food safety

( ) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:36:47 -0400

ONE of the biggest events of the year took place in the newspaper building this week. Wednesday was our annual "Cookout on the Roof."We all love the freshly grilled burgers, hot dogs and side dishes - as much as we care to eat. An over-sized gri...

City still looking for lifeguards

( ) — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:37:04 -0400

IN my youth, the ultimate summer job was to be a lifeguard. The bronze gods and goddesses in the tall chairs were admired and envied.I never held one of those coveted positions, but anyone could enjoy balmy summer days lazing in or around glistening waters...

Public schools cannot replace parents

( ) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:56:32 -0400

TUCKED away in a musty box of mementos in my house is a lengthy document. It was written by my father, who had a lawyer friend make it look official. This took place more than 25 years ago, a few months after the birth of my dads first grandchild, my daug...