THYME Magazine: Winter in America II

Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor


Volume IX, Issue VIII

Scenes of Winter Wonder

One of my favorite memories from my youth was the Baltimore Sun's Sunday magazine, the Brown Section. Each week it came filled with wonderful photographs by A. Aubrey Bodine, Baltimore's Photographer Laureate. He worked for the Sun for fifty years and his work continues to inspire my own. 


Japanese Maple in the snow. Photo by Bob Kirchman


Catalpa in the cold and snow.  Photo by Bob Kirchman


Sycamore Snow. Photo by Bob Kirchman


Ice on Skyline Drive. Photo by Bob Kirchman


Ice along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Photo by Bob Kirchman


Parkway Ice. Photo by Bob Kirchman

The past week's Winter storm inspired the photographs of trees, ice and snow. It also inspired a visit to some images captured in past storms. Some people see Winter as a drab and colorless time. I just wanted to celebrate the beauty to be found there.

Leadership in Winter
Fifteen Ideas for 2015 -- Mercatus Center

In the spirit of Alexis de Tocqueville, we must reawaken understanding and respect for cultural democracy, which is to say communities, lest we allow political democracy — the government — to continue trampling the people’s will in the people’s name." -- Veronique de Rugy

Addressing everything from education to healthcare reform, scholars from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University present a vision for reviving innovation and true seeking of solutions. The fifteen ideas presented here present a refreshing alternative to the media narratives such as: "We have to pass the bill to see what's in it!" -- Nancy Pelosi. Wonder of wonders, here are a whole plethora of ideas to make things better. Government, we discover, often needs to simply get out of the way. Sadly, the political narrative and the media narrative would lead you to believe that there is no hope short of massive Federal involvement. The great growth this country experienced in her first one hundred years actually occurred with minimal taxation (there was NO Federal Income Tax prior to 1913)! Government didn't necessarily build it.

Unleashing the forces of independent inventiveness might just spur a new era of American innovation. The scholars at Mercatus write:

At the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, we think ideas change the world, so our scholars produce ideas honed by the criticisms and challenges of peers within the university — not inflated or elevated by partisan politics. We’re committed to bridging academic ideas to solve real world problems — working with policymakers at the state and federal levels that promote free enterprise and limited government — so that when politicians find themselves staring into the face of a crisis, they have the best ideas available to them: ideas with the power to create real change.

Are our ideas any good? Judge for yourself. Our scholars lay out ideas they think could create a freer, more prosperous, and more peaceful society. See if you agree."

Fifteen Ideas for 2015 [click to read]


Sycamore Snow II. Photo by Bob Kirchman



Sycamore Snow III. Photo by Bob Kirchman


Sycamore Snow IV. Photo by Bob Kirchman

The View from Wachovia Tower


"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." -- Psalms 91:1-2. Sunset as seen from the Wachovia Tower in Roanoke, Virginia... Photo by Bob Kirchman. 


...which is the tallest building in Western Virginia. It is 21 stories high. Photo by Bob Kirchman


The pyramidal top of the Wachovia Tower gives homage to the Hotel Roanoke. St. Andrew's Catholic Church may be seen to the left of the hotel in this photo taken from Wachovia Tower's tenth floor. Photo by Bob Kirchman

His Eye is on the Sparrow


"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" -- Matthew 6:26. 
Photo by Bob Kirchman

An Invention We Depend Upon Every Day

Specifically, the white line.


The story of this simple innovation may surprise you.

 A Milestone Monday Feature:

Who besides myself has ever wondered "who was the 'guy' who invented pavement markings?" Without them modern highways could not function so their origin must have been forged by necessity. Some historians like to point to Roman street crossing stones as the forerunner of modern 'zebra walks' and that is certainly good history but the actual sorting of traffic by lanes requires a visit to more recent times.

As the automobile came into common use in the United States, the U.S. Numbered Highway System came into being and the various states embarked on a mission to pave cross-country highways. In their gravel and dirt condition the danger of head-on collisions was not so life threatening as the speeds were not that great. As the great highways became paved, however, the speed of vehicles increased to the point that dangerous collisions did occur. U.S. 99 in Indio, California was a particularly dangerous stretch of road and in 1917 necessity would soon become the 'mother of invention.'

Dr. June Hill Robertson McCarroll was born in New York's Adirondack Mountains and went on to study medicine in Chicago during an era when few women completed professional studies at all. When her first husband John Robertson developed tuberculosis, she moved with him to Southern California hoping the desert climate would help his recovery. She took a job as a nurse with the Southern Pacific Railroad. Mr. Robertson died in 1914 and Dr. June later married Frank McCarroll, the local station master. She continued in her medical practice and at one time was the only physician serving the desert area between Palm Springs and the Salton Sea. She began to see victims of automobile accidents on an increasingly regular basis.

Driving in her model T Ford, along what was to become U.S. 99 in Indio, the good doctor was run off the road by a large truck roaring toward her in the center of the pavement. In her own words: "My Model T Ford and I found ourselves face to face with a truck on the paved highway. It did not take me long to choose between a sandy berth [sic] to the right and a ten-ton truck to the left! Then I had my idea of a white line painted down the center of the highways of the country as a safety measure."

Dr. McCarroll approached the Riverside County Supervisors and the Chamber of Commerce who listened politely to her idea and politely shelved it. Frustrated, but far from defeated, she finally engaged in a bit of guerrilla road improvement, hand painting a four-inch white line down the center of a mile-long stretch of U.S. 99 to create two distinct lanes. Aided by the Indio Women's Club, she began a statewide letter writing campaign and finally, in 1924 the state highway commission adopted her proposal. Initially 3500 miles of road were striped at a cost of $163,000. Soon pavement markings were in use around the world.


Dr. June Hill Robertson McCarroll

The Last Great Agricultural Innovation...

...Out of Southern Augusta County


McCormick's Mill in Southern Augusta County.

If someone were to ask you: "what was the last agricultural innovation out of Augusta County to go worldwide?," you'd probably guess the McCormick Reaper. But innovation in our part of the valley does not end with the reaper. Augusta County Farrier, W.J. Tomlinson has invented a hoof maintenance tool known as Rider's Rasp [click to read] which is selling on the internet around the world. The device, and its popularity were the subject of a recent article in the Staunton News Leader.

The tool's unique design allows the average horse owner to round the hoof wall between professional visits to prevent splits. It also allows a rider to round a hoof if their horse loses a shoe on the trail. The ergonometric design allows riders with different hand sizes to comfortably use the tool, holding it in one hand. It's beauty is in the simplicity of design that allows for simplicity in its use.

A Tribute to the Overcomers

From the Guys Who Created the Virtual Phone System


Grasshopper is a new way of managing phone service for small companies like mine.

Learn More at www.grasshopper.com