It seemed like the perfect end to an era. Loretta Lynn, played by Sissy Spacek, and her husband, Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn, played by Tommy Lee Jones, driving away in their Jeep CJ before the backdrop of a Tennessee sunset. Cue the final number. The movie, 1980’s Coal Miner’s Daughter, would go on to win Spacek […]
It seemed like the perfect end to an era. Loretta Lynn, played by Sissy Spacek, and her husband, Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn, played by Tommy Lee Jones, driving away in their Jeep CJ before the backdrop of a Tennessee sunset. Cue the final number. The movie, 1980’s Coal Miner’s Daughter, would go on to win Spacek […]
Dear Ace: Why is the Albemarle County Fair set to happen in August this year?—Fairly Confused Fairly: Ace also wonders about this unexplained change in date. He knows when he wants his funnel cakes and farm animals, and that’s in September, darn it! But nooo…this year Ace has to book his partying for August 2-7, […]
As a great man once said, “School’s out for summer.” Aside from the pool, the obvious place to take kids during the dog days of summer is to the park. Make that, to the playground, where the kids can entertain themselves on swings, slides, or by just looking up at the sky, as their caretakers […]
Dear Ace: I live within ear-shot of the railroad, so I have to know, what is going on with all of the railroad whistling?—Not Whistlin’ Dixie Whistlin’: All Ace can say is it’s about time someone asked about these railroad horns! Ace is fed up with late-night train horns unexpectedly interrupting his beauty sleep. Puffy-eyed, […]
Dear Ace: Why do so many restaurants not have high-chairs? My wife and I discovered five that didn’t—and could have kept looking. Shouldn’t high-chairs be standard equipment? Is this town so pro-student that it can’t permit serving more people with children?—Sourpuss in Booths Sourpuss: Ace immediately posed your question to the experts, seasoned local parents. […]
So far, the Aughts have been a rough decade for the airline industry. Domestically, combined losses be-tween 2001 and 2004 add up to more than $30 billion. US Airways, which handles half the traffic to and from Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport, stepped to the brink once again last September, entering bankruptcy protection for the second time in […]
Yo, Ace. Our letter carrier needed a note from us—no joke—to give him permission to not walk on our lawn. He said the post office wants its letter carriers to deliver mail quickly, so quickly that they are obligated by job requirement to walk on the lawn to get the mail to the doors of […]
At first glance, there’s nothing ex-ceptional about the green house at 223 Fourth St. SW. In fact, it looks pretty shabby. The building slouches. The wood around the windows seems to be rotting. The yard is a mess—there’s a picnic table with no benches, a brown Christmas tree, a rusty folding chair sitting in a […]
Dear Ace: All of my local short cuts involve railroad tracks, but sometimes I find that I end up wasting a lot of time waiting for the trains to go by. Is there a train schedule so I can plan a way to keep my short cuts short?—Impatience Railhopper Railhopper: To shortcut his detective work, […]
Your Starting Lineup. Some of them are well known. Others are strictly behind-the-scenes players. Some make life more livable. Some make us shout back at our TVs (and some give us more to look at on those televisions). Among them are actors, sculptors, teachers, politicians and businesspeople. They come in all shapes, sizes and ages, […]