Floyd's first public restrooms, AKA the Timber Frame Outhouse on Locust Street, is open and ready for you to do...er...well... your business.

Contractor Ed Irwin reported the restrooms officially opened on Friday, July 4, at 10 a.m. and Ed claims he was one of the first to use the facility.

The clockers and watchers who gather for breakfast over at Blue Ridge are scratching their heads and wondering:

1. Will the town be able to keep the facilities clean?
2. When will the first graffiti appear on the stall doors?
3. Who will be the first public official to get caught in a "wide stance" in an adjoining stall?
4. Will they run out of toilet paper?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Burks Fork Supervisor Bill Gardner has become, as far as I know, the first area elected official to start a blog -- an admirable attempt to use the 'Net to get feedback from Floyd County residents.

Bill's blog is called Floyd County Political News. Visit it and let him know how you feel about issues affecting the county.

The Associated Press recently went looking for optimism in this place called America and found little as this country slides deeper and deeper into both a recession and depression.

America the beautiful has become America the worried, America the once was and America that may not recover.

The American psyche is, at best, wounded and morale is in the pits.

Writes Pauline Arrillaga:

Even folks in the Optimist Club are having a tough time toeing an upbeat line these days. Eighteen members of the volunteer organization's Gilbert, Ariz., chapter have gathered, a few days before this nation's 232nd birthday, to focus on the positive: Their book drive for schoolchildren and an Independence Day project to place American flags along the streets of one neighborhood.

They beam through the Pledge of Allegiance, applaud each other's good news — a house that recently sold despite Arizona's down market, and one member's valiant battle with cancer. "I didn't die," she says as the others cheer.

But then talk turns to the state of the Union, and the Optimists become decidedly bleak.

They use words such as "terrified," "disgusted" and "scary" to describe what one calls "this mess" we Americans find ourselves in. Then comes the list of problems constituting the mess: a protracted war, $4-a-gallon gas, soaring food prices, uncertainty about jobs, an erratic stock market, a tougher housing market, and so on and so forth.

One member's son is serving his second tour in Iraq. Another speaks of a daughter who's lost her job in the mortgage industry and a son in construction whose salary was slashed. Still another mentions a friend who can barely afford gas.

Joanne Kontak, 60, an elementary school lunch aide inducted just this day as an Optimist, sums things up like this: "There's just entirely too much wrong right now."

Happy birthday, America? This year, we're not so sure.

The nation's psyche is battered and bruised, the sense of pessimism palpable. Young or old, Republican or Democrat, economically stable or struggling, Americans are questioning where they are and where they are going. And they wonder who or what might ride to their rescue.

These are more than mere gripes, but rather an expression of fears — concerns reflected not only in the many recent polls that show consumer confidence plummeting, personal happiness waning and more folks worrying that the country is headed in the wrong direction, but also in conversations happening all across the land.

...with the sound of fireworks. One of the best places to catch  breathtakng fireworks show in Floyd County is at the annual 4th of July gathering at the Wilkerson home high on a hilltop above Thunderstruck Lane.

The Wilkersons put on a big party with live music, lots of food and plenty of American flags to go around.

Then they cap the evening with a classy fireworks show that would put many municipalities to shame.

And if you watch closely from their hilltop you will see, in the distance, fireworks shows in Roanoke and at Floyd County High School.

All in all, a fine way to celebrate America's birthday and also enjoy the company of good friends.

My thanks to the Wilkersons for a chance to enjoy the 4th of July as their guest. It was a very enjoyable evening.

I celebrate this 4th of July with mixed emotions. In fact, the only way I can stomach the 4th is by celebrating the American that was, not the America that is.

The America that exists today is a far cry from the one envisioned by our Founding Fathers. Freedom has become a disposable commodity under the Bush Administration's unrelenting assault on the Constitution and the liberties that used to be the foundation for this nation.

America is no longer a country admired by other nations. Instead, it is an international bully despised by those who once fought with us as allies.

On this 4th of July, let us remember what we once were and pray that we may, one day, recapture that greatness. As things stand right now, there is little reason to celebrate.

Starbucks, the Seatlle-based company that proved Americans will drink acidic swill if you call it gourmet coffee, is closing 600 stores nationwide.

While I hate to see 12,000 people lose their jobs in these bad economic times, I've never understand how anyone could pay $3.50 for a cup of what Starbucks tries to pass off as coffee.  All of their so-called "blends" were more acid than coffee.  A large coffee at Frank and Sally Walker's Cafe del Sol in Floyd costs less than half what Starbucks charges and it is, at least, a good cuppa joe.  So, for that matter, is the 60 cents a cup large coffee to go at West End Market.

I've covered FloydFest for The Floyd Press and this web site for the past two years.

Not this year.

Amy and I will be out of town that weekend on a trip that we've planned for a while. I've asked Wanda Combs, editor of the Press, to give me a bye on this year's event and she has graciously granted my wish.  She has a talented list of writers and photographers she can call upon to cover the event.

Got overheated Saturday. Overheated big time. Too much time in the sun, too much dehydration from sweating, not enough liquids to replenish the body.

Heavy duty muscle cramps most of the night. Legs, arms, ankles, even hands. Continued even after downing several bottles of water and eating bananas.

Spent Sunday recovering, mostly sleeping, drinking lots more water, flushing out system.

Better now? God I hope so. Getting old is a bitch.

Hi, my name is Doug and I'm a workaholic. It's been 17 years, to the day, since my last vacation.

Came across an old hotel receipt in my desk this morning,. It was dated June 28, 1991 for the Lodge at Koehle on the island of Lanai in Hawaii -- the day we checked in on what was the beginning of a two-week vacation for Amy and I -- our most recent vacation.

Good God. Seventeen years since a vacation? Where did the time go?

From time to time, I remind myself that we moved here to retire, to take life easier, to get away from the seven-day workweek and constant pressure. Yet here we are, nearly four years later, working at hard as ever, often seven days a week and taking little or no time to relax.

Not good. Meet the Press moderator Tim Russert dropped dead of a heart attack at age 58 -- two years younger than me. He was a workaholic too. I have other friends who attacked their lives with the same intensity. Many of them are dead before their time too.

Not this guy. Starting this week, Blue Ridge Muse will close at least three days a week. Amy and I will start taking some trips for rest and relaxation -- not exhausting vacation to exotic places but short, relaxing trips to parts of Southwestern Virginia and the South that I have not visited for a long, long time.

And maybe, just maybe, we will take a week or two and go on a real vacation. It's been too long since our last one.

The speed limit as you approach downtown Floyd is 25 miles per hour but you wouldn't know it based on the speed that trucks and other vehicles travel when they barrel through town.

Too often I've watched those huge semis streak down Locust Street at speeds well over 25 while pedestrians jump back because the monsters are traveling much faster than they should.

In recent weeks, we've had parked cars hit by trucks that couldn't make the turn at Route 8 and U.S. 221 under the stop light and I've observed too many near misses when cars pull out of side streets and underestimate the speed of the approaching trucks.

Somebody is going to get killed if we don't take steps to slow these speed demons down. Or do we have to wait for someone to die before action is taken?

Floyd's fancy public outhouse -- otherwise known as the Timber Frame Public Restroom -- may (and the key word here is "may") open in time for the 4th of July weekend.

Contractor Ed Irwin says the final pieces to the puzzle are in and his crew is pressing to get everything installed by the holiday period.

Of course, this is Floyd, so there are still issues to be resolved. The Town Brain Trust -- otherwise known as the Town Council -- is still debating over what color to paint the timber frame.

Most people leave timber frames natural. They either seal the wood or stain and seal it. But in Floyd, process often overrules logic and some want to paint cover the natural wood with paint and they are undecided about color.

We always thought nature did a pretty good job on its own when it came to the color of wood. Some people just can't leave well enough alone.

Ran into the Town of Floyd brain trust in the new public parking lot on Locust Street Monday: New mayor Rob Shelor (elected by the council, not the people, to replace Skip Bishop, who resigned), council member Will Griffin, town manager Mike Maslaney and assistant town manager Karen Thompson.

Griffin, Maslaney and Thompson took time to chat. Not Shelor. He walked away as soon as he saw me coming.

If Shelor wants to prove he has the mettle to be the town's new mayor, he's going to have to learn to deal with everyone, including those who have the gall to question how the town is run.

To date, Will Griffin is the only member of the Town Council with the guts to confront me when I raise questions about town government. We've had good discussions on issues because he is willing to stand up for the town.  To date, he is the only member of the Town Council to walk through my door at The Village Green.

Too bad the others run and hide. It makes me wonder what they are hiding or just why they are afraid.

A foggy morning following Sunday's thunderstorms.

Yes, that was Martha Spencer of Grayson County's White Top Mountain Band jamming with other musicians outside the country store Friday evening.

Visitors to the Blue Ridge Muse studio at the Village Green know that Martha is one of my favorite subjects. I've photographed her many times and it was a pleasant surprise to see her at the Country Store Friday night. They played the second set with Mac Traynham and stuck around until the wee hours, playing music and dancing in the streets.

The White Top Mountain Band, which is the Spencer family's band, will be at the country store next month for a Friday Night concert.

If you haven't heard the band or watched this girl play the fiddle (and just about any other musical instrument you stick in her hands), you 've missed watching a master musician and singer at work. She is a show unto herself and the sparkplug of any band she plays with.

She also is a bundle of unbridled energy that puts on one heck of a show that should never be missed.

Martha Spencer and the White Top Mountain Band. Be sure to catch them the next time you're in town.

Speaking of music, if you in Floyd tonight (Saturday), be sure to catch Abe Goorsky's Accoustic Review at Oak Grove Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. Muse is one of the sponsors of their appearance. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

A large summer crowd packed the streets of downtown Floyd Friday night. Many of them ended up on the 0dance floor of the Friday Night Jamboree

Amy and I have watched closely this week as the Mississippi River continues its rampage down through the midwest, heading Saturday towards crests in Alton, Illinois, the city I called home for 11 years and where we were married in 1979.

The Missouri and Mississippi Rivers came together just above Alton. The Illinois River emptied into the Mississippi just 20 miles north. When the floodwaters rise there, it can mean an ocean of water stretching as far as the eye can see.

We piled sandbags many times along the banks of that river in Hardin, Grafton and Alton. I often manned rescue boats as we cruised through streets turned into rivers, helping rescue trapped citizens of those river towns.

The Army Corps of Engineers, which built a series of locks and dams along the river with the claim it would help ease flooding but which actually increased the number of them, calls floods like the ones we see this week "500-year-events."

In the 11 years I lived along that river, we went through three "500 year events" and five "100-year floods."  At the very least, the Corps of Engineers needs to rethink its rating system for Old Man River and its pattern of floods.

Our home in Alton sat well above the river, on a bluff overlooking that river.  We learned that height is a good defense against floods. Maybe that's why our home in Floyd County sits at 2500 feet, 500 feed above Sandy Flats Road. If floodwaters reach our house, we're bulding an ark.

Floyd County Sheriff's Department Chief Investigator Jeff Dalton says I didn't drive fast enough in trying to get from Atlanta to Floyd Saturday in time for Rhonda Vincent, the top act to crown the end of Crusin' for Charity bike ride Saturday.

"You didn't get any tickets so you could have gone faster," he said.

True enough but I managed to break the traffic laws in four states, averaging about 75 miles per hour in an attempt to get back in time for the show but storms in North Carolina and Virginia doomed any chance of arriving  on time.

Rain forced Vincent inside to the Floyd County High School audiitorium but Jeff said the moderate-sized crowd enjoyed the show in spite of oppressive heat in the non-air conditioned venue.

Rain also caused some of the bike riders to, as Dalton described, to "wimp out" and head home early, including Sheriff Shannon Zeman.

Those who didn't let the rain faze them arrived in Floyd (below) in time for the show that included local acts Upland Express and Bernie Coveney and Friends.

(Photos by Jeff Dalton)

Hardly a week goes by that I don't receive an email or a phone call from a friend saying he or she has been laid off from their newspaper job.

Newspapers are in crisis, panicking from falling circulation and dwindling dollars from advertising revenue. Many blame people like me -- those who run web sites that provide community news and information. Others blame the saturation of media in our culture today -- 24-hour news networks, web sites and a general decline in readership.

No one seems immune. Even the venerable New York Times and Washington Post are laying off reporters, photographers and production people. The Roanoke Times encouraged early buyouts last year and put several on the street.

Just this week, the Raleigh News & Observer announced it was cutting 70 jobs.

The layoffs usually affect folks my age, those trying to hang on a few more years for retirement. The newspapers know they can replace those with seniority (and salaries to match) with younger, cheaper labor. It's a trend that punishes maturity and experience.

I was fortunate enough to work for newspapers in the glory days when jobs were plentiful and talent and skill were rewarded. I got out when I wanted to leave, not when some bean counter decided it was time for me to go. I was fortunate enough to work for other publishing outlets that appreciated my craft and paid accordingly. When I left newspapers, the free lance market proved lucrative.

That was then. This is now. Now, newspapers, magazines and publishers treat writers and photographers are treated like disposable chattel .

I'm fortunate enough to be semi-retired and able to work at my own pace and on my own terms. Others, unfortunately, are not. Sad times indeed.

In early 1982, my boss on Capitol Hill, New Mexico Congressman Manuel Lujan Jr., and I attended a reception at the Monocle on the Senate side of the Hill. Afterwards, we stopped for a drink at the bar where Lujan warmly greeted Sen. Daniel Patrick Monyihan of New York. Seated with Moynihan was a big beefy guy with a broad grin.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Tim Russert."

At the time, Russert served as Moynihan's chief of staff. While our bosses discussed legislation, Russert and I talked politics. He was gregarious and friendly and obviously loved both politics and his life. We exchanged business cards and went our separate ways.

Russert left Moynihan that year and went to work for New York Gov. Mario Cuomo. A couple of years later, he moved to NBC News and then took over as host of Meet the Press. I sent him a card and congratulated him on "leaving the dark side of politics and getting him a real job."  He responded with a nice thank you note and said "let's get together sometime."

We never did. I also left the political world and returned to journalism. We exchanged emails and talked on the phone from time to time and one of us always promised to call the other about getting together for lunch.  In 1995, he asked if I was interested in appearing on Meet the Press to discuss the role of political news sites. I said no. He never asked again.  We spoke, periodically, on the phone or via email. His last call came this year, just before the Virginia Democratic Primay.

"Hey," he said. "what do you hear? How will Obama do down where you live?"

I told him I thought Obama would surprise people down here. As it it turned out, Obama carried Floyd County, Henry County and some other areas of Southwestern Virginia.

On Friday, while working on a project in Johns Creek, GA, I glanced at my Blackberry when it vibrated on the table with a "breaking news" email from CNN. It read:

"NBC Washington Bureau Chief and moderator of Meet the Press, Tim Russert, dies of heart attack at age 58."

I couldn't believe it. Russert was so full of life, so happy -- the Energizer Bunny of political news reporters. His passion for life was infectious.

But that same passion probably contributed to his death. He pushed himself relentlessly, often to exhaustion. He had a heart condition and took medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol. He needed to exercise more. After he collapsed and died at the NBC News Studios in Washington Friday, an autopsy found an enlarged heart and plaque in his arteries.

Tim Russert's love of life and family should serve as an inspiration to us all. His death must also serve as a reminder that life is fragile and our time on this earth is limited. We should make wise use of that time.

Damn. Wanted to get home in time Saturday to attend the Rhonda Vincent concert at the high school.

Didn't make it.

Late leaving the Atlanta area. Traffic heavier than expected until Greenville, SC, then it finally cleared out. Stopped at Spartenburg again for gas ($3.75 a gallon this time, down four cents from Wednesday). What a difference 100 miles makes. The same brand selling for $4.09 in Duluth, GA.

Picked up time between Greenville and Charlotte. Cruise control at 75 and never had to let up until traffic picked up about 10 miles west of Charlotte. Heavy then all the way to Lake Norman.

Just as traffic cleared, a storm hit. Heavy thunder and lighting. Sheets of rain. Speed slowed from 70 to about 35. Poor visibility. Hydroplaning. Counted four cars off road in a 20 mile stretch. One jacknifed semi.

Sun peered through the coulds just south of the North Carolina-Virginia line but wet Interstate all the way up Fancy Gap Mountain. That plus a Virginia State Trooper driving 60 in the left hand lane caused bottleneck all way to the U.S. 221 exit at Hillsville.

Stopped to top off the tank in Hillsville. $3.95 a gallon.

Raining when I hit Floyd. Rhonda Vincent concert scheduled to start two hours earlier. Thoght about driving directly to high school but legs cramping and a headache from driving through too many storms. Drove directly home. Laid down on couch, slept for 13 hours.