I’m back in the village. Every time I leave it seems a bit worse coming back. There are many things I want to say, but this village really sucks the life right out of me.

The only good thing about being out of town was that I have an alibi for all the fun shootings and stabbings that have been going on in town.

What percentage of fires in trailers are due to smoking? When I was on a local jury they kept showing pictures of the inside of the trailer where locals live. There was at least one ash tray in every room. My favorite was the his and hers ash trays on the bed posts in the bedroom. What was the cause of this fire? Will they ever say?

So much for getting a real theater here in the village…UVA decided not to use a twenty two million dollar donation. They didn’t make a big deal about this side of the story, but sure publicized it when they first got the 22M. I remember the artists rendition of the new theater like it was yesterday.

Virginia politicians continue to mention regulations that will ban indoor smoking. It is a pity that it won’t happen in this commonwealth until federal laws are passed. I’m sure I’ll drop dead of lung cancer long before laws pass in this state. I know the politicians in the area that mention this are just trying to get noticed, since they also know that the regulations will never pass.

It is funny that they mention Starr Hill banning smoking on the 2nd floor. As anyone with a brain knows, heat will rise along with the cig smoke. The last person I knew that went to Starr Hill said it was so smokey they had to leave. The same can be said about the vast majority of the village. Even when places don’t allow smoking, dozens of smokers will stand 3 inches from the front door and puff away. Starr Hill…you should ban smoking in the entire building. Don’t go half way.

A few weeks ago I wondered why the village hadn’t bothered to care about pedestrians that wanted to go to the new ACAC. The intersection there was not easy to cross, since no one ever stopped. I said they should make the intersection a four way stop sign. Guess what. They did that this past week. I guess the city elders read this blog. Hey! Ban smoking…are you reading?