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Finally, explore some options

If a Florida developer can't come through with financing for converting Explore Park into a resort, the region will need alternatives.

The state should pray in Christ's name

Tom Taylor
Taylor, of Roanoke, is retired from Norfolk Southern Corp.

In 1946, an adventurer named John Caldwell tried to sail single-handed across the Pacific Ocean in a 29-foot sailboat. After several months at sea and nearly dead from starvation, Caldwell wrecked on a coral reef off an island of Fiji. The islanders rescued him and, with considerable cost and effort to themselves, nursed him slowly back to health. They dove down into the water and retrieved his valuables, including his wedding ring, and gave it all back to him.
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Read Sunday's letters here.

Friday, November 28, 2008

• Stimulus must be an investment
• A new meaning for Black Friday

Saturday, November 29, 2008

• Short takes

Commentary:

• Help keep Roanoke's cultural assets alive - Saturday, November 29, 2008
• All a matter of confidence - Friday, November 28, 2008
• It's up to us to protect our land - Friday, November 28, 2008

Read Friday's letters here and Saturday's letters here.

A Thanksgiving sampler

Today is Thanksgiving, an American tradition for nearly 400 years. Herewith, a sampler of readings on Thanksgiving-related themes:

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Working up to gratitude

John Long
Long, director of the Salem Museum and a history teacher at Roanoke College, is a Roanoke Times columnist.

Happy Thanksgiving! If you're like me, you're reading the paper today a little more leisurely than normal. You've got the day off, you've got family to go visit, or they're staying with you. You just finished the Big Meal or it's in the oven and the smells are taunting your growling tummy. It's a great day all around. Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays -- not quite on par with Christmas, but still a pretty magical day. A multi-day marathon, actually -- days of catching up with relatives and eating too much. My family today, my wife's tomorrow, the church family last Sunday, days of leftovers after it's all over. To me, it's never too much (except in the calorie count).
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Make good memories today

Maggie Stevens
Stevens is retired from Kroger and is a grandmother living in Roanoke.

I love all the winter holidays, but I think my memory of one particular Thanksgiving is the one I hold closest to my heart. Our families were alive and well then and always came from Winston-Salem, N.C., for the day and, of course, for turkey dinner and all the trimmings, especially oyster dressing.
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The nation needs such giants

Jan VanHorn
VanHorn lives in Roanoke.

My 100-pound mother, by usual standards, was no one special. Her pedigree was unimpressive, but she managed to live with such dignity and good sense that she left an indelible imprint for generations. During the election cycle of 2008, I thought about her now uncommon common sense -- and the different election process we could have had if people had listened to her. The nation would have been better, cleaner and, like her, had true dignity when all was said and done. Pedigree would have weighed less than morality. Truth would have outweighed guided perceptions.
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Read Thursday's letters here.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. It's a long weekend for us here at The RT, so posting will probably be very light. Enjoy your weekend.

Meanwhile, what do you want to talk about?

The town of Blacksburg has arranged for Santa Claus to call local boys and girl. Read all about it below, or just fill out the request form already. No word yet on whether Gaia will call pagan children for Yule/Winter Solstice celebrations, Judah will call Jewish kids for Hanukkah or ... well, I'm not sure who would call for Kwanzza.

I wonder if there's still time to get Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet.

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Last Sunday we wrote about a movement to encourage more women to become involved in political office. Here's a chance for Republican women to be groomed into leaders. The state Republican Party is encouraging applications for the Jennifer Byler Institute. Here's a link to learn more.

The latest issue of The New Republic contains an essay  Debt Man Walking that provides an easy-to-understand primer on the history of the dollar in the global financial market.

If you have the time over the holiday weekend,  this is worth adding to your reading list.