Giles Snyder

Editor's Note: Thought it might be fun to revisit posts from my old Wordpress blog. I'm bad at blogging regularly so I won't make any promises, but my plan is to recycle those old posts on Wednesdays. The following was originally published on November 24th, 2011..  My daughter and I were spending a lazy morning together this past Sunday when we heard a scream that sounded a little like a wounded animal. Actually, it sounded a lot like a wounded animal. It alarmed me so much that I sat straight up in my chair wondering what could be happening. My daughter, however, wasn't fazed. She looked away from the Disney Channel show she was watching, gave me a knowing grin and said, "Mom's in the shower." I relaxed, sat back and, with the relief that comes with knowing what's going on, returned her smile. On the other hand, my wife wasn't smiling at all.  She was wailing because she was forced to take a shower in water so cold that it left her hyperventil

  If there is one thing I've learned about appliances, it's this - if it's broke, don't fix it.  Don't even try.  For those who know me well, that mantra likely comes as no surprise. But if you're just tuning in and all you know about me is that I come from the mountains, then it may come as something of a shock. My people have lived here for generations. They were among the first Europeans to settle in my part of the Central Appalachian region. They know how to fix stuff.  Take my neighbor, for instance. In the spring, he took my broken down old lawnmower off my hands after I finally got fed up with it. He spent the afternoon tinkering with it, got it running again and gave it away to a family that needed one. He's good that way.  My brother isn't afraid to crack things open just to see how it works, either. Fixit know-how comes naturally to him. He's a woodworker - a builder of furniture and whatnot made from wood reclaimed from ratty old barns and

Editor's Note: Thought it might be fun to revisit posts from my old Wordpress blog. I'm bad at blogging regularly so I won't make any promises, but my plan is to recycle those old posts on Wednesdays. The following was published on this day three years ago.    Bright sunshine returned to my neighborhood this week. And, while temperatures rebounded a bit, you’d never have known it because of the blustery mid-November winds. They cut through my flannel shirt, giving me a chill while I was out walking Big Dog Rodney. They even almost claimed my favorite baseball cap. After venturing downtown to visit my barber, a strong gust blew it off my head and threatened to send it tumbling end-over-end down the street as if it were one of the leaves that have been shaken from the trees around town. With the leaves coming down, there are seasonal chores to take care of. For instance, my ladder will be making its fall debut soon. The detritus of the season is clogging the gutters at my ho