Sitton at Abram Falls, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, circa ’98 (Photo by Glynn Wilson)

The annual Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index ranks eight Southern states among the bottom 10, with West Virginians taking 50th for the fourth year in a row.

West Virginians were the least likely to be thriving, as was the case in 2011. Also, West Virginians had the worst emotional health in the nation and were more likely to report being diagnosed with depression than residents of any other state.

Residents in West Virginia also had the lowest score on the Physical Health Index, which includes having the highest percentage of obese residents in the nation.

I suggest getting off your arse and seeing Southern beauty to break those blues. You could go someplace like Abrams Falls if you’re in Tennessee. Or you could find someplace closer to home.

As I finish my time in Southeast Arkansas, I plan to knock out my bucket list. Check back to see you can find beauty all over our country, but especially in the South. If you’re sad or unhealthy, folks, you just ain’t trying.

Pope Benedict reads a newspaper during a 2010 “vacation.”

For the first time in 600 years, a Pope resigns. As he finishes his tenure, we wish him well and hope he finds more reading time.

Jack

This fella is Jack, whom the vet says may be a mix between a yellow lab and a Chow. He’s house-trained and very loving.

Jack joined our pack about a month ago while Tanya walked the dogs. Unfortunately, we already have four. Therefore, if you’d be interested in providing a loving home to Jack, please contact tsitton@FaunaHope.org.

http://www.carrollconews.com/story/1930470.html

Feel like I’ve survived a 15-round bout. These days we don’t fight; we argue on the Internet.

Perhaps that’s civilization creeping up on us, i.e. we don’t “take people out” when we can just as easily — or perhaps more easily — destroy them through the Web. When heavy issues arrive, we’ve got passion in store, just waiting to be applied to the topic of the day.

I made the mistake of assuming I could talk about something as complicated as the Second Amendment in a social media forum, such as this one. What a dumbass, I am.

I lost a friend for a response. I made a spectacle for the spectators. I sounded like a banty rooster talking about things no one wants to discuss until it’s too late to discuss them again. I got offended; it’s kind of hard to offend me, but I got offended.

What am I doing putting myself in such situations? Who pissed in my Cheerios?

I complained that no matter the laws people want to institute, it wouldn’t have stopped what happened this weekend. I was too stupid to realize that no matter my complaints, it won’t change folks’ minds … and still wouldn’t have prevented this weekend’s atrocity.

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