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CornerShot, Aug. 28, 2013

To submit a CornerShot

The Roanoke Times welcomes CornerShot submissions from its readers. Here are the guidelines:

Length: about 200 words
Topic: CornerShots can run the gamut, but we generally prefer unique and clever observations on the human experience.
No poetry, please.
Email your submission to extra@roanoke.com with your full name and hometown and “CornerShot” in the subject line. You can also mail submissions to Kathy Lu, CornerShot, The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, VA 24010.
Submissions are subject to editing.

1. Britney Spears spotted at Lynchburg restaurant

2. One person injured in Friday night shooting in Roanoke

3. Roanoke resource officer's quick action saved young girl

4. East Carolina poses new challenge for Virginia Tech football

5. Lowe's tapes may hold clues to Roanoke woman's death

6. William Byrd stuns Salem in football win

7. Roanoke County electrical short quiets 5 Wheeler radio stations

8. Captive in Roanoke County describes harrowing time with angry friend

9. Concert review: Timeless Willie Nelson plays to appreciative crowd

10. History says this one will matter for Virginia Tech

Dick Culbertson | A reader in Blacksburg

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

In the days of my youth in Old Virginny, my mother, grandmother, aunts and great aunts always served iced tea (ice tea!) with a sprig of mint. The mint plants had been handed down from generation to generation and from mint bed to mint bed.

My mint plants in Blacksburg go back to my grandmother’s home in Nelson County, then to Lynchburg; Clover; Seaford, Del.; Martinsville; Greenville, N.C.; Virginia Beach; and finally to Blacksburg. In my youth, “ice tea” was always sweet, so you didn’t have to specify as now. And today you are not asked if you’d like mint or not, either. How sad!

Mint also has several other uses in eating and drinking. Mull a few sprigs of mint gently in a tall glass with a bit of sugar, fill with crushed ice, top off with good bourbon, stir briefly and you have the queen of Southern libations, a heavenly mint julep. Sip slowly and thank Providence for your good fortune. And don’t drive.

Saturday, September 14, 2013