This column could be subtitled, “What most China sourcing agents, trading companies, and brokers don’t want you to know!” Here’s the story.

Turn over just about any product these days and you are likely to find the “Made in China” label. While it is easy to find “a supplier” in China, the point of this article is to help buyers avoid middlemen and go factory direct. (more…)

Here it comes, the costumes, the candy, the spooky lawn decorations! Halloween, another holiday that we’ve turned into a giant money-making opportunity, totally ignoring the roots that this holiday has in so called “pagan” cultures.

Christians reinvented the holiday as “All Soul’s Day” in keeping with the ancient legends that tell us that at this time of the year, the veil between the worlds of the living and the deceased is permeable and the spirits of the dead are able to communicate with those who are still alive. (more…)

Driving into downtown Pulaski provides an interesting lesson in industrial history—and the remnants of that history, unfortunately, are not visually appealing. When industries close, rarely do their owners have plans to address the blight left behind. In Pulaski’s case, the closed industries are themselves in the downtown—indicating that once upon a time the commercial, residential, and industrial districts worked “hand in glove.” (more…)

It’s not a cry that you hear at night … it’s a cold and it’s a broken hallelujah
(My favorite song, “Hallelujah,” written by Leonard Cohen.)

We’ve sowed our seeds, we tended our garden and time came for the harvest. When I went out to survey my fields, I was crushed to find a giant troll had run through the hopes and dreams that were my seeds of love. I know I am not alone in this moment. So what do we do when all our well-laid plans fall to the trolls and ogres? (more…)

Many of us know people who are caught in the bullying cycle. Stories have been reported all over the news about children and adults bullying others to the point that the only way the victims think the abuse will end, is if they kill themselves. What can we do to stop this destructive cycle before another teenager or young adult takes their life? (more…)

According to the Commonwealth of Virginia, a deadbeat dad is anyone who falls behind or fails to pay child support as instructed by a court order. Harsh consequences follow: Wages are garnished, tax returns withheld, and driver’s licenses revoked.

The assumption by child support agencies and the general public is that these fathers have willfully and intentionally avoided taking parental responsibility. They’ve likely skipped town, purposefully remain unemployed, and don’t even care to fulfill their visitation rights. (more…)