"My July 26-August 1 Fluvanna Review has just arrived when I finished reading Confessions of a Dark-Barker, a collection of columns by Larry Bowman who was part owner and weekly columnist for the Washington County News in Abingdon. From his columns, Mr. Bowmen sounds like a lovely, generous-hearted and unconventional man. By unconventional I don’t mean weird or out in left field, I mean he is unswayed by current trends and independent in his thinking.

For example, he wrote about the time one of his readers bitterly complained that he had not reported on her son’s criminal activities. Dutifully he trudged down to the courthouse where he spent the day benumbed by the extent of his neighbor’s seamy failure and foolishness. However, human nastiness did not seem newsworthy material to him. What he did find worthy of reporting was the decency of the local police officer and the tiredness of the county judge who tried to resolve unsolvable problems with wisdom.

There is nothing sentimental about Bowman’s writing. He is witty and pithy and an observant hardliner about truth and life and coping with its attendant struggles and responsibilities. After such an invigorating read, I picked up my Review and wondered how it would measure up against Mr. Bowman’s ideas on life and the news business. I should add that I was reading Confessions of a Dark-Barker as a last ditch effort to reawaken a sense of humor within myself. Of late things have seemed bleak.

I always read The Review cover to cover. Every ad, every picture and caption, I scrutinize it all. I have a great affection for rural, small-town life, and The Review is my portal to such a community. This week’s Review did not disappoint. It is an example of the best kind of community reporting: neighbors sharing their good news; neighbors saying thank you; neighbors helping one another; people having fun together.

When I finished reading it, I felt renewed and full of hope. It had reminded me that there are still lots of cool people who are selfless and caring. From the woman who wrote the thank you letter to the stranger who had helped her to the photo story on the community businesses raising money for a sick child. The Review always has stories of remarkable young people, stories on the talents of local artists, or retirees recently relocated to the area who have undertaken a community project. People air their opinions and attempt to find solutions for difficult community problems. Everywhere there is evidence of activity, participation, involvement.

In the wake of horrible stories of mayhem, meanness, apathy and indifference, and in the midst of personal feelings of isolation and confusion, my Review revived within me what is important and good and possible. So just in case you forget in the middle of your busy days or disputes over policy, know that you are wonderful.

I hope the model railroad club gets off the ground and how I wish I could drive a pickup to the library’s book sale. I would pile it high with castoffs. As I dabble in fantasies of involvement in community activity, I once again realize the importance of balance. Just as we flounder if we never take a look inside, so we can become mired if we never look beyond ourselves and glimpse the outside." (Elizabeth Haysom, Fluvanna Review, September 6, 2007)

An index to Elizabeth Haysom's columns may be found at Glimpses from Inside.