Greetings, Kyle Carroll

"The notion that a Harassing Phone Call took place on Monday afternoon is
ridiculous and hilarious at the same time. If simply asking to speak
with Steve is harassment then I am guilty as charged. The nice lady on
the other end of the phone proceeded to tell me that he was not
available. I then explained that I would call back at a later time.
And for that I'm being accused of making a harassing phone call."

I was the one who called it a harassing phone call, not Steve... And I made that comment in jest, so I apologize to you and to Steve for my poor choice of words.

"This truly exposes that nature of the folks that are posting Blogs on this
site. This is the problem with our society. We as a nation have lost
the ability to communicate directly with someone on issues and strictly
the issues. The notion that there is a conspiracy theory behind every
comment will be the ultimate destruction of our society."

I'm all in favor of debating the issues directly. That's why I started the BP...

"There was a time in our community that people made things happen by
applying "sweat equity". If a fire department needed a new truck, the
people in that community found the ways and means of providing that new
fire truck. If a family's home was ravaged by fire, the neighbors would
help that family start a new life. If a local farmer fell ill, the
neighbors would tend his field and harvest the crop. They did not ask
what political party they supported. They just did what had to be
done. People became active in civic organizations and made efforts to
provide for their community. In the process of doing these good
deeds, "Leaders" were discovered. They knew how to make things happen.
People from both political parties worked together, because people were
in need. In the past people looked for ways to make things happen,
unlike the "Modern Government" of today that are preoccupied with finding
reasons that we cannot reach our goals."

You sound like a good conservative Republican... You & I are allies.

"If the true intention of this site was to open up dialogue from
contributing members on current events, the ideological foundation has
been lost. What I have read on this site is not Courage, it is fact an
outcry of Despair, resulting from the loss of communication skills needed
to coexist in our society."

Are you talking about Steve, Behethland & Strother having an "outcry of despair" on the BP??? Granted, they aren't exactly optimists, but they're doing the best they can.

"The personal insults that are levied against members of this community, State and Nation are not to be commended. Here's an idea... instead of casting blame on others about our economic or social structures, do something!"

How can you say that with a straight face after your dad called Sandy McHugh and the Turpins "dictators"??? You don't think that's a personal insult???

"I would like to personally challenge the contributing members to turn off the media and go out and do something for your neighbor. Put aside
political bias and preconceived notions that everyone else is to blame
and go to work on building a stronger community. Walls have been built
in our community and it is time for these walls to be destroyed."

Riding through Collinstown, I don't see any walls... Granted, cousin Robert & I have talked about building a wall at the NC/VA line to keep the Virginians out, but we haven't made any progress.

"There are beliefs and there is reality, I choose reality."

Reality is different things to different people.