scottlingamfelter

In the fall of 1965, I bought my first sailboat, a Penguin class just 12 feet in length. When I first saw it tied up in a marina in Kinsale, Virginia, I fell in love with it. I asked the seller for the price, and he said $300.  For me, that Read more

I recall many trying days in America in my youth and developing years.  Growing up, I saw the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.  I was just 12 years old when I was ushered into the seriousness of life in ways I had not imagined.  At 12, a Read more

In the 16 years I was a legislator, I think I personally signed over 50,000 letters.  That does not include the thousands of routine items of correspondence penned to this or that agency or jurisdiction.  I didn’t have an autopen, simply my own hand.  In fact, the thought of having Read more

In 2007, Virginia celebrated the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown.  It was a grand event.  The highpoint was when Queen Elizabeth II addressed a joint session of the General Assembly.  As a small gesture, the Jamestown Foundation gave each of us a small potted oak tree. We were told Read more

I’m alone this week back in Virginia while my wife Shelley remains in Kansas City to care for our grandchildren when their mom and dad are in a busy season.  So, in the quiet of our home, I have time to think.  I think a lot about what I’m currently Read more

It took being elected to the Virginia General Assembly for me to appreciate how politicians corrupt the English language to enable profligate spending.  You often see this when legislators spend our money on their priorities to get them reelected.  To be sure, that’s a bit harsh.  Not all spending is Read more

So, what’s ahead? For me it’s a long drive from Missouri to Virginia this coming weekend. Shelley will remain in Kansas City with the kids and grandkids for a few weeks. The drive will be lonely without my co-pilot. That’s fine because the grandkids love their Grammy who fixes them Read more

Travelling halfway across America in two days can be an eye-opener.  Shelley and I generally like a long drive, as tiresome as that can be at time.  I suppose the pace of life—that is, they way you take in the world around you—is more relaxing in a car than sitting Read more

Each year Shelley and I travel to Kansas to attend the Officers of the First Division Annual Dinner. It’s been a tradition in the “Big Red One” since the end of WWI for those who served with the division in combat to gather together to record and honor the sacrifices Read more

True confession.  I am an internationalist.  Bear with me.  That does NOT mean I am not also very supportive of being a nationalist—indeed of being “America First.”  Nor does it mean I am a “neocon” in the sense of one wanting to go to war with everyone on the planet. Read more