Carl Crossman

I guess just about everyone has seen somebody driving down the road while using a cell phone. The only problem with that is that it can be very dangerous. A new study found that accidents involving drivers who text are increasing dramatically. People who use the phones are easily distracted and are not keeping their eyes on the road.

The new information has raised debates on whether or not to ban cell phone use while driving. The problem is that laws are hard to enforce and many people like using their phones in their car. We’ll have to see how this debate turns out.

The end of the school year is always hectic and here we are with the county schools wrapping up this week. There are band concerts, class performances, field days, class picnics and exams to schedule and keep up with. The children are excited at the thought of a summer vacation. All of them did very well with their lessons and have excellent grades. So they deserve a nice break over the summer to play and just be kids for a while.

In 1849, the famous poet Edger Allen Poe died in a Baltimore tavern. He was known for such works as “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”. Poe was buried at the Westminster Hall and Buying Ground in Baltimore. That’s where the tradition comes in.

Every year since around 1949, a mysterious figure in black dress, white scarf, and wide brimmed hat would leave a half empty bottle of cognac and three roses on the stone that marks his grave. The problem is that this year, the person did not show and has left people who are interested in this mystery bewildered. Many believe the person responsible for this long time tradition was a man named David Franks who died last week.

While the tradition is in jeopardy, there is hope that someone new will pick up the torch and continue to honor the great poet far into the future.

It’s a rare thing when someone finds a true treasure. It happened recently when the Very Rev. David M. O’Connell found one. After becoming the Catholic University president, he found a picture in his bathroom that is reported to be a Rembrandt. The etching turned out to be created by the famous 17th century artist Rembrandt Van Rijn.

While the jury is still out on whether the picture is an original, it could still be worth thousands of dollars. The painting will soon be reviewed by appraisers to see whether or not it is authentic. I hope the world will gain another great work from this exceedingly talented man!

Since last year was pretty much an economic disaster for many people around the country, I decided to take a few steps to improve my own financial situation. Starting with the New Year, I have made a resolution to improve the way I handle my money and find ways to save the money I do have. One expense that I thought I could lower was car insurance. My current rate seems a bit high and so I am looking into going with another company to provide it. It would be nice to shave a few bucks off that bill!

Another thing I have done was to investigate other options. I was lucky to run across a nice little article online that has 30 Ways to Save Money. There were a lot of interesting tidbits of information on the page and they helped remind me of some of the bad practices I had gotten into. It’s amazing how we can waste so much money on little things that don’t seem to cost much!

I was talking with my sister about the situation and she reminded me of another way to save. She told me how she had been using coupon codes from the internet to save money. I checked it out and found that I had missed a lot of opportunities to save money over the past year. I am serious about not letting that happen to me again. I hope that everyone will have the foresight to become more conscious of how we spend our money. I am sure that if you try, you’ll find a few things yourself!