In memory of Don Knotts, this week’s edition of the Sunday Seven has you ranking your friends from Mayberry.
But first, congratulations go to Carly, of “Ellipsis…Suddenly Carly,” who was first to play for the second week in a row last week!
On to the challenge!
THIS WEEK’S QUESTION:
List in order your seven favorite Mayberry characters from “The Andy Griffith Show.” …

I attended a recent service that focused on the Transfiguration, the moment when Jesus revealed himself to three of his followers on a mountain.
The text can be found in Mark 9:2-9. Put yourself in the place of one of his followers. Imagine what it must have been like:
2Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and …

More sad news: Hollywood has lost one of classic television’s most beloved stars. Don Knotts, whose bumbling Deputy Barney Fife has entertained generations, died Friday night. He was 81.
Knotts’ entertainment career began shortly after graduating high school. Despite some early failures, he made it to the stage in “No Time for Sergeants,” where he met a fellow …

More than 300 mourners gathered at noon today to say their tearful goodbye to two black bears who delighted visitors to Maymont Park for a decade. The bears were euthanized this week after one of them bit a child. The child and a parent had breached a wooden fence to enter a restricted area in an apparent attempt …

The 98th edition is posted a little later than I would have liked, but I attended a special event that I’ll write about over at my primary blog later tonight.
And you’ll be happy to know that I gave these questions an extra look to make sure I didn’t repeat any of last week’s! (And thanks to Wil for being …

A quick blog jog on entries referencing the Maymont Bears that were euthanized after one of them bit a four-year-old boy who had breached a safety gate reveals that most people seem to be siding with the bears over the child.
Should the bears have been euthanized so that rabies tests should have been performed? The problem with isolating the …

Maymont Park has a collection of animals, including foxes, cows and a variety of fowl. I spotted a pair of ducks who were ready to nap in the sun following a brief swim.

The iridescent green and blue in the Mallard’s feathers are two of what I consider to be nature’s most beautiful colors. Those colors are probably the …

Here’s a question for the parents in the audience:
Let’s suppose that you’re visiting a zoo with your four-year-old child. He’s excited to see all of the wild and exotic animals, and you’re watching him closely. He stops when he reaches a pair of bears and wants a closer look. The bears are enclosed within an eight …

The title of this post came from the title of the most recent post over at On the Wrong Side of the Alligator.
The simple answer to the question is “Yes. Absolutely.” The publishers who put an author in the black section solely because of the race of the author do it every day; if they didn’t feel they …

I stopped at a convenience store to get overcharged for gasoline and I went inside to pick up a Diet Coke. While standing at the counter, I glanced at one of those signs that remind the customers (and the clerk) of the most recent year in which a customer must have been born to be able to buy tobacco.
Apparently, …

On the most recent edition of the “Saturday Six,” I inadvertently reran the previous week’s question in slot number four.
To those who had already answered that question, I offer this one as a replacement:
4. Take this quiz (if you haven’t already): What literature classic are you?

Normal “first-to-play” rules apply for this make-good question. I’ll give the appropriate blogger …

I’m more brand-loyal than your average consumer. When I find a product that I like, I stick with that specific product. For soap, it’s Ivory. For toothpaste, it’s Crest. For soup, it’s Campbell’s. That’s not to say that other brands aren’t better or even as good, but I found the brands I like before I …

I read one of the most ridiculous letters I’ve ever seen in the Miss Manners column, and I’ve spotted some really weird ones in my time.
Here’s the writer’s first sentence:
“I have been dating my boyfriend for four months and it came up this week that he still does not know my name.”
No, really…that’s what it said. She continues:
“I do …

Last week, your assignment was to come up with seven types of candy you’d like to receive for Valentine’s Day. If you ate lots of candy then stepped onto the scale, you might wish for the chance to go back in time to do things over again. Going back in time…all the way to your childhood…is this week’s …

The policy of allowing unmarried detectives to actually engage in sexual activity to obtain a more definite charge against prostitutes has now been abandoned.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the Spotsylvania County sheriff issued a statement that read, in part:
“I understand the feelings and concerns the citizens of this county have expressed. And I empathize with those feelings.”
The story, which received …

Can you believe that we’re just three weeks away from the 100th edition of the Saturday Six? And that means that we’re just seven weeks away from the second anniversary edition!
Thanks to all of you who’ve been playing and to those who visit for the first time and keep on coming back!
Donna of “My Country Life” was first to …

If you’re working as an undercover police officer and you’re trying to bust a prostitute, how far do you really need to go to confirm that the prostitute is, in fact, a prostitute?
That’s a question raging in one Virginia county this week.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that during several visits to an alleged massage parlor, detectives allowed women to perform sexual …

Valentine’s Day is a perfect time to surprise that special someone in your life. But how do you feel about being surprised? There’s your topic for this week.
For those who have never played, the rules are simple: I offer two different questions, both related to the same topic, but you only choose one of them to actually …