Mitch Sneed at Large

For years I worked in news and writing has always been my first love.

There’s nothing like telling a good story, or writing that item that hangs proudly on the door of the fridge.

When I got the chance to come to Culpeper and become the publisher here at the Culpeper Star-Exponent, I went from worrying about the letters that appear in the paper to worrying about the numbers that appear on the bottom line.

Did I mention that I really miss writing?

One of the biggest issues that I always found in running a small, community newspaper was there just wasn’t enough space to get everything in.

Some people wanted more local news, while others wondered why we didn’t have more national and world headlines. What I hated was that we didn’t have enough of what I call “Hey Martha” stuff.

What’s that? You know, items that make you say “Hey Martha, did you see this in the paper.”

Welcome to the Internet, where space is unlimited and I can fill Martha will all sorts of the stuff that floats around in my congested mind.

I plan to post here about every day. If it’s on my mind, it will fly from my fingers into my blog. I hope you enjoy Mitch Sneed at Large.

Here we go….

IT OUGHT TO BE ILLEGAL: Is there anything in the world better than the smell that comes from Knakal’s bakery? I can’t think of anything in this town.

I have developed a Saturday morning ritual where I drag myself out of bed, find the cleanest pair of jeans I can find, grab a ball cap and head to 7-11 for coffee. With a full cup in hand I hit yard sales, go to Full Circle Thrift or look elsewhere for bargains. By 10 a.m. it’s time for breakfast and if you are downtown, the smell gets you.

Ahhhhhhh. Knakal’s.

The smell of fried dough, baked pastries and just that sugary sweet smell wafting down Davis street gets me every time. It ought to be illegal.

I wonder if there are any calories in the smell alone? Who can stop with just a smell? I have a rule. If you eat it standing up you can subtract half the calories. I’m sure I read that some place.

Does it get you too? Is there another smell in town that has the same impact? Let me know.

LUCKY SEVEN: If there was ever any doubt that seven was a lucky number, look no further than the Tennessee lottery.

The first week in April, the same combination of numbers paid off big in the Cash 3 drawing for three straight days.

According to the Nashville Tennessean, Thursday April 3, the winning Cash 3 number at midday was 0-7-7. On Friday April 4, the winning midday number was 7-0-7. And on April 5’s Saturday evening drawing, the winning number was 0-7-7 again.

The odds of that happening are less than 1 in 10,000 or the exact equivalent of the odds of me being a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars.”

HEAR THIS ONE: Did you hear they have given Sen. John McCain’s campaign tour a new name?  The Antique Road Show.

I wish I could take credit for that one. Late night talk show host Jay Leno took a shot at the 71-year-old Republican presidential-nominee-to-be earlier this week.

If elected and he lasts a full term, McCain would be the oldest man to serve in the White House.

Barrack Obama won the Alabama Democratic primary earlier this year and speculation is that he did so for one reason only. When his last name appeared on the ballot many residents thought they had just left of the ‘G’ on GOBAMA.

It makes you think.

Have you hear a good one? Post it here.