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By Ben Jones
Rappahannock News Writer
The longer I live in Rappahannock County, the more I brag about it. We all have our favorite spots, our little rituals, and those special epiphanies of nature that seem to occur frequently in this enchanted little harbor of independence.
The indigenous Americans who fished these streams and hunted these hollows for thousands of years were aptly named the Manahoac, which means, “they were very merry.” I understand why. This was the frontier when the 17-year-old George Washington surveyed what is now our county seat. And the people who settled here were tough, hardworking pioneer folk. Their descendants have been wise and prudent stewards of these hills.
Over the weekend of April 20, something happened here in the county which could easily go publicly unnoticed, but which I found to be most remarkable. There is an Internet bulletin board based here called Rappnet, which these days serves about 200 members. Most of the time it is a handy place to find a plumber, let folks know about your yard sale, get information about a concert or a fund raiser, or shop for a second hand freezer. During last fall’s forest fires, Rappnet sounded the alarm and members kept others posted of the fire’s directions. It is a handy service.
But every couple of weeks, someone will post a topic that sparks a flurry of comments. It may be whimsical and it may be as serious as a heart attack in a swimming pool, but the compelling part is the general thoughtfulness of the responses and the quality of the writing.
Recently someone wrote in looking for some good peanuts. Before the day was over Rappnetters were waxing eloquent about the goobers of their youth and debating the relative merits of boiled, salted, and raw.
But on the weekend of April 20, the subject was capital punishment, specifically the execution of Timothy McVeigh. Understand, there are some Rappnetters who don’t like the political stuff mixed in with the latest recipe for apple butter, and there
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