It seems as though just a few rainy days ago, we were planting the garden. Freshly plowed and tilled, plants just set out and small, any harvest, or weeding, seemed far away. How quickly time flies on a farm. The weeding (and potato bugs) have taken their lead, and unless picked soon, sweet leaf lettuce will turn bitter and sour.

My new hobby of the season is chickens. Knowing absolutely nothing about birds or laying hens, I purchased four hens from a neighbor. I think chickens are strange creatures. Just a few weeks ago, daily egg-gathering ventures were like trips to the Christmas tree. Now I’m pawning off eggs on everyone I know. It’s like summer squash - they get passed on to anyone who will take them.

In many ways, Two-Lane Livin’ magazine is similar. Fifteen thousand copies overwhelm the front room until we get them all delivered. It seems like they’re everywhere you turn. We pass them all over Central and West Central West Virginia to anyone who will have them until all the copies are gone. Then, in just a short month’s time, we have 15,000 copies again.

I think of squash, or leaf lettuce grown in our own soil, planted by our own hands, tended and gathered in our own ways. I think of eggs from our own chickens, fed the food of our own choice, laid in our own back yard.

Again, Two-Lane Livin’ is similar. It is written by down-home folks who live right here in our own communities, is enjoyed by our own neighbors, with photos and stories from readers who live or have ties to home -- right here.

Two-Lane Livin’ is home grown local. It is a direct result of the ingredients available right here at home. Columnists, clients, sponsors and readers are all connected to Central West Virginia in some way or another. It is amazing how far the influence of our region goes.

In the late 1980’s, I was enrolled in Beauty College. Students from all over the Mid-Ohio Valley donned white pants and smocks and drove daily to Parkersburg for classes and practice. We came together from all different places and, once we had our hours in, most often returned to where we came from.

I made some good friends there, but it was easy, with the distance between, to lose contact.

Several months ago, I got a phone call from one of those great friends, whom I haven’t spoken with in more than 14 years.

"My friend brought me this neat magazine from Ritchie County, and I turned to page 2 and saw your picture.

"Hey! I know her!"

Seems that both of us "city girls" ended up in the country. She now lives in Tyler County. A few weeks ago, she just happened to be in the area, and popped in for a visit. Turns out, for the last several months, she’s been grabbing copies of Two-Lane Livin’ from Ritchie County locations, and spreading them around at Tyler County locations. So, Two-Lane Livin’, essentially, has been reaching another county now for months, and we didn’t even know it.

We decided to just make Tyler County delivery official, and so we’ll be sending copies to her every month to distribute for Tyler County readers.

Roger White, RV columnist, got a phone call from friends he knew when he lived in Florida. They also ended up moving to West Virginia, and were pleasantly surprised to see his face and column in Two-Lane Livin’.

Columnist Kim Butler has also reconnected with a long, lost friend through Two-Lane Livin’.

Just as two-lane (and one-lane) roads can take strange twists and turns between here and there, and also tend to lead the unfamiliar unplanned places, so does Two-Lane Livin’ make some amazing connections.

This month, we got several subscriptions in from North Carolina. We were perplexed. Then, while out shopping one day, an employee of one of our distribution locations told us that he took several issues with him when he went camping last month -- in North Carolina. (We also got a subscription from Delaware, so we are now mailing copies to more than a dozen different states.)

I am often amazed at the connections that Two-Lane Livin’ makes once "released" into the world each month. Just as two-lane roads can follow winding paths through the valleys and over the hills from one town to another, Two-Lane Livin’ magazine takes some surprising turns as it passes from one place to another, from one reader to an average of 34,000 readers. Sometimes, I feel as though we’re sending out 15,000 notes in 15,000 bottles, or tied to 15,000 helium balloons, wondering who, out there, somewhere, will find them and respond.

Have you made a connection because of Two-Lane Livin’? We’d love to hear about it.

Since we launched our reader’s page, "From The Passenger Seat," our mail has gotten more interesting. Letters, essays, poems, stories, photos - arriving like small surprises in our purple rural mail box.

Do you have something you’d like to share? We consider the reader’s page to be just that -- YOUR page. You never know - you may make a connection with someone, out there, some where who sees your name or connects with your story some how.

Submit poetry, letters, articles, drawings, photographs, stories, recipes, etc. to:

From the Passenger Seat

2287 Rosedale Road

Stumptown, WV 25267

info@twolanelivin.com

Over the next few months, we hope to be introducing some new features for your enjoyment. This month, please welcome our new columnist, Charlotte Spears, who will be providing affordable home decorating tips in her column, "Feather Your Nest."

Charlotte has been a long-time fan of Two-Lane Livin’, is a work-at-home, homeschooling mom. Over the past year or so, I have enjoyed her writings in her Internet blog, and invited her to join our team of writers.

You can see Charlotte’s first installment on page 9.