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Columnist Paul Viau
Paul Viau is a columnist for The Guide. His weekly column, "Did You Know," covers a spectrum of topics — from the world to Haywood County. Viau is an award-winning creative director, with a 30-year career in advertising and marketing. Originally from Denver, Colorado, he met his wife, Carol, when they worked for rival advertising agencies in Miami, Florida. They became permanent residents of Haywood County in 2008 and reside in Waynesville. Email Paul Viau at jpviau@me.com.
Recent Column Posts (1 - 37) Additional Posts (38 - 88)
Did you know?
Dogs & Suds — A 'wiener' of a way to help Sarge’s May 16
By Paul Viau - May 15Oh how time flies. It seems like yesterday that I wrote about the first, and as I remarked at the time, “Hopefully Annual,” Dogs & Suds Fundraiser ...
Did you know?
Goats will go to great heights to eat — even Christmas trees.
By Paul Viau - Jan 02I must admit, everything I know about goats I learned in kindergarten, plus the research on an occasional goat-related story in 2012. But just ...
Deck the halls
By Paul Viau - Nov 29I’m such a “right jolly old elf” that you might think Christmas is my favorite time of year — but it isn’t. Like most men, I don’t look forward to ...
What happened to the bounty?
By Paul Viau - Nov 15Thanksgiving is upon us, but it has been Donald Trumped by a retail onslaught like we have never seen before. What used to be a quiet celebration ...
Holy Smoke!
Oct 31Turkey Day, as many of us call it, is right around the corner. But the retail world has kept it a big secret. For the past couple months, we’ve ...
Bears on the prowl
By Paul Viau - Oct 18It’s bear season in North Carolina — both the legal hunting season for bear in many western counties, plus the dangerous time of year when bears ...
Hats off to Haywood County Brewers
By Paul Viau - Oct 04Even if you are only an occasional reader of this column, you know that I am a big fan of beer — good beer, aka craft and/or micro-brewed beer. ...
Did you know? Grandview Lodge serves a ...
One Grand View after another
By Paul Viau - Sep 07My wife and I will never forget our first glimpses of Haywood County. We were on a day trip from Cashiers with Carol’s mom. The Cashiers/Lake ...
Did you know? Nike has turned the chartreuse loose
The world wears 'Olympic Yellow'
By Paul Viau - Aug 10Like most of the world, I have been captivated the past few days by the great NBC television coverage of the 2012 Olympics. The parade of colors ...
What's with this wet and wacky weather?
Jul 19Most of you know that I work at a golf course, and there is the long-standing joke that, “It never rains on the golf course.” I wish that were ...
Did you know? No fainting goats were harmed in ...
Just say no to goats
By Paul Viau - Jun 28The other morning, I was awakened by our two cats at 3:15 a.m. Believe it or not, this is their normal wakeup time, as of late — when the hunger ...
I went to a garden party
By Paul Viau - Jun 07OK, this is another column that will date my wife and me. But I make no apologies whatsoever. We both had the great fortune to grow up "children ...
Driving in circles
By Paul Viau - May 26I have noticed that many drivers in our “neck of the woods” seem confused with traffic circles, or as the Brits call them, roundabouts. We only ...
Stop shooting dogs!
By Paul Viau - May 11I must warn my readers that this column is a departure from my normally light and occasionally entertaining looks at life in Western North ...
The taps at Headwaters are flowing
By Paul Viau - Apr 27Try as hard as I can — one pint at a time — I can’t seem to keep up with the new breweries coming to our area. Though it’s a long way off, I’d ...
A heavenly way to treat elders
By Paul Viau - Apr 05With my dog bite behind me, and a new kitten coming onboard, I’m now going to turn to a subject near and dear to my heart — eldercare. I know a ...
My fruitcake was stollen
By Paul Viau - Nov 24Nothing brings out the joy (and madness) of the holidays like fruitcake. Case in point was a publishing department Christmas party I had the ...
My battle with ‘The Great Pumpkin’
Sep 29For those of you who just want to skip the set-up, have no fun and learn absolutely nothing, I’ll cut to the chase — I lost again. This year, the ...
Hair today, gone tomorrow
By Paul Viau - Sep 15Men, this is not just another, “Woe is me, I’m going bald” sob story … so please, read on. This is all about that hair you don’t want and how to ...
When you shop high and low, You-Can-Save
By Paul Viau - Jan 08I’ve got to admit it: as the popular country song goes, “I was raised on an asphalt farm, never heard a rooster crow.” In other words, I’m not ...
'The Twelve Days of Christmas' is a study guide for all Christians
By Paul Viau - Dec 23We all know the Christmas song/carol that begins, “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me — a partridge in a pear tree.” Did you ...
Un "stuff" your Christmas
By Paul Viau - Nov 20A few years ago my wife and I realized (maybe later than most folks) that we had way too much “stuff.” So when the holidays came around, and the ...
A Claus for a cause
By Paul Viau - Nov 09As you know, I often write (and talk) out of both sides of my mouth. Last week I groused about Thanksgiving, and how it has been nearly eclipsed ...
Something to crow about
By Paul Viau - Oct 24This column was inspired by our neighbors, Alden and Lanie Robinson, who both have a lot to crow about. Lanie is a gifted Master Gardener, and ...
Foggy Mountain Breakdown
By Paul Viau - Oct 11I have an old Magic Eight Ball. It’s a toy I have been fond of since the 1950s, and I find it a great way to prepare for almost any outing, ...
Take the Fitness Challenge
By Paul Viau - Sep 27These days, you can’t pick up a newspaper or magazine or turn on the television, without hearing the words "obesity" and "epidemic" in the same ...
Did you know? Ten ways to eat and beat back ...
What to do with all those 'maters.
Sep 05Ah, ’tis ’mater season again, and Yellow Stripeys, Cherokee Purples, Orange Noodles and good-ole Boxcar Willies are taking over our porch, kitchen ...
Did you know? If you keep goats, watch out for ...
Goats seen a ghost?
By Paul Viau - Jul 25My first two columns in July — devoted to goats — caused quite a stir, and I heard a variety of comments from readers — everything from, “Nice ...
Hillbilly Grocery is 'the real McCoy'
By Paul Viau - Jun 29Editor's note: The Guide offers a hearty apology to Paul, whose column was accidentally cut off last week. You can read the column in its entirety ...
A healthy extra income
By Paul Viau - Jun 13From time to time, I have focused on the healthful benefits of fruits and vegetables. I have written columns titled "Eat the rainbow" and encourage...
Here come the 'dog days'
May 31This year everything is coming early, and the hot “dog days” of summer are already upon us. Memorial Day weekend ushered in record high temperature...
Invasion of the Giant Mosquitoes
May 23Often my views are influenced by the wonderful view — from our deck. We look north at Chambers Mountain, and often see the "traumahawk" (medical ...
It's a "Snake Farm"
By Paul Viau - May 01OK, this column is going to be a real can of worms — big worms, AKA: snakes.Now if I can identify with any line of dialogue from any movie, it ...
Dining out for life
By Paul Viau - Apr 20I apologize in advance for all the acronyms in this column. I don’t like hurling a lot of initials around, but I am on a mission this week. You ...
The journey of life
By Paul Viau - Mar 29I’m not surprising anyone when I remind you that each our lives is a journey. We don’t know where that journey will take us on any given day. For ...
Thank you notes
By Paul Viau - Nov 17Not many people take the time to write thank you notes anymore. But we of the “older generation” know our manners. We thoughtfully put pen to ...
My tale of the dragon
By Paul Viau - Sep 22I’m sure many of you have heard of Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort in Tennessee. As resorts go, it’s a bit lacking in amenities. But as a Mecca for ...
