In the midst of the most important and crucial presidential election in my 39 years of existence in this country and, perhaps, also that of my now elderly parents and long-gone grandparents, I decided to order a New York Strip Steak, medium with sautéed onions. 

So here we are, days away from this pivotal election, and here’s a word of advice: take a deep breath, relax, and let the system play out as it’s intended, because we won’t know who our next president is until days after Nov. 5. 

In-person early voting ends Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m., but voters will still have one last opportunity to cast their ballots on Election Day — Tuesday, Nov. 5. 

Voters can cast their ballots in-person starting Thursday, Oct. 17. Same day, in-person registration is also available at polling locations. 

Voting is going to look a bit different in North Carolina this year thanks to new partisan observers who will be eyeing voters as they cast ballots when in-person early voting kicks off in October. The new observers are touted as a way to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.

To the Editor:

Savings and Loan Collapse. The year 1982 marked the beginning of supply side economics in which deregulation and tax cuts were viewed as the solution to stimulating corporate growth.

To the Editor:

Present-day political unrest reminds me of the Spanish cellist, conductor and composer, Pav Casals, known in English by his Spanish name, Pablo Casals. Casals was born in El Vendrell, Spain, Dec. 29, 1876. He lived in France after 1936 and Puerto Rico after 1956, where he died, Oct. 22, 1973. 

To the Editor:

On the anniversary of 9/11 you posted an opinion piece titled "GOP becoming a fascist party." Do you ever check the context of quotes used in the opinion pieces you publish or are you so eager to publish anti GOP and Trump comments that facts don't matter? Or is it just a simple matter of laziness? 

The looming 1980 presidential election was all over the news, the unpopular incumbent Jimmy Carter facing the charismatic former actor and California Gov. Ronald Reagan.  A college junior in Boone walked into the Watauga County Board of Elections sometime in September and registered to vote in his first presidential election.

To the Editor:

How can you connect at the community, regional, state and national level? At all levels, you can educate yourself on what can be done to improve your county.