State-Class Fencer Virginia Valentine Coles Sportswoman for Mark Warner

George,

I would advise Mr. Warner not to heed the above idiom. More to the point, pun intended, en garde! or perhaps foil-'em! (my weapon of choice, French grip). Fencing is the the sporting equivalent of politics only with more visible blood.

Speaking of bloody battling, hung up my sword after 24 bouts with 24 under-the-age of thirty, mostly men, opponents on one hot (over 100 degrees) day in Roanoke at the Commonwealth Games, 1995, representing the City of Charlottesville. How did I win the Silver? I was still standing at the end of the day.

Presently I am in the sixth year of operating Studio Valentine, www.studiovalentine.com, a studio/gallery offering original fine art created within the principles of surrealism.

Virginia Valentine Coles Preparing for Battle

Finally, as my fifth-great-grandfather-in-law, Thomas Jefferson, once said :

'In every free and deliberating society, there, must, from the nature of man, be opposite parties, and violent dissensions and discords; and one of these, for the most part, must prevail over the other for a longer or shorter time.'

Good luck on the political Piste!

State-class Fencer, Markswoman, Horsewoman, Archer, and Martial Artist (Tae Kwon Do) Virginia Valentine Coles (electronic mail, July 1, 2001).