It is always heartwarming to me as the calendar turns to November! For me, my favorite holiday is always Thanksgiving. Perhaps it was all the great food that my late mother prepared while I was as a kid that solidified the experience at the top of my list. Perhaps, it was the neighbors who would […]
As I drove through the mountains of Arkansas looking at bright yellows, deep reds and variety of greens and browns, I felt a warmness coming over me beckoning back to my childhood riding in the back seat of my parents blue 1964 Chevy Malibu as we made our way through the mountains heading to who […]
I just got off the phone doing something that only a handful of folks get to do in life. I wished “Happy Birthday” to a friend – Violet Hensley – who was celebrating her 103rd birthday. There are moments just such as these which bring people together. Common experiences such as championship wins of athletes […]
As Rawel reared up, the buckboard came to an abrupt halt, tossing Pearl and the other children riding in its back to its bed. Rawel, a gentle-natured red mule, seldom became agitated, but in this instance he just couldn’t help but get his back up as a rattlesnake coiled up in front of him tried […]
Many across America recently sat watching PBS as Ken Burns walked us through his perspective of the history of country music. It was an amazing effort in taking a wide-ranging American experience that encompasses more than a century of talents who shaped music locally, regionally and ultimately those who shined nationally and internationally. He shaved […]
I remember as a boy, I always looked forward to Saturday when I was visiting with my grandparents. That meant we would be taking a trip to town. It could mean some time in the 5&10, the grocery store or a stroll around the Courthouse Square or visiting with folks at the farmer’s market. Going […]
It is the time of year when towns across America find political signs for local campaigns filling the right-of-ways and yards as fundraising barbeques and door-to-door canvassing is in full swing. For many years, I have had the pleasure of living in small town America, in a community that up until this decade enjoyed amiable […]
When I think back to Friday night in my youth, much of those were spent sitting in front of the TV watching “The Dukes of Hazzard.” It allowed me to see what was then, other than “The Waltons,” a current show with a Southern or rural feel to it. The adventures of Bo and Luke […]
Life is something that we should cherish with every passing breath. Often times we do not appreciate the simplest things like the feel of cool breeze on a hot summer day; the taste of a fresh glass of homemade lemonade so cold that the outside of the glass drips; the deep red color of a […]
Grandma Kitty pulled her shiny case knife from the pocket of her blue apron. She reached down far to the bottom of the cane pole and cut it. “This will make a good one,” she said, as she handed it to a three-year-old me. Then she cut one for herself. As we walked to her […]
