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A fiddle and a fireplace

Some say it was a coal mine cave-in. Others say it was the fever, but whatever the reason my Grandpa Harve found himself orphaned in a time when if children were lucky some relative or caring neighbor took them in. I don’t know much about his childhood, although I am told his tales of life […]

Doing nothing is an action, too

I was out watering the yard a while back when a blonde headed boy rolled up on his blue mountain bike and asked if we needed our yard mowed. Our yard had just been covered with a brand new batch of fescue sod. I told the boy it was not ready to cut just yet […]

Bluegrass music legacies

America’s music – bluegrass continues to grow in its popularity with new generations picking up the mantle of decades of evolution of the music that grew from the Appalachian sounds that gave it birth. There are over 80 million listeners of bluegrass in the United States with millions more around the world, there are over […]

God’s favorite postman

Throughout history, God has used many ways to send messages to us, angels, Moses, Jesus and others. I find one of his most interesting messengers is the weather. When I was a child, I once appeared at a little Church of God tucked into the suburbs of North Atlanta, Ga. This particular evening a guest […]

Every encounter leaves a memory

God has blessed us with so many things in this world. For a columnist like myself, who spends so much time writing stories based upon the experiences and memories of things and people I have known, the memory is of tremendous importance. I imagine that is true of most everyone.

Bubba to the rescue

The recent scenes of flooding in Nashville and the earnest efforts of so many music stars to reach out and help spurred in my memory a close up picture of similar devastation. In the early 1990s, Albany, Ga. endured the worst floods it had ever seen, affecting thousands of the residents, destroying homes and taking […]

Is one Mother’s Day a year enough?

I often wonder if people really realize the enormous task of thanking a mother for all she has done for her children. It seems that we have a day for everything anymore. A day to thank secretaries, grandparents, fathers and so many others. There should be a day to recognize all these people. All of […]

Grits and Gravy

I was in seventh grade when I realized why the Yankees invaded the South. Folks might say that it was to keep the Union together but the real reason behind it was they didn’t have grits and gravy and we did.

What is honor?

How does one acquire it? Is honor a cloak that you can put on and take off at will? I would say that honor is something that you build in your character over time beginning in childhood, much like putting on layers of clothes in the winter to stay warm. As the layers build upon […]