Category: Americana
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View from a Pew
Author’s Note: Thirty years ago, I purchased a 60-year-old fourteen-foot long church pew during a fundraising program at my church. In time I had it cut down to seven feet, re-stained and polished to become a cherished family treasure. I have often pondered what that pew has seen and heard in the decades it spent…
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Nails at Noon – Lessons from a Nail Parlor
Last week, our country celebrated its Independence Day. The 4th of July, for me, has always been filled with memories of fireworks, barbecues, and hot, sunny days at nearby Lake Oconee. In this land of the Free, we often forget the cost of that freedom or how cherished it is, especially for those who have…
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When Irish Eyes Are Smiling….I Must Have Made Them Laugh
Visiting a foreign country, especially for the first time, is always an exciting adventure. You just hope it’s not too exciting, if you know what I mean. After all, learning about a new culture, interacting with locals, and experiencing first hand how things are different from the US of A adds a breadth and depth…
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How the Irish Spell Hospitality
My wife decided I needed a heads-up. In an attempt to manage my expectations, she explained in precise terms, what I should expect on our two-week vacation to Ireland. “You need to understand,” she said, “that the Irish are some of the most hospitable people on earth.” Though welcome words to one visiting Ireland for…
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Love Lifted Me
Soon after our wedding last year, I discovered an unexpected blessing from having married a woman who can sing. Patrice serves as one of the cantors who leads our church congregation in singing. She has perfect pitch and a musical range that few possess. Yes, I am not at all objective about this, but…
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Living Southern – Blue Plate Wins
My recent post about “Bubba and the Masters” and “Biscuits or Cornbread?” reminded me how blest I am to be from the South. “Southern by the grace of God” is not a cliche in my family. Having grown up in the land of peaches, peanuts, pecans, and pine trees…and yes, yellow pollen too, I have…
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Power in the Blood
James Harrison was 14 years old and could not help but wonder, “Why me?” He had just undergone an eleven-hour-long surgery to remove a lung. He required 13 units of blood to save his life and still had to spend the next three months in a hospital. Troublesome times for an Australian teenager in 1951.…
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Star Spangled Posture?
It was a rather somber Chicago crowd at the first game of the 1918 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. Who could blame them? World War I was at its peak and their beloved Cubs were in the midst of being shutout by a Red Sox pitcher named Babe Ruth. Then…
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A Name on The Wall
My eyes first beheld the Wall in July 1999 when my wife and I vacationed in Washington D.C. I remember it as if it was yesterday. While I have seen some amazing sights in my life, nothing has emotionally impacted me as those moments spent gazing upon a wall of names. As soon as I…
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Living Southern: Biscuits or Cornbread?
A recent visit to the local Cracker Barrell Restaurant reminded me of a colossal culinary conundrum we Southerners occasionally face. Biscuits or cornbread? The question posed by the waitress was innocent enough, though she had no idea of the brain cell paralysis her request induced. Some folks struggle with similar but otherwise inconsequential questions. Scrambled…
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