Category: Living Southern
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Heavenly Dining in Small-Town America
One of the most enjoyable experiences one can have is driving through a small-town community, stopping at some out-of-the-way restaurant, and discovering a culinary treasure. You know the place, a local non-chain eatery that, at first glance, may cause you to hesitate to go inside, only to be blindsided by the sheer mouth-watering deliciousness of…
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Summer Daze and Asphalt Waves
It’s summer in Georgia, where saunas are free. All you have to do is step outside to learn the true definition of “sweltering.” Yes, you know it’s summertime in the Southland when the heat, humidity, and mosquitos rise to unbearable levels. Thank God for Willis Carrier! (Inventor of the first electrical air conditioner in 1902.) …
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Good Golly Miss Dolly
Recently, my family spent a week vacationing together in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. And when I say family, I mean FAMILY. All my children, grandchildren, a brother, his wife and son, along with my wife and her grandson — a total of 23 related-by-DNA and marriage kind of people — shared a three-story, cliff-hanging, ten-bedroom cabin…
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The Varsity P.C. Blues
The end is near! The apocalypse is upon us! Another pandemic? No. More civil unrest? No. A giant meteor approaching earth? No. The AJC (Atlanta Journal and Constitution newspaper) announced on June 11th that “P.C.” is no more. Unfortunately, they are not referring to the term “Politically Correct.” They reported that the Varsity, Atlanta’s iconic…
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Living Southern – When Your Wife Is Not
Any Southern man worth his grits can spot a woman not native to the Southland. Her dress, her demeanor, or her dialogue will give her away. I considered it a gift from God to have grown up in the American South. Needless to say, when I started dating again after being a widower for several…
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Living Southern: Clean Old-Fashioned Hate
College football rivalries in the Southland resemble a Hatfield-McCoy feud. They are intense, long-lasting, sometimes bitter, and always passionate. Think Auburn vs. Alabama, USC vs. Clemson, Florida vs. Florida State, Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State, and, of course, my favorite, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech. It may sound like a random collection of words, but Clean…
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Real Comfort Food
While running several errands one day, my wife suggested we grab lunch at her favorite Thai Restaurant. I like Thai food — sort of. My favorite cuisines are Mexican, Mexican, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Georgian (as in Republic of), and French. Thai is on the list, I just don’t know where. Ordering a Southern Thai…
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The Georgia Peach and the Time Lord
My wife calls me her “Time Lord.” I hate to be late. Let’s just say I am passionate about punctuality. I like to plan ahead; she adores spontaneity. I have pre-printed checklists; she is more of a spur-of-the-moment kind of person. I help her make her appointments ON TIME! She helps me to slow down…
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Daisy Grace, Louis L’Amour and Fried Chicken Fridays
The search is over. I found it. I bought it. I brought it home. My library is complete. Recently, I was able to meet, for the first time, Runelle and Ruth, first cousins of my mother. We had reconnected through email and decided to meet and exchange memories and pictures of our common ancestors. I…
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Respecting the Opposition – A Lesson from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This week, we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., the most visible leader of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Growing up in Atlanta during that same period gave me a front-row seat on the non-violent protest strategy used by Dr. King. I must confess to not always understanding, much…
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