Returned calls come at a price
Back in the summer, unwillingly, I would rise early and take a run to beat some of the oppressive heat and humidity that smothers the South when the sun inches higher in the sky. Many mornings, I encountered something that would stick with me for the rest of the run.
Kids in middle do pretty well
The Dixie Diva column
Little Danny McGuire was the scrawniest kid in class. He was so frail, so downright skinny, that his dungarees clung to his bony hips only thanks to a well-worn brown belt that was pulled tight to the last notch, causing the fabric to gather in folds.
Better days are a-coming
Mama’s favorite phrase when I was growing up — particularly during the defiant teenage years, especially when I sassed her — was “you’re gonna pay for your raising one day, little lady.
Better days are a-coming
Opinion Column
Mama’s favorite phrase when I was growing up — particularly during the defiant teenage years, especially when I sassed her — was “you’re gonna pay for your raising one day, little lady. Let me assure you of that. You just wait until you have children and see how they behave.”
Being mean is the real error
Features column
Boy, can people be mean. I’m thinking particularly of a reader named Samantha, whose scolding of me turned into a scalding.
Writers dig deep for fertile stories
The Dixie Diva column
Occasionally, someone truly interested in the art of writing will ask me, “What does it take to be a writer?”
Southern home is inescapable
One evening back in late spring, I returned home from two weeks of flitting through major airports and hurrying bare-footed through security sensors. I was bone-weary from cramped planes — the center seat too many times — and delayed flights.
Diary gives account of mourning Lincoln
The Dixie Diva column
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is final installment of a three-part series based on Civil War era diaries of Charlie Tinker.
Story of woman may be lost
The Dixie Diva column
There’s a woman I’m looking for. Perhaps you know where she is. If you do, please help me find her again.
Practical makes perfect at Christmas
Features column
When Mama was a small girl growing up in the Nimblewill Valley in the Appalachian foothills, it was the midst of the Great Depression. As she often said, “Times were hard but it’s all we knew so we didn’t know how poor we were.”
The writings of Charlie Tinker
Editor Note: This is the second installment of a three-part series. It is running over a five week period rather than three consecutive weeks.
Life lessons the best education
Features column
In those days — the ones of my cherished youth — my cousin, Ronnie, a year older than I, worked for my daddy.
Diaries give glimpse into the Civil War
This is the first of a three-part series. It is not running three consecutive weeks but over a five-week period.
Value of money valuable lesson
Features column
It seems to me that a lot of young people have it easy. Too many kids in high school and college are shielded from work and not taught the importance of money or earning it. It seems to me that this is a major default in the education of life.
Sharing blessings something to be thankful for
Features column
This isn't really a Thanksgiving column. It's more of a Christmas column. Well, actually, it is a Thanksgiving column because it's about being thankful enough for your blessings that you share them at Christmas.
