287 articles
August 18, 2026
I had to write a report in Miss Belle Alexander’s history class in the third grade. I asked Dad for some direction. He deadpanned, “Son, don’t tell them everything you know in the first paragraph.”
August 18, 2026
His check has been signed by the Lewis County School District in Tennessee for forty years, but he works for the kids.
August 11, 2026
I remember August 14, 1965, very well. The problem was, I hadn’t prepared a lick for it. I clearly didn’t understand the significance of the entire situation until I got out of the car…and watched Mom drive away.
August 11, 2026
I had a conversation with a church leader who was telling me about the new preacher their church had hired. His comments about it revealed much regarding his expectations of a preacher’s wife.
August 4, 2026
Editor’s Note: The following is a detailed account of a traffic accident that occurred on Monday, July 27, 2026. If you think reading specific details about the accident will trigger you, please use caution before reading.
August 4, 2026
“Over the river and through the woods” — it’s a phrase that makes me sing the song, a song that reminds me of the coming holidays.
August 4, 2026
People ask me how did we have the energy to do all the things I write about in those black and white bygone years of the 1950’s. The answer here is simple.
July 28, 2026
Chick King was the best baseball coach I ever played for. He spent 11 years in professional baseball, at times with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals.
July 28, 2026
Travel across any Tennessee highway today, and you are likely to spot a curious sight: the iconic three-star logo of the novelty front license plates.
July 28, 2026
You know how it is at the end of a workday and supper's over and the dishes are done? You're ready to settle down, put on your pajamas, and have a little quiet time before going to bed. Yeah, that's the way I like it, too.
July 21, 2026
With the world at our fingertips via the click of a mouse or the touch of a mobile phone screen, are libraries and newspapers necessary anymore, especially in small towns?
July 21, 2026
If you are looking for a witty, intriguing, plot-thickening story of the Old South, with a jaw-dropping ending…stop right here! And do yourself a favor. Move on to the column below. I don’t have a story in mind today.
July 21, 2026
If you were granted the opportunity to witness a state-sponsored execution, would you take it? It is a question that challenges the boundaries of professional duty and personal beliefs.
July 21, 2026
This morning on my way to work I met an older man driving slowly. I got a glimpse of his face and it was familiar, but I couldn’t place where I’d seen him. Like he was someone I used to see often, maybe a former business owner?
July 9, 2026
Me and Buddy Wiggleton grew up wanting to be the Marlboro Man.
July 7, 2026
It came out of nowhere. And good golly, I was not prepared.
July 7, 2026
Kerry stares numbly at the notice on the bulletin board announcing the permanent closing of his plant. It’s the only job he’s had for twenty-five years.
June 30, 2026
Sarah was the kind of woman who kept casseroles in the freezer ready to pop one in the oven for every occasion, like a funeral or a birth, or when a woman had surgery and couldn’t cook for the family, or, of course, when there was a potluck meal at church.
June 30, 2026
I’m talking about Samuel Adams, Dr. Joseph Warren, JOHN HANCOCK, Penelope Barker, Thomas Jefferson…all the men and women who had gathered in quiet places to discuss hard questions about life, British rule, independence, and the future.
June 23, 2026
I'm quite certain what I'm about to describe is not the way things really work, but in my imagination, it makes me feel warm and safe.
