There aren’t many cities, towns, or crossroads in the South that don’t have some sort of purveyor of smoked meats in one form or another selling their wares by the pound or in three-compartment styrofoam boxes accompanied by sides of baked beans, cole slaw, and a grocery store roll. The range of establishments from which customers purchase their plates of pork range Continue reading “Barbecue isn’t necessarily barbecue”
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By the time college rolled around in the fall of 1996, my muscular dystrophy had progressed to the point where getting up from a chair was difficult. I had to be aware of what material the soles of my shoes were made of and the type of flooring to be sure there was enough grip for me to do the awkward dance I had worked out to go from seated to standing. In order to stand up, I would spread my feet out as wide as I could to get my center of gravity as low as possible and form a steady base for the upcoming action. Then, I would rock Continue reading “It was time to take a load off: College”
Disclaimer: If, like my parents, you have an angelic misconception about me and want to stay in the dark about any non-Baptist-compatible events that I may or may not have been a part of at different times in my life, you may want to close this page and turn on the History Channel to rewatch this episode of American Pickers. Continue reading “PJ, Mitch Buchanan, and the charred gravestones”
It was cool on the back porch last night as we watched the most important football contest of the year. No matter how disappointing our season was, that game was a soothing salve for my sports soul.
Sometime in May 2008, I was lying in bed at about 10:30 pm on a weeknight, just about to drift off to sleep when my land line rang. I looked over at my nightstand with a scowl, for the only times that phone rang it was either a telemarketer or someone at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility placing a collect call to someone with a colorful, Continue reading “The view from a cooler”
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On June 2, 1992, my family (movers) loaded up the truck (an 18 wheeler) and we moved from Louisville, where I spent my first 14 2/3 years on this planet, to our new home on Sagewood Dr. in Brandon. I remember driving down our long gravel driveway for the last time on that warm, late spring day. The sky was high and clear. The woods that I spent countless hours playing, exploring, and hunting in were alive with the new foliage of their annual rebirth. Continue reading “It was time to take a load off: High school”
I played tee ball for the first time in the summer between 1st and 2nd grade. The year was 1984, and I was on the worst team in the Louisville Parks and Recreation tee ball league. My memories of those early events are sparse and a bit foggy, but I’m almost 40, and that was over 32 years ago. I do remember having two young guys, probably just high schoolers that loved baseball, as coaches. They had sweet mullets and let us ride in the bed of an awesome Continue reading “It was time to take a load off: Birth – diagnosis”
The other night, Jana and I were in the kitchen together. I was sitting at the bar fiddling with my phone while she put dishes into the dishwasher; tidying things before masterfully putting together a tofu-centered supper that this rabid carnivore enjoyed more than an earthquake under my least favorite college’s campus. We were chatting aimlessly about our perspectives on the election results, the blistered bottom Bama applied to my school’s Continue reading “What’s this all about?”
Well, the election is finally over. Thankfully, Mrs. Clinton conceded gracefully, and we aren’t waiting on counties in south Florida to determine voters’ intent over hanging chads. The democratic process worked for us one more time. There have been protests that are protected by our 1st amendment rights of speech and assembly, but we haven’t had to deal with bloody coups or military uprisings like we saw in Libya at the end of Gadaffi’s rule or in Egypt during the Arab Spring. We’re still living safely in our homes just like we were Continue reading “What next?”
One Saturday this past fall, I was sitting on my parents’ back porch watching college football with my dad. After an especially untimely interception thrown by our quarterback, I had to avert my attention from the disaster unfolding on the TV. So, I turned my back to the train wreck and lit a cigar hoping it would soothe my frustration with the game. Continue reading “Mississippi squirrels”
Hammock,
White sugar sand,
Arched coconut palms,
Gin clear water,
Waves keeping time as steady as a metronome. Continue reading “If life was like a Jimmy Buffett song”
It’s almost over. Seven days from today, if the good Lord’s willing, and the creeks don’t rise, (but, Lord, we need a good rain) this election fustercluck will be nigh over. May it be decisive, and may we begin a process of healing and unifying.
The View From My Seat 