We just returned from Charlotte and the weekend wedding of a dear friend. We went up via way of Gainesville. It was a beautiful drive through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I love the North Georgia Mountains. There is a peace and tranquility there that I have found nowhere else in my limited travels. Not at the beach,… Read moreThe Sprawl | The Choking of Atlanta
My buddy turned his Sea Ray into the cove and roared down the shore with the golf course on the left and me behind on a pair of Cypress Gardens water skis. He laid the boat on its side and made the tight turn around the cove. I shot outside the wake, moving like a missile and yelling, “Fore, Arnie,… Read morePineIsle | A Squirrel for a Buck
The birds were coming in droves on an early afternoon on a perfect spring day in April. A number of species were in their woodland back yard year round, but this particular spring there were ones that Allene had not seen before. She sat on the top step of the staircase from the sunroom, which led down to the small… Read moreA Gift Of Spring
Today is, as far as this Georgia boy is concerned, a National Holiday. Today is Masters Sunday. The Masters is steeped in tradition. A Tradition Unlike Any Other, as Augusta National’s privileged membership likes to say. For years, the tradition in my family was to gather at our house on Masters Sunday for dinner, which included pimento cheese and chicken… Read moreA Tradition Unlike Any Other
Thomas Brooks stood on the first tee of Lake Southerness Golf club on a beautiful early spring afternoon. It was a Thursday in mid-March. He was preparing to tee off and walk nine holes. “Excuse me, sir, but are you by yourself? Want to play together?” came a voice from behind him. It was from a man who had just… Read moreOutdriven
The girl was a good girl. For Christmas she had asked for a BB gun, a football and a Bible. When she awoke on Christmas morning all three were there under the tree. On this particular spring evening the girl sat with her BB gun on the concrete steps at the side of her house. She was shooting at the… Read moreA Shootin’ Contest
I had to give Bubba-Bubba credit for this one. After years of us playing pick-up games in his side yard, which was a huge flood plain that was perfect for football, he had managed to put together an actual league made up of teams from four different streets in the neighborhood. Hence the name, the “Neighborhood Football League.” Bubba-Bubba had… Read moreGirls Can’t Play | Part One
The phone rang Monday afternoon. It was Bubba-Bubba. “We’ve got a problem,” he said. “Snail fell off of the monkey bars today at school and broke his arm. He can’t play on Saturday.” “Oh, man,” I said, “is he okay?” “Yeah, he’s okay, but we’ve got to find somebody to play center and find him fast.” “Can’t he just snap… Read moreGirls Can’t Play | Part Two
Thursday afternoon I rode my bike home from school, did my chores, homework and watched the Match Game. I put on my football gear and walked over to Billy’s. We stopped at Anna’s. She was sitting on her bottom step tying her cleats. The three of us walked down the street to Bubba-Bubba’s. He and Brain were tossing the ball…. Read moreGirls Can’t Play | Part Three
Thomas Brooks sat at the kitchen table by the window, drinking his coffee and gazing at the winter wonderland below. It was a very cold winter morning. Snow had fallen overnight and covered the landscape like a white blanket. He had finished his breakfast of eggs over easy, toast, grits and sausage. The birds had fed earlier, and the squirrels… Read moreA Very Cold Winter
