Excerpt from “Only Time Would Tell” by James Etheridge. Available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1086015924 That night we went to my grandparents’ house in East Atlanta for supper. Afterwards, they sat around, talked about family and sipped Pepa’s homemade muscadine wine. Pepa sat in his recliner, smoking Camels and stubbing them out in the ashtray stand next to his chair. He’d smoke a cigarette,… Read moreFalse Spring | Part Three
Excerpt from “Only Time Would Tell” by James Etheridge. Available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1086015924 The next morning Mitch met me in the hall before school started. “Why the hell did you burn down our fort?” he demanded. I closed my locker and said, “Why did you bomb us with clay pigeons and golf balls?” “Well, we didn’t burn down your fort.” “No, but… Read moreFalse Spring | Part Four
Excerpt from “Only Time Would Tell” by James Etheridge. Available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1086015924 I crossed the parking lot at the Walk Of Heroes Veterans Memorial Park and walked past the fountain at the plaza, followed the path lined with Leyland cypress trees, passed under the stone arch and paused at the statues honoring the five branches of service. I grasped the right… Read moreFalse Spring | Epilogue
For the first time in thirty-seven years last week, Budweiser announced that it was forgoing its annual Super Bowl commercial time slots. They weren’t alone, either. Coca-Cola, Hyundai and Pepsi dropped out as well. Budweiser announced that it will reallocate the money toward those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. At $5 million a pop for a 30-second commercial, that’s hardly… Read moreRiding A Draft Horse | Off The Bucket List
Sometime last fall, Jackie found on Hulu the entire series of America’s favorite neighborhood bar, Cheers. We have watched it starting with season 1, episode 1 and now are about halfway through number 11, the final season. Watching the series, where the regulars are an odd mix of folks from all walks of life who seem to spend most of… Read moreWhere Everybody Knows Your Name
It is the dead of winter in North Georgia and that means Comfort Food Season. Yesterday was cold and wet, so Jackie and I went with our old standard, a big pot of Peggy’s Original Recipe Chili. I posted as such on Facebook and a long thread ensued of folks sharing the hearty dishes they were preparing for a perfect… Read moreComfort Food | Fried Bologna and Spam
2020 is behind us. As I write this first entry of the new year, I am somewhat at a loss as to what to say. 2020 was unlike any year in recent history, as we all know. Some of us have been fortunate. Many of us have not. Much has been written and orated about 2020, so I see no… Read more2021 | Hope and Faith
I stood by the door to the inn watching the people approach, only to be turned away by the innkeeper. I had heard there would be many travelers coming to Bethlehem due to a census. I did not know what a census was. I was only trying to earn a few coins by playing my drum. Other than my clothes… Read moreMe and My Drum
This college football season has been unlike any other in history. Seasons have been canceled and rearranged. Rivalry games have been dropped as conferences have gone to conference-only schedules. Games have been postponed or canceled. Players have opted to forgo their final year of eligibility to prepare for the NFL draft. It has been a season both to remember and… Read morePlay Like A Girl | Witnessing History
Friday, November 22, 1963, fifty-seven years ago is one of those dates that all Boomers remember exactly what they were doing. It was six days before Thanksgiving and I was sitting in third-grade class at Gresham Park Elementary School. Around 1:30 p.m. Mr. Cole, the principal, came over the intercom in all of the classrooms and announced that President John… Read moreFifty-Seven Years | Lest We Forget
