Category: Southern Life & Humor

I was back home in Sandy Ridge a few weeks ago doing what I always do when I get the chance. Not sightseeing. Not vacationing. Just kicking dirt. That’s what Lou calls it. “Kicking dirt.” It means wandering around the place, checking on things, doing little jobs that don’t really need doing, and generally spending…

Lou came home the other day from an outing with the neighborhood garden club. Now I’ll admit, when I hear “garden club,” I don’t immediately think this is going to turn into a story. But I’ve learned better. They had taken a trip over near Amite, Louisiana, to visit a tea farm. They learned about…

Back in the late 1990s, we owned a little rental house over off 21st Street in Winston-Salem. Nothing fancy. Small homes. Working folks. A lot of people who swept their porches, cut their grass, and kept an eye on things. The kind of neighborhood where folks still cared about their property. One of our longtime…

Today I called my friend and colleague, Kevin King. Kevin is from Mississippi and about as Southern as they come. He’s a general contractor, and his slow country drawl will either lull you to sleep, endear you to him—or make you think he isn’t nearly as sharp as he actually is. That would be a…

We were back home in Sandy Ridge for our monthly visit. That part isn’t new. What was new this time was we had company. Which always changes things… whether you plan on it or not. Our next-door neighbors from Baton Rouge made the trip with us. Wonderful people. The kind of neighbors everybody hopes for…

Last Sunday we had a flight out of New Orleans at 5:30 a.m. Now I know what you’re thinking. Why in the world would anybody book a flight that requires you to get up in the middle of the night? Good question. I was headed to a conference. It was a nonstop flight. The plan…

Some of my earliest memories don’t come from what we were doing. They come from what we were listening to. Growing up on the farm in Stokes County, my brothers and I spent a lot of time in the fields alongside my dad, Joe, and my Uncle Obie. The work was steady, sometimes hard, sometimes…

Today we’re at Perdido Key, Florida, sitting on the balcony of an oceanfront condo. The water is choppy, almost angry. Whitecaps roll in uneven lines, like the Gulf can’t quite decide what mood it’s in. The breeze is steady though. The kind of February day that makes you grateful you packed short sleeves. I asked…

I went to the doctor today, and I’m happy to report that all went well. I’ve had a little shoulder issue—nothing dramatic, just one of those reminders that parts you don’t think about much suddenly want your attention. The exam went smoothly. Structurally, everything looked good. No tears. No major problems. And best of all,…

We were in New Orleans, staying at one of those nice hotels, celebrating another trip around the sun—also known as a birthday. The kind of hotel where lunch involves a buffet and the food has little labels in front of it, which I appreciate because I’m probably not the only person who doesn’t fully understand…