Playing catch up

I’ve spent the better part of the last week in Fort Worth, Texas, working long hours, enduring incredible heat and spending time with my youngest brother and his family. The 8-day odyssey to the place of my birth felt more like two trips in one. The first four days I was engaged in the annual … Continue reading Playing catch up →

Want to keep cool? Wear more clothes

I know, I know, it’s counterintuitive, but as summer pays its annual, six-month visit to the South, it’s important to know how to dress for success. In an era when underclothes are getting way too much exposure for my taste, one example that is not only appropriate but expedient is men’s undershirts. In the South, … Continue reading Want to keep cool? Wear more clothes →

What I want to tell my dad

Of all the retail-induced holidays, Father’s Day requires the most time at the greeting card shelf. It takes me forever to find something that captures the essence of the relationship I have with my dad. I don’t know who writes cards these days, but some of us would like something more meaningful than fishing, golf, … Continue reading What I want to tell my dad →

On the move

As I dipped a scoop of chocolate ice cream onto a sugar cone, it hit me: the Normans really are moving. A Sunday afternoon ice cream party for our friends appeared to be a typical Southern backyard get-together. Children played. Adults talked. Everybody ate. But what I hadn’t really thought about as we prepared for … Continue reading On the move →

In search of the moment

As temperatures rose into the upper 80s, I packed the minivan for a three-night campout at Black Rock Mountain State Park just north of Clayton. With sweat running down my forehead and my patience waning, Carlton and Harris sat in their seats too eager to get underway to heed my repeated instructions to stay out … Continue reading In search of the moment →